Curbed Cup Final Four: (1) Lower East Side vs. (4) Yorkville

The Curbed Cup, our annual award for the neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 16 neighborhoods vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. We’ll reveal each of the neighborhoods this week, and polls will be open for 24 hours so you can cast your vote as to which ones should advance. Let the eliminations commence!

(1) Lower East Side

The first Curbed Cup Final Four match-up is between two Manhattan heavyweights that have had impressively busy years—both in and outside of the real estate realm. First up: the Lower East Side, a neighborhood that generally needs no introduction, but has had a banner year thanks to major developments like the Essex Crossing megaproject.

That’s in addition to the literally thousands of new apartments coming to the neighborhood, many of them on the high end of things; as we put it this summer, “the next wave of Lower East Side gentrification is on,” thanks in part to this building boom.

It also continues to be one of New York’s epicenters for nightlife and culture, with a seemingly unstoppable wave of new restaurants, hotels, shops, galleries, and more.

(4) Yorkville

Head about five miles uptown and you’ll hit Yorkville, which is having its own resurgence thanks to the much-anticipated opening of the Second Avenue subway; the new subway line is major for neighborhood residents and real estate interests alike.

Max Touhey

And just as ridership rises, so too have real estate prices in the area—the neighborhood’s newfound connection to the subway seems to have inspired a residential building boom in the area. Hundreds of new apartments are now rising on the Upper East Side, with a major concentration of those buildings in Yorkville.

Now, the choice is up to you: Which neighborhood should advance to the Curbed Cup Finals? Cast your vote now!