Real Estate 2001: Neighborhood Profiles

via nymag.com

Once dismissed as a postcollege dormitory for frat types bunking up to save a buck, the Upper East Side, east of Lexington Avenue, has morphed into a neighborhood of nesting professionals. "Once people had the money for more space, they either moved closer to the Park or to the suburbs," says Citi Habitats vice-president Gordon Golub. "Larger apartments were vacant for many weeks—often months—at a time." But once crime rates dropped and the New Economy hit, landlords recognized a demand for more space and began combining smaller apartments into larger ones and rapidly converting rentals into condos.