Kips Bay | |
|---|---|
 Looking north fromCaptain Patrick J. Brown Walk toWaterside Plaza in Kips Bay on a drizzly day | |
 Location in New York City | |
| Coordinates:40°44′30″N73°58′41″W / 40.74167°N 73.97806°W /40.74167; -73.97806 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| City | New York City |
| Borough | Manhattan |
| Community District | Manhattan 6[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.355 km2 (0.5233 sq mi) |
| Population (2010)[2] | |
• Total | 50,742 |
| • Density | 37,440/km2 (96,970/sq mi) |
| Neighborhood tabulation area; includes Murray Hill | |
| Ethnicity | |
| • White | 66.6% |
| • Asian | 16.2% |
| • Hispanic | 9.9% |
| • Black | 4.8% |
| • Others | 2.5% |
| Economics | |
| • Median income | $99,107 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 10010, 10016 |
| Area code | 212, 332, 646, and917 |
Kips Bay, orKip's Bay, is aneighborhood on the east side of theNew York Cityborough ofManhattan. It is roughly bounded by34th Street to the north, theEast River to the east,23rd Street to the south, andThird Avenue to the west.[4][5][6][7]
Kips Bay is part ofManhattan Community District 6, and its primaryZIP Codes are 10010 and 10016.[1] It is patrolled by the 13th and 17th Precincts of theNew York City Police Department.
According toThe Encyclopedia of New York City and theNew York City Department of City Planning, Kips Bay proper is generally bounded byEast 34th Street to the north, theEast River to the east, East 27th Street to the south, andThird Avenue to the west.[4][5] City documents have also used New York Citycensus tract 70 (from 29th to 34th streets, First to Third avenues) as an approximation for Kips Bay, and referred to tract 66, immediately below it, as "Bellevue South".[8][9][10]
TheAmerican Guide Series defines the combined Kip's Bay–Turtle Bay area as running from 27th Street north to59th Street, and from Third Avenue to the East River, excluding the neighborhoods ofBeekman Place andSutton Place.[11]
For its entry on Kips Bay, theAmerican Institute of Architects'AIA Guide to New York City uses the area from23rd Street north to roughly 38th Street, and from the East River west to just pastSecond Avenue. InAIA Guide, Kips Bay is adjacent toTudor City and theUnited Nations/Turtle Bay area on the north,Murray Hill andRose Hill on the west, and theStuyvesant Square area andPeter Cooper Village on the south.[6]
Other popular definitions of the neighborhood, such as that byThe New York Times, include 23rd Street to the south, 34th Street to the north,Lexington Avenue to the west, and the East River to the east.[7] To the north is Murray Hill; to the west isMadison Square,NoMad, and/or Rose Hill; and to the south is the Bellevue area or theGramercy Park neighborhood and Peter Cooper Village.
Kips Bay was an inlet of theEast River running from what is now32nd Street to37th Street. The bay extended into Manhattan Island to just west of what is nowFirst Avenue and had two streams that drained into it. Although the bay later becamereclaimed land, Kips Bay remained the name of the area.
The bay was named afterNew Netherland Dutch settler Jacobus Hendrickson Kip (1631–1690); son ofHendrick Hendricksen Kip), whose farm ran north of present-day30th Street along the East River.[12] "Kip's Bay Farm" comprised a much wider area than the present neighbourhood and four properties established by early Dutch settlers: "Pieter van der Linde's Plantation", an area originally granted to Teunis Cray, "Gregorys Plantation" (probably in or nearMidtown East) and "Schepmoes Plantation" (the northernmost, possibly in the vicinity ofLenox Hill).[13] In 1655, Jacobus Kip built a large brick and stone house, near the modern intersection ofSecond Avenue and East 35th Street. The house was expanded more than once during the next two centuries,[14] When the house was demolished (1851), it was the last farmhouse fromNew Amsterdam remaining in Manhattan.[15] Iron figures fixed into the gable-end brickwork commemorated the year of its first construction.[12] Its orchard was famous, and, when first PresidentGeorge Washington was presented with a specimen of itsRosa gallica during his first administration (1789–1793), when New York was serving as the first national capital city, it was claimed to have been the first garden to have grown it in theThirteen Colonies.[16]
Kips Bay was the site of theLanding at Kip's Bay, an episode of theAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and part of theNew York and New Jersey campaign. About 4,000British Army troops underGeneralWilliam Howe landed at Kips Bay on September 15, 1776, near what is now the foot of East 33rd Street off the East River from aRoyal Navy fleet which had first landed earlier onStaten Island, thenLong Island for the pivotalBattle of Brooklyn (also known as the Battle of Long Island) the previous month. Howe's forces defeated about 500 American militiamen stationed at Kips Bay by Washington and commanded byColonel William Douglas. The American forces immediately retreated, and the British occupied New York Town at the south point of the island, soon afterward forcing General Washington to retreat northward to theHarlem River.[17]
A single survivor of the late 18th or early 19th century in the neighborhood is the simple vernacular white clapboard house, much rebuilt, at203 East 29th Street. The house, standing gable-end to the street, is one of a mere handful of wooden houses that remain on Manhattan Island. Its date of construction is unknown[18] but has been variously dated from around 1790[19] to as late as 1870;[6] currently listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, the house is privately owned and not open to the public.
South of the Kips Bay Farm stood the substantial Federal-style villa erected facing the East River by Henry A. Coster,[20] in the thirty-acre estate[21] that was purchased in 1835 byAnson Greene Phelps;[22] towards the city, the Bull's Head cattle market fronting theBoston Post Road extended southwards from 27th Street to 23rd Street, affording a distinctly less rural aspect;[23] the villa was removed to make way for row houses in the 1860s and the cattle market was moved farther out of town, to 42nd Street.[24]
The neighborhood has been rebuilt in patches, featuring both new high-rise structures often set back from the street, and a multitude of exposed party walls that were never meant to be seen in public. A nearly forgotten feature is the private alley calledBroadway Alley, between 26th and 27th streets, halfway between Lexington and Third avenues, reputedly the last unpaved street in Manhattan (by 2024, the alley has been paved with asphalt);[26][27] it is not known what this alley is named after, since it is not near the mainBroadway.[25]
In 1940 the Madison Square Boys (and later Girls) Club, which previously had been located on East 30th Street just east of Second Avenue, built its own facilities on East 29th Street (back-to-back with its older facility). In the 1990s, the Club sold its building to the Churchill School and Center, and moved its office in theEmpire State Building.[28][29]
In the 1960s and 1970s, several high-rise apartment complexes were constructed between First and Second avenues as a result ofurban renewal.[30] Located between East 30th and 33rd streets, the NYU-Bellevue urban renewal project resulted in the development ofKips Bay Towers, a 1,112-unit apartment complex designed by architectI. M. Pei and completed in 1963.[7][31] The Bellevue South urban renewal project, located between 23rd and 30th streets, resulted in multiple housing developments, including East Midtown Plaza and Phipps Plaza (named after 19th century industrialist and philanthropistHenry Phipps).[30]
Waterside Plaza is a residential and business complex built on apier above the East River between East 25th and 30th streets which is adjacent to another deck over the river constructed for theUnited Nations International School. There were plans to buildRiver Walk, a development with additional above-water apartments, offices, and a hotel in the 1980s, but environmental concerns and community opposition doomed the project.[32] Today, the waterfront south of Waterside Plaza isStuyvesant Cove Park. The park includes a small man-madebrownfield land mass extending out into the East River, which was created from excess concrete dumped into the river when the site was aready-mix plant.[33]
For census purposes, the New York City government classifies Kips Bay as part of a larger neighborhood tabulation area called Murray Hill-Kips Bay.[34] Based on data from the2010 United States census, the population of Murray Hill-Kips Bay was 50,742, a change of 2,323 (4.6%) from the 48,419 counted in2000. Covering an area of 334.93 acres (135.54 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 151.5 inhabitants per acre (97,000/sq mi; 37,400/km2).[2] The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 66.6% (33,818)White, 4.8% (2,423)African American, 0.1% (55)Native American, 16.2% (8,233)Asian, 0% (16)Pacific Islander, 0.4% (181) fromother races, and 2% (1,008) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 9.9% (5,008) of the population.[3]
The entirety of Community District 6, which comprises Kips Bay and East Midtown, had 53,120 inhabitants as ofNYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.8 years.[35]: 2, 20 This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[36]: 53 (PDF p. 84) [37] Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality (45%) are between the ages of 25 and 44, while 22% are between 45 and 64, and 13% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 7% and 12% respectively.[35]: 2
As of 2017, the medianhousehold income in Community District 6 was $112,383.[38] In 2018, an estimated 10% of Kips Bay and East Midtown residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twenty-five residents (4%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 42% in Kips Bay and East Midtown, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Kips Bay and East Midtown are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and notgentrifying.[35]: 7
Within Kips Bay, the area alongFirst Avenue is dominated by the institutional buildings ofNew York University, including Tisch Hospital,NYU College of Dentistry,NYU School of Medicine, andRusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine;Bellevue Hospital Centerteaching hospital, includingHunter College'sBrookdale Health Sciences Center and theAlexandria Center for the Life Sciences; and the Margaret Cochran Corbin Campus, aVA Hospital for theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Further north on First Avenue, inMurray Hill between East 37th and 38th streets, is the formerKips Bay Brewing Company, originally constructed in 1895 and now occupied by offices.[39]
Many businesses in the neighborhood use the neighborhood's name: e.g. Kips Bay Cinemas, Kips Bay Cleaners, Kips Bay Endoscopy Center and the Kips Bay branch of theNew York Public Library.
Since 1965,[5] the area has had a commercial strip mall on Second Avenue between East 30th and 32nd streets, set back from the street by a service road running parallel to Second Avenue. This group of stores is referred to as "Kips Bay Plaza".[40]
New York City's firstmicroapartment tower opened in Kips Bay in 2016. NamedCarmel Place after its location at the intersection of East 27th Street and Mount Carmel Place, the building contains 55 units ranging in size from 260 to 360 square feet (24 to 33 m2) and was constructed usingmodular units prefabricated at theBrooklyn Navy Yard. The project was the winner of a competition sponsored by theNew York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development to design, construct and operate a microapartment building on a city-owned site and pilot the use of compact apartments to accommodate smaller households.[41][42]
Kips Bay is patrolled by two precincts of theNYPD.[43] The 13th Precinct is located at 230 East 21st Street and serves the part of the neighborhood south of 30th Street,[44] while the 17th Precinct is located at 167 East 51st Street and serves the part of the neighborhood north of 30th Street.[45] The 13th and 17th Precincts ranked 57th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The high per-capita crime rate is attributed to the precincts' high number of property crimes.[46] As of 2018[update], with a non-fatal assault rate of 35 per 100,000 people, Kips Bay and East Midtown's rate ofviolent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 180 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.[35]: 8
The 13th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 80.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 18 rapes, 152 robberies, 174 felony assaults, 195 burglaries, 1,376 grand larcenies, and 37 grand larcenies auto in 2018.[47] The 17th Precinct also has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 80.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 0 murders, 13 rapes, 63 robberies, 91 felony assaults, 80 burglaries, 748 grand larcenies, and 26 grand larcenies auto in 2018.[48]
Kips Bay is served by theNew York City Fire Department (FDNY)'s Engine Company 16/Ladder Company 7 fire station, located at 234 East 29th Street.[49][50] Completed in the late 1960s, the fire station consolidated Engine Company 16 (formerly located at223 East 25th Street) and Ladder Company 7 (formerly located at217 East 28th Street) into a single building.[51][52][53]
As of 2018[update],preterm births and births to teenage mothers in Kips Bay and East Midtown are lower than the city average. In Kips Bay and East Midtown, there were 78 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 1.5 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide), though the teenage birth rate was based on a small sample size.[35]: 11 Kips Bay and East Midtown have a low population of residents who areuninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 3%, less than the citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size.[35]: 14
The concentration offine particulate matter, the deadliest type ofair pollutant, in Kips Bay and East Midtown is 0.0102 milligrams per cubic metre (1.02×10−8 oz/cu ft), more than the city average.[35]: 9 Twelve percent of Kips Bay and East Midtown residents aresmokers, which is less than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.[35]: 13 In Kips Bay and East Midtown, 10% of residents areobese, 5% arediabetic, and 18% havehigh blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.[35]: 16 In addition, 7% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[35]: 12
Ninety-one percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 90% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%.[35]: 13 For every supermarket in Kips Bay and East Midtown, there are 7bodegas.[35]: 10
TheBellevue Hospital Center andNYU Langone Health are located in Kips Bay, as is the Margaret Cochran Corbin campus ofVA New York Harbor Healthcare System.[54][55] In addition,Beth Israel Medical Center in Stuyvesant Town operated until 2025.[56]
Kips Bay is located in two primaryZIP Codes. The area south of 26th Street is located in 10010, while the area north of 26th Street is in 10016.[57] TheUnited States Postal Service operates two post offices in Kips Bay:
Kips Bay and East Midtown generally have a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update]. A majority of residents age 25 and older (82%) have a college education or higher, while 3% have less than a high school education and 15% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.[35]: 6 The percentage of Kips Bay and East Midtown students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period.[60]
Kips Bay and East Midtown's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City. In Kips Bay and East Midtown, 8% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days perschool year, less than the citywide average of 20%.[35]: 6 [36]: 24 (PDF p. 55) Additionally, 91% of high school students in Kips Bay and East Midtown graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.[35]: 6
TheNew York City Department of Education operates the following public schools in Kips Bay:[61]
Students in grades 6-8 are zoned to IS 104 Simon Baruch School inGramercy Park.[67]
In addition, theBritish International School of New York is located in Waterside Plaza and theUnited Nations International School is located immediately south of Waterside Plaza.[68][69] as well asRose Hill Montessori Preschool
TheNew York Public Library (NYPL) operates two branches in the neighborhood:
Manhattan Community District 6, which includes Kips Bay, has the lowest ratio of public park space per capita of all community districts in the borough and also ranks second to last among all community districts in New York City with regards to the percentage of district land that is parkland.[73][74] There are three public parks in Kips Bay:
TheEast River Greenway, a waterfront path for walking or cycling, runs along the east side of Kips Bay and forms part of theManhattan Waterfront Greenway.[79]
The nearestNew York City Subway stations are the23rd Street–Baruch College and28th Street stations at Park Avenue South, served by the6 and <6> trains. TheSecond Avenue Subway is expected to eventually expand south to Lower Manhattan and pass through the neighborhood.[80]New York City Bus routes include theM9,M15,M15 SBS,M23 SBS,M34 SBS andM34A SBS.[81]
Kips Bay is served by two ferry landings on the East River, Stuyvesant Cove inStuyvesant Cove Park near East 20th Street and theEast 34th Street Ferry Landing. Stuyvesant Cove is served byNYC Ferry's Soundview route and East 34th Street is served by three NYC Ferry routes (Astoria, East River, and Soundview) as well asSeastreak.[82][83][84][85]
Other transportation facilities in the area include theEast 34th Street Heliport and theNew York Skyports Seaplane Base, the latter of which is located in the East River at the foot of East 23rd Street.
It was a large double structure, with three windows on one side of the door and two on the other, and with an ample wing besides. It was built of brick imported from Holland, and a stone coat of arms of the Kip family projected over the doorway. It was the oldest house on the island when it was demolished in 1851, and Thirty-fifth Street and Second Avenue now pass over its site and give no sign of its existence and story.
Media related toKips Bay, Manhattan at Wikimedia Commons