10 Interesting Things About Our New 220 East 42nd Street Neighborhood
The neighborhood around VNSNY’s soon-to-be new office building is teeming with possibilities!
Whether you’re looking to get some lunch, need to pick up some items for home, or simply want to take a nice walk around the block, the Midtown East neighborhood around VNSNY’s new offices at 220 East 42nd Street is teeming with possibilities. In addition to the literally dozens of restaurants within just a few minutes’ walking distance and the two espresso bars and the Starbucks just steps from the front entrance—not to mention the area’s plentiful banks, pharmacies, delis, retail shops, gyms and other conveniences—there are even more exotic local finds, if you know where to look. Here are 10 of them.
A semi-secret oasis. Less than a block east from 220 East 42nd Street, you’ll find a stone stairway rising up from 42nd Street. Climb it and you’ll find yourself next to Tudor City Park, part of a tranquil elevated residential area called Tudor City. A world removed from the bustle of Midtown East below, its parks and quiet sidewalks are a perfect place to take a relaxing lunchtime or after-work stroll.
A tropical rain forest. Also less than a block away, in the lobby of the Ford Foundation, is a lush tropical garden rising inside a 10-story glass atrium. Irrigated with rainwater diverted from the building’s roof, the garden is open daily to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s closed now due to renovations, but is scheduled to reopen later in 2018—complete with a new art gallery attached.
The United Nations. Just a few minutes’ walk further east, the iconic modern architecture and global atmosphere of the UN headquarters is a never-ending source of inspiration. If you make a reservation in advance and don’t mind spending a few bucks, you can also enjoy a $35.00 prix fixe international lunch buffet at the United Nations’ Delegates Dining Room, at 1st Avenue and 43rd Street. The dining room offers a sweeping view of the East River and the chance to rub elbows with ambassadors as well as UN staff.
Grand Central. Just two blocks and a half west from our new location is a food lover’s paradise: a side-by-side collection of some 16 order-and-go food outlets run by different local restaurants—plus plenty of seating to enjoy what you just purchased. And that’s just a fraction of what Grand Central holds. Other on-site eateries include the Oyster Bar and Restaurant, also on the lower level just a few dozen yards away from the food court; Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse (on the western balcony above the terminal’s main floor); Grand Central Market, a European-style gourmet food shop just off Lexington Avenue, featuring ready-to-eat offerings from 13 local vendors; and The Campbell Apartment, a cocktail lounge modeled on a Florentine palace, located off the main floor’s southern balcony in the former office of financier John W. Campbell, one-time director of the New York Central Railroad. All told, there are 35 eating establishments and 60 retail shops housed under Grand Central’s high ceiling—which, as you’ll see if you gaze upward, contains the various constellations of the Zodiac.
The Chrysler Building. Step directly outside 220 East 42nd Street and look up and you’ll see the famous Chrysler Building. Located on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street, the Chrysler Building was formally opened in May of 1930, just about the same time that 220 East 42nd Street was completed. After numerous modifications, the Chrysler Building’s design called for it to be over 800 feet high by the time construction began, which would have made it taller than the Woolworth Building in lower Manhattan—then the tallest building in the world. When it appeared that 40 Wall Street, a competitor for the “world’s tallest” title being constructed simultaneously, might surpass the Chrysler Building in height, architect William Van Alen designed an additional 185-foot spire to sit on top of the Chrysler Building’s famous Art Deco crown. After the spire, constructed in secret, was attached in late 1929, the building was indisputably the tallest in history at 1,046 feet. This distinction lasted less just a year, however: Determined to top that record, the builders of the Empire State Building, which was still under construction, added five extra floors and a spire of their own to the Empire State’s design, bringing it to 1,454 feet (including the 204-foot tip) when it opened in 1931.
New York Public Library. Located on the southwest corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, the historic New York Public Library is only about a ten-minute stroll west from VNSNY’s new office. The largest marble building in the U.S. when it opened in 1911, the library houses priceless archives of rare books, manuscripts (including some of Lillian Wald’s), and maps, along with a research center open to the public—all guarded by the library’s famous twin lion statues, Patience and Fortitude.
And if you’re a Winnie the Pooh fan, get this: the original stuffed teddy bear that inspired A.A. Milne’s classic stories about Winnie the Pooh, as well as Pooh’s stuffed companions—Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, and Tigger—are on permanent display at the Library.
Bryant Park (located just behind the New York Public Library). In warm weather, the park features a grassy lawn scattered with small tables and folding chairs, making it another great local spot for an open-air lunch or meditation break. From November through February, you can skate for free at a full-size outdoor ice rink in Bryant Park. No skates? No problem—you can rent a pair for just $20.00.
200 types of sake. The Japanese restaurant Sakagura, tucked away in the basement of 211 East 43rd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues—just around the block from 220 East 42nd Street—has what is considered to be one of the world’s best sake bars. Known as one of Midtown Manhattan’s great “hidden gems,” the restaurant has vintage Japanese ambience and a large, curated selection of traditional rice wines, which regularly draws sake lovers from around the world.
America’s largest comic book store. Midtown Comics, which maintains a large retail store at Lexington and 45th Street, is known as the largest comic book seller in the nation. The store also offers a large selection of comic book-related action figures, movies, and books, and frequently hosts events at which well-known comic book creators sign their work for fans.
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