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O.L., so Chelsea was the destination of the Titanic before it sank. But that shouldn’t discourage you from checking out the neighborhood. Encompassing the area from 14th to 30th Streets from the Hudson River to 6th Avenue, sandwiched between Hells Kitchen ( to the north) and Greenwich Village (to the south), Chelsea is home to a wide range of people and activities and has recently undergone a transformation that has made it one of New York’s most “happening” neighborhoods.
While some of the neighborhood’s inhabitants are excited that Chelsea is poised to dethrone SoHo as King of New York City’s favorite gallery venue (over forty galleries relocated to the western edge of the neighborhood by Spring 1997), some could care less. Community housing organizations like The Chelsea Residence and Robert Fulton Houses and the International Ladies’ Garment Worker’s Union’s Penn Houses will help keep the neighborhood down-to-earth.
Old warehouses which were once factories and breweries are being converted into gallery spaces, nightclubs, and residential lofts. (Many of New York’s hottest nightclubs, including Twilo, Roxy and the Tunnel can be found in the far western side of the neighborhood). Other cultural attractions include the Joyce Theater (NYC’s premier dance venue, aside from Lincoln Center), the Chelsea Hotel, and the DIA Center for the Arts…culture runs rampant on this edge of the city!
On the eastern edge of the neighborhood, large department stores dominate the historic “Ladies Mile” (14th to 23rd Streets along Sixth Avenue), making it that much easier to pick up that zebra striped bathmat and other useful things you’ve been looking for. Housing options differ depending on what part of the neighborhood you’re in. Currently, the majority of lofts exist between Sixth and Seventh Avenues but as demand for this type of space increase it’s likely that the far west warehouse district will also be developed (with this location in close proximity to the art scene, housing prices are bound to be astronomical). If you are looking for space in a brownstone, you should concentrate primarily on streets between Seventh and Tenth Avenues. Rents tend to increase the further west you go.
Resident rollerbladers and outdoor enthusiasts don’t have to schlep up to Central Park to play around. The newly paved Hudson River Park (which will stretch from Battery Park all the way to 42nd Street) runs right through Chelsea, and comes equipped with cool breezes from the Hudson as well as a great view of New Jersey on the other side. It’s a wonderful place to people watch as its proximity to downtown makes this drag a popular venue for the area’s (often eccentric!) athletes.
Chelsea’s inhabitants take their gyms seriously. The behemoth Chelsea Piers Sports and Recreation complex, located at the end of 23rd Street on the nearby Hudson River, has facilities for just about any sport you could possibly imagine, including rock climbing, a golf driving range and ice skating rink (along with several hundred of the obligatory Stairmasters!).
Eighth Avenue is Chelsea’s main see-and-be-seen strip, full of good restaurants, coffee houses, and stores. It’s also the nucleus for Chelsea’s very visible gay and lesbian community, and although jokes about the “gay ghetto” abound, the neighborhood is notable for its colorful and mutually tolerant mix of family types, gym boys, mom-and-pop stores and a vibrant Latino community.
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Metropolis Real Estate of Manhattan | 167 Lexington Avenue Suite 100 | New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212.696.1900, Fax: 212.696.0220 | Email: info@metropolisre.com
Our Connecticut Branch:
1200 Summer Street, Suite 105, Stamford, CT 06905
Tel: 203.653.1406, Fax:203.653.7219
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