City Living: Hell's Kitchen

By Miranda Siegel | Special to amNewYork

December 20, 2007

Intersection, 9th Ave, 51st St. (Dennis W. Ho / December 19, 2007)

They've tried calling it Clinton. They've tried calling it Midtown West, or even Times Square West. They've tried to call it something other than Hell's Kitchen, but it's never stuck.

While the origins of its name are unclear -- some theorize it came from the name of a German restaurant in the area, Heil's Kitchen, and others say it came from the mouth of angry policeman witnessing a riot --the neighborhood was for many years known as one of New York's biggest slums.

The prominent gang activity, particularly the conflicts among the Irish, Puerto Ricans and Italians who lived in Hell's Kitchen in the 1950s, provided inspiration for West Side Story (shot slightly north of the area).

But the low rents and proximity to the Theater District -- as well as the presence of the Actors Studio on West 44th Street -- attracted a number of aspiring performers, among them James Dean, Sylvester Stallone, Seinfeld and Madonna.

In the last few decades, Hell's Kitchen has turned around. It's now characterized by numerous restaurants, a varied nightlife and a thriving gay community, fostered by its proximity to New York's major transportation hubs as well as the offices of midtown.

"The area's cleaned up a lot," said Avron Hyams, who grew up in Hell's Kitchen. "Ninth Avenue, for example, used to be really quite sleazy and rundown. It's only in the last five or ten years that it's become such a happening strip."

Find it
Hell's Kitchen is defined by the Hudson River in the west, Eighth Avenue in the east, West 57th Street in the north and West 34th Street in the south.

Real Estate
"It's wonderful to see Hell's Kitchen becoming such a vibrant and dynamic area," said Gabriel Bedoya, vice president at Corcoran Real Estate Group and a Hell's Kitchen resident for the past 20 years.

Bedoya maintains that the proximity of Hell's Kitchen to Chelsea and the Upper West Side--two highly desirable but expensive neighborhoods--has helped lead to an increase in its popularity.

Though many new condos are sprouting up wherever the zoning laws allow, the area retains its neighborhood feel through the preservation of its tenement buildings.

"The zoning here is mainly for low-rise buildings," said Bedoya. "Tenements may have been transformed on the inside but they are preserved on the outside--it's a visually distinctive quality."

Bedoya says that it's been important to keep up this aspect of the neighborhood's character.

"What's attractive about Hell's Kitchen is that you have large shopping areas nearby, but you can also shop the way they do in Europe: go along the avenue from the cheese shop to the wine shop, to the fish shop and then somewhere else to get your olives."

The high-rises in Hell's Kitchen are also very popular, especially since even residents of the lower floors can enjoy excellent views.

Those moving in include students who make use of the well-connected transport, foreign buyers after the central location, and many who reside primarily in Long Island, New Jersey or Connecticut but work long hours in the city.

"They may stay in their Manhattan apartment during the week, but also come in on weekends to take their family to the museums or the theaters," explained Bedoya.

As for the common perception that realtors avoid using the name "Hell's Kitchen" when marketing the neighborhood, Bedoya claims it isn't really true.

"New Yorkers like the name 'Hell's Kitchen,'" he explained. "With foreign buyers, I might start off calling it Midtown West, so they understand where it is, but after I will always explain the name and the area's interesting history."