Gramercy Park - New York, NY Area Guide

Gramercy Park was nothing more than a swamp until 1831 when developer Samuel B Ruggles purchased the land. He spent $180,000 to drain the swamp and landscape the land. In the late 19th century, the draft riots began, and Gramercy Park was opened up to the Union soldiers who were tasked with reinstating order to the area. Part of the Gramercy Park neighborhood was designated as a historic area in 1966, and the boundaries of the historic area were extended in 1988. The neighborhood has always appealed to a posh demographic drawn by the exclusiveness of the area's social clubs and Gramercy Park. You won't find any museums or annual events in the neighborhood, but it still has a thriving arts scene. It houses several art galleries and performance art theaters, such as Susan Sheehan Gallery and Performance Space 122.

The Gramercy Park district might not be huge, but it’s filled with amenities, including a wide variety of restaurants. Restaurants dot the neighborhood surrounding the park, and choices include everything from Italian and Mexican restaurants to pizza joints and sandwich shops. The Gramercy Park nightlife is an eclectic mix of pubs, cocktail lounges and bars. For groceries, you can shop at the nearby Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe’s, or you can head to Spice Corner for specialty items typically not found in a supermarket.

Like most of Manhattan, Gramercy Park residents enjoy walking or cycling to their destinations, and most of the main roads have dedicated bike lanes. Nine subway stations provide residents with access to twelve different subway lines, and public buses run through the main neighborhood streets, making it easy to get anywhere in Manhattan.

Irving Place, Park Avenue, 14th Street and the area around Union Square are the best places to hail a cab. Use your Uber app to schedule car pickup on one of the neighborhood’s residential streets. Even though the area stays fairly quiet, driving still isn’t a popular mode of transportation. For highway access, you need to drive to northern Manhattan, and parking prices cost between $30 and $50 per day.

You need a key to get into the exclusive Gramercy Park, and only residents to the 39 buildings facing the park have the option to rent one of the 383 numbered, coded keys. Key rental costs $350 per year, and if the annual $7,500 assessment fee isn’t paid for the building, key privileges are rescinded. Fortunately, passersby can enjoy the scenery because a fence, instead of a wall, surrounds the park, making the surrounding streets popular for those taking a stroll or walking their dogs. If you do want to see the park from the inside, it’s open to the public for one hour on Christmas Eve.

First Park, located on the corner of First Avenue and First Street, houses the only playground in the neighborhood. The tiny park also has a handball court and some drinking fountains. Stuyvesant Park Dog Run on 15th Street features a spacious bench-lined, paved area for dogs. The adjacent Stuyvesant Square boasts a beautiful fountain, several benches and a few statues. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for strenuous exercise, you’ll have to head to the gym. The area’s parks don’t host any exercise programs, and they don’t host any annual events either.

Gramercy Park’s cost of living rests around 20 percent higher than the rest of New York City. Expect to pay around $3,400 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, between $5 to $7 for a beer and $2.50 for public transportation. Gas doesn’t come cheap either, as prices in Gramercy Park stay around 12 percent higher than the national average.