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Among the New York City neighborhoods typically described as “desirable,” Beekman is in a category of its own.
Occupying a small cluster of city blocks in the Turtle Bay section of Midtown East—with First Ave. to west, E. 52nd St. to the north, the East River to east and Mitchell Place (or E. 49th St.) to the south—Beekman is more of a neighborhood within a neighborhood. But according to Douglas Elliman agents Stephen Geller and David Menendez, its diminutive footprint is key to what makes it uniquely desirable.
“Beekman is a charming, quiet little enclave, just steps from Midtown Manhattan,” said Geller. “And yet, it feels a world away.”
Given its proximity to the United Nations headquarters two blocks south, he added, the nearby embassies and diplomatic residences—in addition to the relative scarcity of cars and traffic—makes Beekman “feel almost like a small bit of Europe in the middle of Manhattan.”
Located on the onetime site of Mount Pleasant, the Beekman family mansion built in the 1760s by James Beekman, the neighborhood is steeped in American history. While using the mansion as their headquarters during the Revolutionary War, the British army tried American spy Nathan Hale. In the centuries since, numerous luminaries have made their home there, from John D. Rockefeller and Irving Berlin to media tycoons William S. Paley and S.I. Newhouse.
The heart of the neighborhood is Beekman Place, a two-block stretch, from Mitchell Place up to E. 51st St., lined with architectural gems, including One Beekman Place (designed by Sloan & Robertson and Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray), The Luxembourg House (at 17 Beekman Place) and 23 Beekman Place, where Modernist architect Paul Rudolph built a four-story penthouse.
“You feel as if you’ve stepped into a Turner Classic Movie from the Golden Age,” said Menendez of the architecture.
Local Loyalties
Although Le Perigord, the neighborhood’s beloved French classic, closed several years back, Geller and Menendez noted a number of local favorites that Beekman residents are proud to patronize, from mainstays like Ideal Cheese (“one of the best cheese mongers in NYC,” since 1954) and La Villetta to newer attractions like Deux Amis and Copinette.
“These are the things that make it feel like a New York City neighborhood,” said Menendez, along with the small storefronts, amenities like the dog park at the end of E. 51st, the private security service provided by the Beekman Place Association and community activities like holiday caroling (also organized by the BPA). “They make you feel like, ‘this is my bakery, my dry cleaner, our restaurant.’”
All of these qualities contribute to a tremendous sense of loyalty among longtime Beekman residents, he adds.
“I’ve found that once people live there, they want to stay,” Menendez said. “Sometimes they’ll move within the neighborhood from a rental to a purchase or wait for a different apartment in their building to open up on a higher floor or with more space.”
The very definition of desirable.
Learn more about current listings in Beekman from Stephen Geller, David Menendez and other Elliman agents.
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