The neighborhood east of Gramercy Park, south of Murray Hill, north of the East Village and west of the FDR Drive was once called Rose Hill. The “borders” are changing and now it’s part of the Gramercy area. Rose Hill is a pretty name, but it never really caught on. I lived there, once upon time, and always thought the neighborhood was rather nondescript. But the people living there enjoyed their quiet neighborhood. There was much less emphasis on what kind of places were there- restaurants, cafes, museums, galleries, sport clubs, etc.-entertainment wasn’t the high point. It can be an advantage when you live in Manhattan surrounded by neighborhoods just a walk away having a very different flavour.
Rose Hill (let’s call it Rose Hill for now) has more charm now than it ever did. Well, at least in my memory. There’s a busy Housing Works on 23rd Street between Lexington and Third next to the post office, and small shops with staying power line the neighborhood streets. Three hospitals are located in the area on First Avenue- the VA Hospital at 23rd Street, and heading north, Bellevue (with a complete makeover and looking good) and NYU.
Want to explore your creative side? At 209 East 23rd Street is the School of Visual Arts www.schoolofvisualarts.edu . And Baruch College www.baruch.cuny.edu , The City University of New York, is at 151 East 25th Street with a large much-needed new building across the street, the older Baruch buildings are still located on 23rd Street.
Walk to Lexington Avenue and you’ll find a nice selection of Indian stores having all the ingredients necessary to prepare an authentic Indian dish. Don’t want to cook? Check out the Indian, Japanese, French, Chinese, Italian, coffee shops, etc. and enjoy.
All things considered, it’s a good quiet neighborhood, as far as Manhattan neighborhoods go. Trains and buses are easily accessible. Want to walk? Choose your direction and in a very short time, you’ll be in Gramercy Park, Murray Hill, the East Village, Chelsea-keep walking-there’s no telling where you’ll end up.