79th St Between York Ave and 1st Ave

Yesterday I complained a bit about one's inability to cross 1st Avenue on the Upper East Side during the New York City Marathon. It's an admittedly sore point amongst the locals, feeling a bit trapped in their own homes. However, an interesting and somewhat pleasant side effect (at least for pedestrians) are the multiple street closures which surround the race route. Being able to walk down the center of 79th Street is a rather unique feeling, especially later in the day when the crowds of race fans have subsided and you're left with a mostly-desolate stretch of road.

Meandering from curb to curb I still find myself looking over my shoulder, expecting to see either a car barreling down the street, or someone yelling at me to get out of the way. Luckily I was delusional.

The block is lined with fancy apartments and condos with doormen guarding the entrances of their respective fortresses every few feet. In between a few older buildings have managed to survive including a rather beautiful church on the northern side of the block. There appears to be an attached rectory right next to the church. This street also features a rare non-Cemusa newsstand which has been able to retain much of its vintage charm and grit.

80th St Between East End Ave and York Ave

    

Featuring panoramic views of Roosevelt Island, 80th Street begins on an upbeat which it manages to sustain for the rest of the block. The mixture of apartments, trees and flowers make for a rather quaint stretch which is simultaneously pleasant and boring.

The street would be utterly dead if it weren't for the fact that the east-bound M79 diverts here for its final run over to East End Avenue before looping south to 79th Street to head west again. As a result you tend to encounter a line of loud, idling busses as they release the final few passengers. As convenient as it may be, I wouldn't want to live on any one-way street with a bus stop. The traffic congestion, the noise and foot traffic would be enough to drive me away.

78th St Between York Ave and 1st Ave

   

This segment of 78th Street is very representative of the rest of the blocks in the neighborhood. Featuring a light mixture of restaurants and businesses alongside the apartment buildings, not much has changed here in the past 20 years or so.

There are two semi-interesting things that I can tell you about this block, and they both have to do with the entertainment industry. First, if you ever watch the extra features on one of the Seinfeld DVDs, you'll see Jerry walk into Lee's Market (on the corner of 78th and 1st) where he talks about how he and Larry David worked out a lot of the ideas for Seinfeld while in a bodega much like this one. Second, the opening scene to Ghostbusters 2 where Ray and Winston arrive for a birthday party, was filmed right here. Not the most ground-breaking Hollywood connections ever, but nice tidbits nonetheless.

88th St Between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave

   

Starting quaintly-enough with a handful of older buildings and restaurants, this stretch of 88th Street quickly evolves into a series of high-rises apartments which seem to dominate over the more timid structures. In the middle of the block #230 E88th sits uncomfortably between far more attractive apartments. Near 3rd Avenue, the squat Valley National Bank feels incredibly out-of-place and tacky. Even a luxury condo would fit better on this lot – such as the unfortunate one across the street.

For all its flaws, the rest of the block is well-served by the turn of the century buildings which each have their own individual character and charm. It's a shame that just three buildings can so drastically shape one's opinion of a neighborhood.

York Ave Between 88th St and 86th St

   

Just a few streets south of its terminus, York Avenue still maintains the residential neighborhood feeling that dominates the majority of its 39 block existence. Both the street and the sidewalk here are very wide, wider than they'd even need to be. The stores feel a bit anemic for a stretch this large, but I guess there's a finite number of people living to the east of here, so it's not entirely necessary to be inundated with bars and dry cleaners. Save for a single Chase bank, I can't recall one chain store along the route. Even pharmaceutical needs are provided by a small shop rather than a Duane Reade. 

Something that has always caught my eye here is the number of dogs left tied up on the sidewalk while their owners go inside stores to shop. Recently EV Grieve mentioned a reader which was fed-up with this practice and has vowed to confront every owner they see doing this. I can't imagine I would ever go that far, but it can be a bit troubling. I'm not so concerned for their physical well-being–unless it's unreasonably hot, I don't think they're in any danger–as I am for their psychological well-being. I've never owned a dog, but they seem to endure some legitimate distress when separated from their owner. I find myself just wanting to give them a pat on the head to let the know it'll be alright–though I never do, both because I know it won't help, and God forbid the owner sees me touching their dog without permission. No, the neurotic in me tells me to resist the urge.

1st Ave Between 82nd St and 84th St

Lined with stores and surrounded by high-rises, 3rd Avenue is a very busy stretch. Since there's very little in the way of attractions and destinations here, it's got a true neighborhood feeling. Adding to this atmosphere is the general lack of chain stores or restaurants; while there were a few, the vast majority were locally owned restaurants, laundromats, and moving companies.

Though I've lived on a few major streets throughout the years, living on 1st Avenue seems like an entirely different beast. In many ways it seems more like an LA highway than a NY surface street. If it weren't for the crosswalks, you'd never find your way to the other side.