East Village

Whether you associate the East Village with immigrants and tenements or artists and punk rockers, the once grungy area has scrubbed itself up and emerged as one of the most desirable neighborhoods for the under-30 set.

Though the nabe still pulses with nightlife -- mostly of the bar and restaurant sort -- and walkups and tenements still constitute much of the real estate, the East Village gets glassier by the year. New construction is largely of the boutique sort -- though notable exceptions include the 77-unit Toll Brothers' condo, One Ten Third and the 21-story Gwathmey Siegel-designed Astor Place (445 Lafayette St.), where prices started at $3 million, a neighborhood record -- and attracts increasingly well-to-do buyers.

Nothing quite illustrates the transformation of the East Village like the makeover the once-gritty Bowery has received. Formerly downtown's version of Skid Row (and an incubator for punk rock -- until legendary club CBGBs closed in late 2006), the Bowery is now cleaned up and boasting a spate of new condos -- including 57 Bond Street, a 2003 loft project that led the pack -- as well as upscale rentals like Avalon Bowery Place (11 E. 1st St.).

PLAN B: RENT

WOULD-BE SELLERS WAIT OUT THE MARKET

January 08, 2009 -

Back in 1995, when a savvy buyer could get New York City real estate for a song and Alphabet City was still a frontier, Karl Peterson bought the second floor of 434 E. 10th St. between avenues C...more >

TAKE A BOWERY

GRITTY DOWNTOWN TURNS GLAM

December 18, 2008 -

THE Bowery's reputation is well-known. Originally a bucolic country lane leading to Peter Stuyvesant's farmhouse, the street took a downhill slide some 150 years ago and has been an...more >

EAST VILLAGE

$775,000

October 30, 2008 -

Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Square feet: 715 Maintenance: $1,069 -- This 18th-floor co-op on East Ninth Street offers "fabulous views" and "incredible sunlight," thanks to the...more >

EAST VILLAGE

$1.395 MILLION

October 16, 2008 -

Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Square feet: 1,450 Maintenance: $1,959 -- This rare (for the East Village, anyway) full-service, prewar loft on Fourth Avenue offers "breathtaking" 14-foot...more >

FANCY THAT

DESIGN ICON GLAMS UP DOWNTOWN

October 16, 2008 -

Two Thursdays ago was a big night for renowned interior designer Carleton Varney. Uptown, at tony Bergdorf Goodman, he was feted by assorted society swells who gathered in their finery to...more >

EAST VILLAGE

$1.275 MILLION

August 14, 2008 -

Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Square feet: 715 Common charges: $375 Don't balk at the square footage - it doesn't include the more than 250 square feet of private landscaped roof deck...more >

EAST VILLAGE

$815,000

August 07, 2008 -

Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Square feet: 700 Common charges: $299 -- Located in a townhouse on East Fifth Street, near Cooper Square, this "triple-mint" condo is "utterly...more >

EAST VILLAGE

$1.995 MILLION

July 10, 2008 -

Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2 Square feet: 1,450 Maintenance: $730 -- This penthouse co-op in a prewar townhouse really is an oasis, inside and out. Set on a tree-lined stretch of East Seventh...more >