Midtown East

While neighborhoods may seem to become hot-or-not at the drop of a hat, waterfront property retains its mystique through the ages. Open river and bridge views are a rare and covetable amenity that can’t be brought in with high-end consultants or approximated by joining a gym on the next block. These two homes on Beekman Place, an East Side enclave of pre-war apartment buildings and stately townhouses that has long been considered the essence of understated Manhattan elegance, form part of an enviable row of buildings along the East River possessed of waterfront living on one side and Manhattan excitement on the other. The tree-shaded block-long street near the United Nations and Peter Detmold Park, minutes from bustling Midtown, is often overlooked, yet no less magical should you find yourself on it–the New York Times recently called it, "about as far off the beaten path as one can get in Manhattan." On the market now are a $13 million duplex, complete with a raised deck that elevates the view to peerless, and a 12th-floor gem on the same short street asking a more palatable $1.5 million, also with panoramic river views and a smaller, but no less lovable deck from which to watch the ships pass in the night–or day.
Get an eyeful of these waterfront vistas this way