What the Neighbors ThinkA five-borough, 5,000-person poll.

In the last few weeks, we pounded the pavement of nine neighborhoods—the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, the Lower East Side, Central Harlem, the West Village, Astoria, Williamsburg, Melrose in the Bronx, and St. George in Staten Island—to survey nearly a thousand residents about their attitudes, lifestyles, and Yankees/Mets preferences. We cast a wider net online, posting the poll on our Daily Intel and Grub Street blogs, and received over 4,000 completed surveys. Then we conducted some highly unscientific (which is to say, statistically bogus) number-crunching.* Some results confirmed the obvious, but others seemed more revealing. If you’ve ever wondered who your neighbors are—what they think about Wall Street, God, organic food, and therapy—read on.

*A f E W C AV E AT S : O U r O n L I n E r E S p O n D E n T S S k E W E D f E M A L E A n D U n D E r 4 0 , W H I L E O U r n I n E n E I G H B O r H O O D S T r E E T p O L L S H A D A M O r E E V E n A G E - A n D -G E n D E r D I S T r I B U T I O n. W E C O M B I n E D A n S W E r S I n M O S T C A S E S . W E D I D n O T C O U n T n E I G H B O r H O O D S W I T H U n D E r 5 0 O n L I n E r E S p O n S E S . W E C O U n T E D S TAT E n I S L A n D A S O n E M E G A n A B E , S I n C E O U r p O L L WA S C O n D U C T E D I n A n D A r O U n D T H E f E r rY T E r M I n A L , G A r n E r I n G r E S p O n D E n T S f r O M A L L O V E r T H E B O r O U G H .

West VillageAstoria

Williamsburg

Upper West Side

Upper East Side

Chelsea

Staten Island

Melrose

Morningside Heights

Lower East Side

Harlem

where would residents from each neighborhood most like to move?

most obama supporters most bloomberg supporters

87%

Murray Hill34%

Harlem

86%

40%

Tribeca

highest percentage of less

votes

Midtown East

should wall street be regulated more or less?

highest percentage of more

votes

Prospect Heights

95%

should same-sex marriage be legal?

highest percentage of

yesvotes

Carroll Gardens/Gowanus

highest percentage of

novotes

Melrose

fewest obama supporters fewest bloomberg supporters

97%

of Fort Greene/ Clinton Hill

are self-described

liberals.

36.

%

The mostconservativeneighborhood is Midtown East,

at

Melrose

31%of all respondents would move to the west village if money were no object

Tribeca

Financial District

40%

99% 50%

Harlem

The Lower

East Sideis the

thirdgayestneighborhoodin New York.

Bested, obviously,

by Chelsea (#1) and the

West Village (#2).

biggest Yankees fans

biggest mets fans

Greenpoint

There are a higher

percentage of self-declared

atheistsin

Greenpointthan anywhere

else in the city.

Fewest immigrants

Central Greenwich Village

10%Most immigrants

Astoria

43%

East Village

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Cobble Hill–Boerum Hill (96% say they’re happy)

TribecaUpper WestSide

Harlem

Gramercy-Flatiron

Prospect Heights

Lower East Side

Staten Island

Carroll Gardens–Gowanus

What do you love most about your neighborhood?

Greenpoint

highest concentration

of dog owners in manhattan

Lower East Side

highest concentration

of dog owners in brooklYn

lowest concentration of dog owners

anYwhere in new York

Cobble Hill–Boerum Hill

The Lower East

Sidehas the highest

concentration of

unmarried couples.

“This is where the

new Yorkers who run the world live.”

—upper east side

“Where else can you pick up a dime

bag, an eager Columbia

undergrad, and a bagel

within a seven-block radius?”

—morningsideheights

“feweryuppies than

the Slope.”—windsor terrace

“I pay nothing for my huge apartment.”

—bedford-stuyvesant

“The mobkeeps it safe.”

—carroll gardens

“The weirdos.” —red hook

“Sunday mornings don’t have the

hung-over feeling of downtown.

people are actually

happy to be alive.”

—upper east side

“Hearing opera singers practicing.”

—inwood

“Authentic Thai, Chinese, Malaysian,

Vietnamese, Colombian,

Mexican, Argentine, Filipino,

and Indian food.” —elmhurst

“Boy-watching.”

—chelsea

“Bird- watching.”

—staten island

Who’s Happiest?

2

More Upper East Siders take a taxi to work (8%)—and more West Villagers bike (5%)—than any other neighborhood.

Sohohas the highest

concentration of

singles.

22% 20%

6%

CentralGreenwich

Village

East Village

Fort Greene–Clinton Hill

Williamsburg

Soho

Park Slope

Astoria

Greenpoint

MidtownEast (13% say they’re unhappy)

Half of all Morningside Heights respondents have been in therapy, making it either the most self-actualized or most neurotic neighborhood in the city.

Cobble Hill–Boerum Hillhas the highest

concentration of

married couples.

Murray Hill:What the Upper East Side used to be.

50%of Melrose households

lost a jobrecently, and

28%

don’t have health

insurance.

34%of Staten Island

respondents—more than anywhere else

in the city—saythey feel “somewhat

unsafe to very frightened”

walking home after dark.

Tribeca postedthe city’s highest

percentage of

millionaires,and the highest

percentage

(21%)of those who always

buyorganic

food.

for decades, the Upper East Side has had a reputation for being the least diverse, most straitlaced, farthest-from-bohemia neighborhood in Manhattan. perhaps no longer. Our polls suggest that Murray Hill is outpacing its uptown neighbor as the borough’s primary outlier. A demographic glance:

89% are native to the U.S. (compared to 80% in the Upper East

Side), and both neighborhoods

are 83% white.

85% think Mike Bloomberg

is good for new York (second

only to Tribeca, and 3% higher

than the mayor’s neighbors).

28% describe themselves

as conservative—5% more

than on the Upper East Side.

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And by the way, only 20%

have visited a therapist (fewer than any other

neighborhood in new York).

96% are straight (more than any other

neighborhood in new York).

66 n e w y o r k | a p r i l 1 9 , 2 0 1 0 a p r i l 1 9 , 2 0 1 0 | n e w y o r k 67

Melrose

where can each of the movies nominated for a best picture oscar find its biggest fans?

Who goes out?What do you like least about your neighborhood?

Who works out?

“Momageddon.”—park slope

“We don’t have a movie theater.”

—williamsburg

“It’s impossible to find an egg-and-

cheese when you’re hung over.”

—fort greene–clinton hill

“The lack of green.” —greenpoint

“no one wants to visit, because they think I live

in the Bronx.”—inwood

“No one flirts.” —upper east side

“The liberals.” —upper west side

“It’s turning into Meatpacking

2.0.” —lower east side

“The guys who aggressively

attempt to hand out flyers on all major streets. It’s like live-

action spam.” —astoria

“It feels like I never left Long

Island.”—murray hill

“We have tons of rats, urban

woodsmen, and other garbage.”

—nolita

“The disturbing prevalence of

bedbugs.” —midtown west

“Came home to four stray cats in my

kitchen this week. Can’t wait for

my lease to be up.” —bushwick

“It’s become a police state.”

—melrose

And almost half of Harlem and Staten Island

respondents say they never drink.

how manY drinks drunk per week?

EastVillage

9.2 Tribeca...9.1 Nolita...9 Soho...8.5

Williamsburg...7.9 Park Slope...7.7

Lower East Side...7.5 Chelsea...7.1

Carroll Gardens...6.8

Upper East Side...6.6

Brooklyn Heights...6.2 Upper West Side...6

Astoria...5.4 Cobble Hill...3.5

Harlem...3.4 Staten Island...2.7

an education

Melrose

Staten Island

Harlem

Astoria

Upper West Side

The seven most gym-going neighborhoods are all in Manhattan (Tribeca, Midtown East, Chelsea … ), and the nine least are in the outer boroughs ( … Astoria, Greenpoint, and Melrose).

most noise complaints

Plus a few more neighborhood snapshotsaccording to Census data, city reports, and other more-or-less official stats:

whites Tottenville-Annadale, Staten Island ..................... 92%

african-americans Flatbush ............................................90.2%

asians Flushing-Whitestone ..............................................43.6%

hispanics/latinos Washington Heights–Inwood ........72.1%

single men Chelsea–Midtown West–Flatiron ...............74.7%

single women Morrisania, the Bronx ..............................79.4%

neighborhoods where the average respondent goes out more nights than not:

Central Greenwich VillageWilliamsburg Financial DistrictEast Village

The neighborhood with the highest campaign contributions to

John McCain was the Upper East Side ($2.6 million), and the one with the lowest was

Cambira Heights ($0).

Barack Obama’s biggest haul came from the Upper West Side ($10.3 million), and his smallest came from South Ozone Park

(where a lone supporter donated a total of $500).

1

2

3

4

inglourious basterds

avatar the blind side district 9

the hurt locker precious up a serious man up in the air

Carroll Gardens–Gowanus

and 21% of Midtown East respondents saw none of them.

Nolita Staten Island Harlem

MelroseLower EastSide

Park Slope Nolita Midtown West

highest percentage of …

most rodent complaints

most religious institutions

Bedford-Stuyvesant

203

in the 2008 election …

and 18% of Soho goes out five times a week.

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Who stays home?percentage of respondents who go out once a week or less:

48%

41%

35%

25%

20%

Bedford-Stuyvesant

approximately

794last fiscal year

2,456last fiscal year

Upper East Side