Midtown Manhattan


Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, the headquarters of the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, and Rockefeller Center, as well as tourist destinations such as Broadway and Times Square.
Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the world and ranks among the most expensive pieces of real estate; Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan commands the world's highest retail rents, with average annual rents at US in 2017. However, due to the high price of retail spaces in Midtown, there are also many vacant storefronts in the neighborhood. Midtown is the country's largest commercial, entertainment, and media center, and also a growing financial center.
The majority of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, are in Midtown. The area hosts commuters and residents working in its offices, hotels, and retail establishments, tourists and students. Times Square, the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, is a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Sixth Avenue also has the headquarters of three of the four major U.S. television networks.
Midtown is part of Manhattan Community District 5. It is patrolled by the 14th and 18th Precincts of the New York City Police Department.

Location

Geographically, the northern boundary of Midtown Manhattan is commonly defined to be 59th Street; its southern boundary is less clear, and variously taken to be 34th Street, 23rd Street, or even 14th Street. Midtown spans the entire island of Manhattan along an east–west axis, bounded by the East River on its east and the Hudson River to its west. The Encyclopedia of New York City defines Midtown as extending from 34th Street to 59th Street and from 3rd Avenue to 8th Avenue.

Neighborhoods

In addition to its central business district, Midtown Manhattan encompasses many neighborhoods, including Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea on the West Side, and Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Turtle Bay, and Gramercy Park on the East Side. It is sometimes broken into "Midtown East" and "Midtown West", or north and south as in the New York City Police Department's Midtown North and Midtown South precincts.
Neighborhoods in the Midtown area include the following:
Midtown is the original district in the United States to bear the name and included historical but now defunct neighborhoods such as the Ladies' Mile, along Fifth Avenue from 14th to 23rd Street; and the Tenderloin, from 23rd to 42nd Street and from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue.

Landmarks

Important streets and thoroughfares
The border of Midtown Manhattan is nebulous and further confused by the fact that the term "Midtown Manhattan" can be used to refer either to a district or a group of neighborhoods and districts in Manhattan:

Economy

Midtown Manhattan, along with Lower Manhattan, is one of the world's leading financial centers.

Corporate headquarters

Midtown Manhattan is the world's largest central business district, with 400 million square feet of office space in 2018. Midtown contains the headquarters of major companies, including 4Kids Entertainment, Barnes & Noble, Bloomberg L.P., Ernst & Young, Calvin Klein, Cantor Fitzgerald, CBS Corporation, Citigroup, Colgate-Palmolive, Cushman & Wakefield, DC Comics, Deloitte, Duane Reade, Estée Lauder Companies, Foot Locker, Frederator Studios, JPMorgan Chase, Hess Corporation, Kroll Inc., L-3 Communications, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Marvel Entertainment, MetLife, MidOcean Partners, Morgan Stanley, NBC Universal, The New York Times Company, NexCen Brands, Pfizer, Polo Ralph Lauren, Saks Incorporated, The Sharper Image, Simon & Schuster, Six Flags, TBWA Worldwide, Telemundo, Thomson Reuters, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, The Travelers Companies, Univision Communications, and Viacom. The New York Institute of Finance is located in Midtown Manhattan.

Foreign subsidiary operations

operates its United States offices in the Haier Building at 1356 Broadway; the building used to be a building of the Greenwich Savings Bank. Haier held the opening ceremony on March 4, 2002. Sumitomo Corporation operates its New York Office, the headquarters of the corporation's United States operations, at 600 Third Avenue, 10016 in the Murray Hill neighborhood. El Al's North American headquarters are in Midtown. The Air France USA regional headquarters are in 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Hachette Book Group USA has its headquarters in 237 Park Avenue. In 1994 Alitalia considered moving its USA headquarters from Midtown to Lower Manhattan, but decided to keep the offices where they were at the last minute. Global Infrastructure Partners has an office in Midtown Manhattan.

Tech and biotech

, the common metonym for New York City's high tech sector, is based in Midtown South, specifically the Flatiron District. Prominent Silicon Alley companies in Midtown include AppNexus, Blue Apron, Gilt, Betterment, Oscar, SoFi, Rent the Runway, Warby Parker, and WeWork. The technology sector has been expanding across Midtown Manhattan since 2010. The biotechnology sector is also growing in Midtown Manhattan based upon the city's strength in academic scientific research and public and commercial financial support. By mid-2014, Accelerator, a biotech investment firm, had raised more than US$30 million from investors, including Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, for initial funding to create biotechnology startups at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, which encompasses more than on East 29th Street and promotes collaboration among scientists and entrepreneurs at the center and with nearby academic, medical, and research institutions.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation's Early Stage Life Sciences Funding Initiative and venture capital partners, including Celgene, General Electric Ventures, and Eli Lilly, committed a minimum of US$100 million to help launch 15 to 20 ventures in life sciences and biotechnology.

Real estate

Real estate is a major force in Midtown Manhattan's economy, and indeed the city's, as the total value of all New York City property was estimated at US$914.8 billion for the 2015 fiscal year. Manhattan has perennially been home to some of the nation's, as well as the world's, most marketable real estate, including the Time Warner Center, which had the highest-listed market value in the city in 2006 at US$1.1 billion, to be subsequently surpassed in October 2014 by the Waldorf Astoria New York, which became the most expensive hotel ever sold after being purchased by the Anbang Insurance Group, based in China, for. When 450 Park Avenue was sold on July 2, 2007, for US$510 million, about US$1,589 per square foot, it broke the barely month-old record for an American office building of US$1,476 per square foot based on the sale of 660 Madison Avenue. In 2014, Manhattan was home to six of the top ten zip codes in the United States by median housing price. In 2019, the most expensive home sale ever in the United States achieved completion in Midtown Manhattan, at a selling price of US$238 million, for a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park.

Broadway theatre

According to The Broadway League, shows on Broadway sold approximately US$1.27 billion worth of tickets in the 2013–2014 season, an increase of 11.4% from US$1.139 billion in the 2012–2013 season; attendance in 2013-2014 stood at 12.21 million, a 5.5% increase from the 2012–2013 season's 11.57 million.

Former economic operations

Companies that used to have their headquarters in Midtown Manhattan include American Airlines, American Comics Group, American Overseas Airlines, Central Park Media, Eastern Air Lines, GoodTimes Entertainment, LJN, NewKidCo, Pan American World Airways, Philip Morris Companies, Trans Caribbean Airways, and Trans World Airlines. In 1997, Aer Lingus announced that it was moving its North American headquarters from Midtown to Melville, New York, in Suffolk County on Long Island.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Midtown Manhattan was 28,630, a change of 2,823 from the 25,807 counted in 2000. Covering an area of, the neighborhood had a population density of. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 64.1% White, 4.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 20.8% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.1% of the population.
The entirety of Community District 5, which comprises Midtown Manhattan, had 53,120 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.8 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality are between the ages of 25–44, while 22% are between 45–64, and 13% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 7% and 12% respectively.
As of 2017, the median household income in Community Districts 4 and 5 was $101,981, though the median income in Midtown individually was $120,854. In 2018, an estimated 11% of Midtown Manhattan residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twenty residents were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 41% in Midtown Manhattan, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Midtown Manhattan is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

Police and crime

Midtown Manhattan is patrolled by two precincts of the NYPD. Midtown North is patrolled by the 18th Precinct, located at 306 West 54th Street, while Midtown South is patrolled by the 14th Precinct, located at 357 West 35th Street. The precincts ranked 69th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The high per-capita crime rate can be attributed to the low population of the area, as well as the high number of crimes committed against tourists. With a non-fatal assault rate of 25 per 100,000 people, Midtown Manhattan's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 297 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.
The 18th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 84.2% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 3 murders, 21 rapes, 130 robberies, 190 felony assaults, 175 burglaries, 1,875 grand larcenies, and 31 grand larcenies auto in 2018. The 14th Precinct also has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 88.6% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 0 murders, 19 rapes, 150 robberies, 199 felony assaults, 210 burglaries, 2,005 grand larcenies, and 23 grand larcenies auto in 2018.

Fire safety

The main part of midtown Manhattan, between 34th and 59th Streets from Lexington Avenue to Eighth Avenue, is served by five fire stations of the New York City Fire Department :
The greater Midtown area between 14th Street and 59th Street contains seven additional fire stations.

Health

and teenage births in Midtown Manhattan are lower than the city average. In Midtown Manhattan, there were 67 preterm births per 1,000 live births, and 4 teenage births per 1,000 live births. Midtown Manhattan has a low population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 11%, slightly less than the citywide rate of 12%.
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Midtown Manhattan is, more than the city average. Eleven percent of Midtown Manhattan residents are smokers, which is less than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Midtown Manhattan, 10% of residents are obese, 5% are diabetic, and 18% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 9% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Ninety-one percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 86% of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," more than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Midtown Manhattan, there are 11 bodegas.
The nearest major hospitals are Beth Israel Medical Center in Stuyvesant Town, as well as the Bellevue Hospital Center and NYU Langone Medical Center in Kips Bay, and NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital in the Upper East Side.

Post offices and ZIP Codes

Midtown Manhattan is located within six primary ZIP Codes. West of Fifth Avenue, Midtown is located in 10018 between 34th and 41st Streets, 10036 between 41st and 48th Streets, and 10019 between 48th and 59th Streets. East of Fifth Avenue, Midtown is located in 10016 between 34th and 40th Streets, 10017 between 40th and 49th Streets, and 10022 between 49th and 59th Streets. The area southwest of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, sometimes considered to be in Midtown, is part of 10001. Other areas between 14th and 34th Streets are covered by ZIP Codes 10003, 10009, 10010, and 10011, though these are generally not considered to be part of Midtown proper. There are also thirty-three ZIP Codes assigned to individual buildings or building complexes.
The United States Postal Service operates six post offices in Midtown:
In addition, the James A. Farley Station, the city's main post office, is located at 421 8th Avenue. The post office stopped 24-hour service in 2009 due to decreasing mail traffic.

Education

Midtown Manhattan generally has a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city. A majority of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, while 6% have less than a high school education and 17% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Midtown Manhattan students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011 and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period.
Midtown Manhattan's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City. In Midtown Manhattan, 19% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 92% of high school students in Midtown Manhattan graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools

There are no public elementary or middle schools in Midtown.
The New York City Department of Education operates the following public high schools in Midtown, serving grades 9-12:
Private schools include The Beekman School, Rebecca School, and a number of private languages and music centers. The La Scuola d'Italia Guglielmo Marconi Italian international school moved to West Midtown in 2016.

Libraries

The New York Public Library operates two reference branches in Midtown. The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is a reference branch at 476 Fifth Avenue. The four-story building, constructed in 1911, is known worldwide for its architecture and has several million items in its collections. The Science, Industry and Business Library is located at 188 Madison Avenue. SIBL, created in 1996, contains a large collection of business-related materials.
There are also five circulating branches in Midtown:
Two campuses of the City University of New York —the doctorate-granting CUNY Graduate Center and the Stella and Charles Guttman Community College—are located in Midtown, while Baruch College, also of the City University of New York, is located in Midtown South. Mercy College is situated at Herald Square.

Transportation

and Grand Central Terminal are the two major railroad stations located in Midtown Manhattan. Penn Station serves Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the Long Island Rail Road, while Grand Central serves the Metro-North Railroad and will serve the LIRR in the future. Penn Station is considered to be the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere, servicing around 650,000 people per day.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is located at Eighth Avenue and 41st Street at the western edge of Midtown. The terminal is the largest in the United States and busiest in the world by volume of traffic, serving more than 65 million people per year.
The New York City Subway and MTA Regional Bus Operations each operate several routes that go through Midtown. Additionally, the PATH train to New Jersey terminates at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown.
Traffic congestion is common, especially for crosstown traffic. In 2011, a new system of traffic light control, known as "Midtown in Motion" was announced, with the aim of reducing traffic congestion. Approximately 750,000 vehicles enter Midtown Manhattan on a fall business day. According to the 2011 Traffic Data Report for New York State, 777,527 vehicles a day went through select toll facilities into Manhattan.

Government infrastructure

The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, is located in the Rose Hill section of Midtown Manhattan. The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration operates its New York office on the 22nd floor at 135 West 50th Street.

Diplomatic missions

Several countries, including Argentina, The Bahamas, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Ukraine, have consulates-general in Midtown Manhattan accredited to the United States. In addition, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office of the Republic of China is in Midtown Manhattan.

Citations