Pre-colonization, Yorkville was an undeveloped area of forests and streams. In August 1776,George Washington stationed half of hisContinental Army in Manhattan and the other half inBrooklyn. Many troops in the Yorkville area on Manhattan's Upper East Side were in defensive positions along theEast River to protect a possible retreat offLong Island, and to inflict damage on invading land and sea British forces.[5] Following their August 27 defeat in theBattle of Long Island, the Continentals implemented an orderly pivoting retreat in the Yorkville area, leading the enemy to entice the Continentals to fight by piping "Fly Away", about a fox running away from hounds. The Continentals' disciplined northerly retreat led to the successfulBattle of Harlem Heights in September 1776.[6]
In 1815, the Upper East Side was a farmland and market garden district.[7] TheBoston Post Road traversed the Upper East Side, locally called the Eastern Post Road; milepost 6 was near the northeast corner of Third Avenue and 81st Street. From 1833 to 1837 theNew York and Harlem Railroad, one of the earliest railway systems in the United States, was extended through the Upper East Side along Fourth Avenue (later renamedPark Avenue).[8] A hamlet grew near the 86th Street station, becoming the Yorkville neighborhood as gradual yet steady commercial development occurred. The currentstreet grid was laid-out between 1839 and 1844 as part of theCommissioners' Plan of 1811, so the Eastern Post Road was abandoned. The community had been referred to as Yorkville before 1867.[9]
By 1850, a significant proportion of the inhabitants of the area were the Germans and Irish that helped build theCroton Aqueduct.[10] The area was included in the 19th administrative district, whose boundaries were 40th and 86th Street.[11] In 1858,horsecars began running on Second and Third Avenues. After theAmerican Civil War, mansions replacedslums in Yorkville.[11] On December 30, 1878, theIRT Third Avenue Line opened, followed by theIRT Second Avenue Line in August 1879.[12]
For much of the 19th and into the 20th centuries, Yorkville was a mostlyGerman enclave of middle- to working-class families. Over time, many people ofCzech,Slovak,Irish,French Canadian,Polish,Hungarian, andLebanese descent moved in.[13] The neighborhood became more affluent.[14]
From 1880, Yorkville became a destination for German-born immigrants. However, by the 1900s, many German residents moved to Yorkville and other neighborhoods from"Kleindeutschland" (Little Germany) on theLower East Side after theGeneral Slocum disaster on June 15, 1904. The ship caught fire in theEast River just off the shores of Yorkville, leading family members to move closer to the site of the incident.[15] Most of the passengers on the ship were German.[16][17] In addition, the general trend towards moving to the suburbs reduced the German population in Manhattan; by 1930, most German New Yorkers lived inQueens.
On86th Street, in the central portion of Yorkville, there were many German shops, restaurants and bakeries. Yorkville became the melting pot of populations arriving from various regions of the Prussian-dominatedGerman Empire andits colonies, where many cultures spoke German. In the 1930s, the neighborhood was the home base ofFritz Julius Kuhn'sGerman American Bund, the most notorious pro-Nazi group in 1930s United States, which led to spontaneous protests by other residents.[18] Yorkville was a haven for refugees fromNazi Germany in the 1940s, and from refugees from communist regimes in the 1950s and 1960s. The neighborhood is the site of the annualSteuben Parade, a large German-American celebration.[19]
79th Street was a hub for the Austro-Hungarian populace. Popular restaurants included the Viennese Lantern, Tokay, Hungarian Gardens, Robert Heller's Cafe Abbazia at 2nd Avenue,Budapest and the Debrecen.[22] There were also a number of butcher stores and businesses that imported goods from Hungary. Churches includedSt. Stephen Catholic Church and theHungarian Reformed Church on East 82nd Street. In addition,Czechs,Poles andSlovaks lived from 65th to 73rd Street. Besides Ruc, a Czech restaurant offSecond Avenue, Praha on Second Avenue, and Varsata on East 75th, there weresokol halls on 67th and 71st Streets. There were other Czech and Slovak businesses, such as Czech butcher shops, poultry and grocery stores, and shops that sold imported goods such asBohemian books, leather products and crystal.[22]
Around the late 1920s, Yorkville's ethnic diversity was beginning to wane. In 1926, theNew York Times wrote of Yorkville's changing ethnic makeup:
Yorkville, for well-nigh two decades known to connoisseurs of east side life as the exclusive domain of Czechoslovaks, Hungarians and Germans, is slowly giving up its strongly accentuated Central European character and gradually merging into a state of colorless impersonality...[11]
In 1928, a one-block section of Sutton Place north of 59th Street, and all ofAvenue A north of that point, was renamed York Avenue to honor U.S. Army SergeantAlvin York, who received theMedal of Honor for attacking a German machine gun nest during World War I'sMeuse-Argonne Offensive.[23][24][25]
In March 1936, theGerman American Bund established its headquarters on East 85th Street in Yorkville. This pro-Nazi anti-Semitic organization organized parades, rallies and summer camps for children and families and worked to keep America out of the war, to the benefit of Germany. Their1939 rally inMadison Square Garden drew more than 10,000 Nazis and sympathizers. They were forced to disband after Germany declared war on the United States in December 1941.[26][27][28]
The dismantling of theThird Avenue El in 1955 led to the demolition of many mansions. This led to the acceleration of the exodus of Yorkville residents. Over the years, this trend continued. Thus, in the 1980s, a building for members of the German gymnastic societyTurners, at the intersection of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, was demolished. Cafe Mozart, on 86th Street between Second and Third Avenues, was also demolished. In their place were built high-rise residential complexes.[12][22]
By the turn of the 21st century, East 82nd Street was co-named St. Stephen of Hungary Way. The area from East 79th to 83rd Streets, spanning approximately four blocks east-west, is colloquially known as Little Hungary.[29]
Based on data from the2020 United States Census, the population of Yorkville was 84,046, an increase of 6,104 (7.8%) from the 77,942 counted in 2010. Covering an area of 319.14 acres (129.15 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 263.35 inhabitants per acre (168,540/sq mi).[3]
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 70.9% (59,630)white, 3.5% (2,968)African American, 11.2% (9,425)Asian, 0.7% (572) fromother races, and 3.9% (3,252) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 9.8% (8,199) of the population.[3]
The racial composition of Yorkville changed moderately from 2000 to 2010. The most significant changes were the increase in the Asian population by 41% (2,117), the increase in the Hispanic / Latino population by 18% (1,024), and the decrease in the white population by 4% (2,201). The Black population increased by 2% (64) and remained small, as did the population of all other races, which increased by 11% (170).[30]
The median income for a household in Yorkville is almost twice the average for the city, at $85,724.[31]
Yorkville is patrolled by the 19th Precinct of theNYPD, located at 153 East 67th Street.[32] The 19th Precinct ranked 14th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[33] The 19th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.2% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported two murders, 12 rapes, 229 robberies, 173 felony assaults, 278 burglaries, 1,724 grand larcenies, and 192 grand larcenies auto in 2022.[34]
Yorkville is located in three primaryZIP Codes. From south to north, they are 10075 (between 76th and 80th Streets), 10028 (between 80th and 86th Streets), and 10128 (north of 86th Street). In addition, 500 East 77th Street in Yorkville has its own ZIP Code, 10162.[38] TheUnited States Postal Service operates three post offices in Yorkville:
TheLycée Français de New York is located on East 75th Street between York andEast End Avenues. Further north, East Side Middle School is located on 91st Street between First and Second Avenues. The Trevor Day School is located four blocks north, on 95th Street between First and Second Avenues.
TheNew York Public Library (NYPL) operates two branches near Yorkville. TheYorkville branch is located at 222 East 79th Street. The branch, a Carnegie library, opened in 1902 and was renovated in 1986–1987. The three-story space is listed on theNew York State Register of Historic Places and theNational Register of Historic Places.[44] The Webster branch is located at 1465 York Avenue. The branch was founded in 1893 as the Webster Free Library, and the current Carnegie library structure opened in 1906.[45]
Eastern Yorkville had historically been far from any subway connections, and had among the farthest walks in Manhattan to any subway stations.[13] From 2007 to 2017, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority built the Second Avenue Subway's 86th Street and 96th Street stations, leading to increased residential construction and real estate prices in advance of the opening of the new subway line.[49]
Yorkville is served byNYC Ferry's Soundview and Astoria routes, which stop at 90th Street.[50] The service started operating on August 15, 2018.[51][52]
TheMunicipal Asphalt Plant was constructed in 1941.[55] Asphalt Green, a fitness center, opened in the building in 1984.[56]
The 91st Street Marine Transfer Station[57] is a controversialwaste transfer plant next to Asphalt Green, onYork Avenue. The waste facility was supported by New York City mayorsBill de Blasio[58] andMichael Bloomberg. The waste facility has been criticized by some area residents.[59]
On 86th Street and 3rd Avenue, the firstPapaya King opened in 1932 and closed in 2023.[60]
Ruppert Yorkville Towers were built as an urban renewal project on the site of the oldJacob Ruppert Brewing Co., which closed in the 1960s. It is a two-building complex stretching from 90th to 92nd Streets, between Second and Third Avenue.[61]
Bob Cousy (born 1928), professional basketball player[62]
James Cagney (1899–1986), actor, grew up in the neighborhood[18]
The Culkin family, several of whom are prominent actors, includingMacaulay,Kieran, andRory. The family lived in a small apartment on East 94th St. and attended Mass at the nearbySt. Joseph Church during the 1980s[63][64]
Julia Fox (born 1990), artist, model, and actress, moved to Yorkville to live with her father at age 6[65]
Jay Henry (born 1996), musician of New York dance projectHeadfooter, grew up on 85th St. and East End Ave.
Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), Major League Baseball player, was born at 309 East 94th Street[66]
Janet Malcolm (1934-2021), Journalist and nonfiction writer, discusses growing up in the Czech émigré community of Yorkville in the 1940s inStill Pictures:On Photography and Memory (2023).[73]
Martin J. Scott (1865–1954), Jesuit author who was a priest at St. Ignatius Loyola Church from 1902 to 1915
Georgette Seabrooke (1916–2011), muralist, artist, illustrator, art therapist, non-profit chief executive and educator, who is best known for her 1936 mural,Recreation in Harlem atHarlem Hospital Center[80]
Robert F. Wagner (1877–1953), U.S. Senator, after whom the middle school at 220 East 76th Street is named[81]
^Collins, Glenn (June 8, 2004)."A 100-Year-Old Horror, Through 9/11 Eyes; In the Sinking of the Slocum, a Template For the Arc of a City's Grief and Recovery".The New York Times. RetrievedNovember 20, 2007.The disaster helped accelerate the flight of Germans from the Lower East Side to Yorkville and other neighborhoods, although there were other motivations as well. 'The very dense old housing on the Lower East Side was no longer attractive to upwardly mobile Germans,' said Dr. John Logan, director of the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at the State University of New York at Albany.
^Strausbaugh, John (September 14, 2007)."Paths of Resistance in the East Village".The New York Times. RetrievedDecember 29, 2007.On June 15, 1904, about 1,200 people from St. Mark'sEvangelical Lutheran Church (323 Sixth Street, betweenFirst andSecond Avenues, the site of the Community Synagogue since 1940) died when the steamship the General Slocum, taking them on a day trip up the East River, burned. It was the deadliest disaster in the city beforeSept. 11, 2001. It traumatized the community and hastened residents' flight to uptown areas like Yorkville.
^Pollak, Michael."F. Y. I.",The New York Times, August 7, 2005. Accessed October 16, 2007. "In 1928, Sutton Place from 59th to 60th Street, and Avenue A north of 60th, were renamed York Avenue in honor of Sgt. Alvin C. York (1887–1964), a World War I hero from Tennessee and a recipient of the Medal of Honor."
^Hughes, C.J."Yorkville Bets on the Second Avenue Subway",The New York Times, April 8, 2016. Accessed May 18, 2016. "But the new subway stations at East 72nd, East 86th and East 96th Streets, and the expanded one at East 63rd, seem to be having an equalizing effect on prices in what used to be more of a cotton socks district."
^Gracie Mansion,Historic House Trust. Accessed August 4, 2025. "In 1799, a prosperous merchant named Archibald Gracie built a country house overlooking a sleepy, scenic bend on the East River, five miles north of what was then New York City. Now, his home is one of the oldest surviving wood structures in Manhattan and the official residence of New York City’s Mayor."
^Gendron, Nico (July 27, 2017)."The Many Lives of Julia Fox",Office Magazine. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Accessed February 29, 2024. "Fox didn't always like to be photographed. She was raised in Yorkville in the 90's, a neighborhood on the Upper East Side that has since been gentrified."
^Bierut, Michael."Helmut Krone, Period.",Design Observer, August 23, 2006. Accessed May 20, 2016. "Challis's book is filled with this kind of detail. Born in 1925 to immigrant parents in Yorkville, Manhattan's German enclave, he attended the High School for Industrial Art, where he hoped to become a product designer."
^"Comedy Wizard Dies at 72",St. Petersburg Times, December 5, 1967. Accessed May 20, 2016. "Born Bert Lahrheim to an immigrant German family in New York's Yorkville section, Lahr dropped out of school at 15 and joined a child vaudeville troupe."
^Malcolm, Janet (2023).Still Pictures: On Photography and Memory (1st ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 9–42.ISBN978-0374605131.
^Georgette Seabrook Powell,The HistoryMakers, November 8, 2006. Accessed May 20, 2016. "Art therapist, non-profit chief executive, and painter Georgette Ernestine Seabrooke Powell was born on August 2, 1916 in Charleston, South Carolina to Anna and George Seabrooke. Powell grew up in the Yorkville neighborhood of New York City."
^Adams, Frank S."Senator Robert F. Wagner and the Rise of American Liberalism. By J. Joseph Huthmacher. 362 pages. Atheneum. $10.", End Papers,The New York Times, December 20, 1968. Accessed May 20, 2016. "How Bob Wagner, who came here as a boy of 9 from his native Germany and grew up in Yorkville, where his father was a janitor, became one of the key members of the New Deal and helped shape the basic labor-industrial relationships that still exist today is told in great detail in this sound but not very lively book by a Rutgers history professor."
^Carlson, Jen."How Much Is Barney Stinson's East 81st Street Apartment?",Gothamist, February 23, 2012. Accessed August 4, 2025. "In the past we've looked at some unrealistic tv show (and movie) apartments, so how does Barney Stinson's Manhattan bachelor pad stack up?... The apartment is located in Yorkville, at East 81st Street and 1st Avenue, where a much more modest 2-bedroom rents for around $2,300 a month, and a 3-bedroom condo goes for around $1.6 million."
United States
New York
