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Battery Park City Is Home to Nation's Priciest Rents: Study

By Amy Zimmer | May 26, 2017 4:19pm | Updated on May 30, 2017 7:43am
 West Thames Park in Battery Park City.
West Thames Park in Battery Park City.
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DNAinfo/Irene Plagianos

MANHATTAN — When it comes to the “most outrageous rent prices” in the nation, Manhattan takes the cake, a new analysis from search engine RENTCafe found.

Manhattan dominated the list of priciest ZIP codes from coast-to-coast, with eight of the top 10, including the first, second and third spots. San Francisco had the two other ZIP codes in the top 10.

Battery Park City’s 10282 ZIP code was the most expensive, with average an average rent of $5,924 a month.

The Upper East Side’s 10065 ZIP code, stretching from about East 60th to 69th streets, came in at No. 2, with monthly rent averaging $4,898.

The Upper West Side’s 10023 ZIP code, was third most expensive. Rents in the area stretching from about West 60th to 76th streets averaged $4,892 a month.

The ascendancy of Battery Park City prices reflects the rise of Lower Manhattan more than 15 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the culmination of the billions of dollars in public and private investment that have been spent on the area to bolster transit, offices and residential construction as well as a burgeoning cultural scene and several new, highly regarded public and private schools.

“The affluent lower Manhattan neighborhood is an excellent choice if you’re a Financial District or Wall Street professional and love waterfront residences, green spaces, and quiet streets in the heart of the city,” according to a RENTcafe blog post, which used data from the Yardi Matrix database.

But Sienam Lulla, a broker with Compass and Lower Manhattan resident, noted that Battery Park City did not feel like the “heart” of Manhattan about a decade ago, when some house hunters avoided the area because it felt too suburban, too remote and too sleepy, she recounted.

“Back then it was only connected by one train, there was one deli, and in the winter, the gusts you get from river made it feel 5 degrees colder,” she said. “Now it’s so different. The fact that Brookfield connects you to Westfield and 10 trains, the next thing you know, you’re in the Financial District without even realizing it,” she said referring to the two malls and Fulton Street transit hub.

The dining scene has transformed, she added, as have the proliferation of schools.

“You have the trifecta of transportation, 24/7 eating and dining and schools,” Lulla said.

A lot of developers of newer construction in Battery Park City, she added, targeted families by offering  three- and four-bedroom apartments — and with much of the inventory geared toward bigger spaces, it drives up the area’s pricing.

Also making the top 10 were the Upper West Side’s 10024 and 10025 (from West 70th up to about West 115th streets), the Lower East Side’s 10002 ZIP code, SoHo and TriBeCa’s 10013 ZIP code and the Hell’s Kitchen/Midtown West ZIP code 10036, covering between West 42nd to West 50th streets, from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River.