Ireceived an interesting invitation from a friend a few months back asking me if I wanted to get dinner at 9th Street and Avenue C. At that point I had walked the streets during the day for work, but I had not seen the area at night. To tell the truth, sitting outside facing the street over dinner, I felt like I was in what’s considered the heart of the East Village. It was lively and energetic with tons of foot traffic. Most storefronts housed bars and restaurants full of youngsters and adults alike out on the town for the evening. It’s probably also worthy of mention that the Brazilian food I had was phenomenal. I’ve ended up back on Avenue C a handful of times since, and have had similarly positive experiences. A few clients that I’ve toured through the townhouse I’m selling at 356 East 8th Street have shared their love of the area with me as well, raving about the quality of the restaurants without the hustle and bustle of denser parts of Manhattan. There is a lot of development happening out there for a reason - values are bound to drive up in the near term. In fact they have already. The area is still on the up swing though, so there is plenty more value to be captured. Access to the rest of Manhattan may be a bit more challenging (it’s just plain hard to get to using public transit), but on the plus side it’s easier to park around there, and taxis are plentiful enough to support the demand.

Point of the story: what you give up when buying in Alphabet City vs. elsewhere in Manhattan is by far outweighed by the benefits of a cheaper price point, a fun area, and a great investment!