Is it safer to live in the Upper West Side or Upper East Side?

Question

We have a toddler and I am a stay at home mom. We also have a vehicle that we will need to park somewhere! My husband will be working downtown near City Hall. We just want to feel a reasonable amount of security as I'll probably be out walking my son during the day and my husband will be walking home by himself at night. Which blocks are the "cut offs" for when things turn ghetto/sketchy for both UES & UWS? Thank you!

Answer 1

Both UES & UWS are safe. A lot of affluent NYers live in UE. Somewhere below 96th. I used to have an apartment in Upper West, 84th & Central Park West. I loved the neighborhood.

The East 100s are part of Spanish Harlem. I can't vouch for the neighborhood personally but I heard that it's not the safest place especially at night.

I suggest Upper West Side, there's a lot of luxury apartments there with a doorman. Also, the thing I love about living in CP west is that I cross the street and I'm already in Central Park. I bike there all the time.

So that will be perfect if you will be walking your son. There's a lot of playgrounds in CP. You can see a lot of preschoolers during the afternoon. There's a nice running path and bike path.

You can have picnic there on Sundays.

Riverside Park is also near. There's a lot of museums. Especially in Fifth Avenue, in what they call Museum Mile.

The NYPD's 20th Precinct is in 82nd, 22nd Precinct in 86th.

As for the vehicle, some apartments would have parking spaces for tenants.

Or if you would consider (West Vill.) Greenwich Village, SoHo. Christopher Street is really nice and safe. There's a lot of townhouses there. It would be a nearer commute to Downtown. Plus there's Washington Sq. Park. Another option is Downtown. There's a lot of luxury apartment buildings there. You'd be near Battery Park. It's very safe because you will be near Financial district and One Police Plaza.  

You're right to not want to sell the car. It is true that parking is very expensive, but you would need car to get away from the city once in a while.  

Answer 2

Sell the car and get a membership in Zip Car if you decide to live in the city. I like the west side better than the east side, cause the east side is so far away from Zabars. You might want to look into apts in Newport City in Jersey City Very easy to get to lower Manhttan by path train from there

Good Luck.

Answer 3

Both are very safe.  New York is not the New York of the 1980's or even the 1990's, it's become very sanitized.  

P.S. Nobody here actually drives.  

Answer 4

Both sides are good arteas to live in.  On the East side, I would say 96th street could be considered a dividing line, but a little higher on Madison or Fifth, but only a little.  The west side is harder to define.  Beloe around 96th street it is fairly safe everywhere.  Above that there are pockets that are good, pockets not so good.   West of broadway the area seems to stay nice higher up.  

If you  live on the west side there is a lot of good food shopping on Broadway in the 70's.  Within a couple of blocks of each other you have Fairway, Zabar's and Citarella.  All markets worth checking out.

I am glad that you are willing to pay for parking, but it can run into hundreds a month.  Many people who I knew living aroud 102d street, west of broadway managed to keep a car witjhout having to pay for parking, but there is alternate side parking which means that on certain days the car has to be moved a couple of times.

Answer 5

Both are great areas to live in..i think the upper east side has the highest concentration of wealth in the United States..with that being said, rent in locations such as the UES is astronomical ...the only real sketchy part of in Northern Manhattan(Uptown) is Harlem, but it isnt nearly as bad as it used to be back in the '80s and '90s, plus Harlem is north of UES. i wouldnt be worried about walking around Manhattan at night as it is usually very busy and crime in NYC is the lowest it has been in 40+ years..if you really want a sense of security i would suggest getting an apartment with a doorman, but other than that you should be fine