Finding 1
The Upper East Side is now one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the city, but until the mid-1800s, much of the space was open to all. Most of what’s now the Upper East Side was considered Common Landsproperty without an owner. At the beginning of the 19th century, the city began to parcel the land for purchase and for rent, but these transactions were speculative given that the lots were considered to be in the middle of nowhere.
When the area’s name was codified in 1896, “The Upper East Side Association of New-York City” took under its wings everything north and east of 40th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Even though the area was thought of as a no man’s land until the early 20th century, Upper East Side started to take shape well before that. St. James Church was built in 1810, at what is now 69th Street and Lexington Avenue, on Common Lands appropriated for that purpose.
Finding 2
Lenox Hill was named after Robert Lenox, a Scottish merchant who purchased land for a farm in 1818. He bought his first plot from the foreclosed estate of Archibald Gracie, a man who had made his home in the area two decades earlier. His home was Gracie Mansion, now the residence of our city’s mayor. It was built along the poorly-kept route connecting Hellgate Ferry at 86th Street with the old Boston Post Road in 1799.
Finding 3
What’s now called Lenox Hill Hospital, at 77th and Park Avenue, was opened in 1868 as the German Dispensary to serve this immigrant population.
Finding 4
The stark differences that once divided the Upper East Side and East Harlem have softened over the last decade, according to 2010 Census data. Over the past 10 years, the Upper East Side traditionally an overwhelmingly white neighbourhood has become more diverse, and the neighborhoods to its north have seen increasing numbers of white residents. The dividing line has been about race as well as income. As far as the race/ethnicity data, the line is either moving north, or at least has become blurred.
The Upper East Side, indicated on the Census map as the portion of Manhattan along the east of Central Park to Third Avenue from 59th Street to 96th Street, saw its population of white residents decline by nearly 3,800 people or seven percent over the last 10 years, according to the data highlighted by the Center for Urban Research. Meanwhile, the area’s Latino population grew by 19 percent, or 450 people, and its Asian population increased 29 percent, or by 682 people.
Bibliography
https://ny.curbed.com
https://www.dnainfo.com
https://www.nytimes.com
https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc
