East 77 St, Lenox Hill

East 77th Street on the Upper East hosts a valuable chapter of New York City’s history. This street stretches from John Jay Park (which houses the only public access swimming pool of the area) that borders the FDR to Central Park and Fifth Avenue. 77th Street is also home to the historic Cherokee Place which lies between John Jay Park and York Avenue. Cherokee Place hosts a complex of four low rise buildings which have a definite European air, adorned as they are with wrought iron balconies, central courtyards and floor to ceiling windows.

These buildings of Cherokee Place were built in the early 20th century and were christened as the Shively Sanitary Tenements for they were meant to house poor New Yorkers who were suffering from the deadly white plague -tuberculosis. The money for the complex was put up by Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt as at that time it was believed the only treatment for TB was fresh air and light and the location of the apartments near the East River was thought to be ideal. Moreover the wrought iron balconies that were built for the apartments were not merely ornamental for they served an important purpose as they encouraged and enabled the sick to enjoy the outdoors quite easily. However soon after these apartments were built in 1912, they were declared a failure as rents were too high for the poor, TB stricken New Yorkers. Today the buildings of this gorgeous complex have been converted into co-op apartments which are highly coveted in New York City.
My husband and I actually looked at buying one of these Cherokee place apartments but were deterred by the fact that buildings are six floor walk ups which don't have facilities like a gym and doorman service that our apartment building which is located in the vicinity offers.

East 77th Street continues eastwards from York Avenue and hosts a mixture of gorgeous townhouses, condominiums and luxurious co-op buildings along with other prominent buildings and establishments of the neighborhood like the Lenox Hill Hospital at Lexington Avenue, the Housing Works Thrift Shop at Third Avenue and The Birch Wathen Lenox School which is located between Second and Third Avenues. 77th Street also hosts a wide array of dining establishments like Sant Ambroeus, Vero, Vermicelli, Café Buon Gusto, Le Pain Qoutidien, Bar Italia and Mxco along with the popular gourmet marketplace, Butterfield Market which is located on Lexington Avenue.

There are a couple of places on this street that offer trendy-looking meals (presentation is half the battle in this city, you know). One is Alloro – a restaurant that offers Italian food (as so many on the Upper East Side do), but the inside of the restaurant is a bit too green for me – the color is kind of over powering.
The Mark, a fancy hotel, is also on this street (for tourists who want to be in close proximity to the Met, I suppose).