Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Please, No! Somebody Wants To Rename Kips Bay NoEVil
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 6, 2012
Modified Feb 6, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 6, 2012
Modified Feb 6, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The history of New York City is littered with neighborhood names that have stuck—South of Houston, SoHo; Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, DUMBO—and those that have not stuck nearly as well—Pro-Cro, Crown Heights; North of Madison Park, NoMad—so hopefully the latest one being proposed will be disposed of quickly. In the Times Real Estate section this weekend an enterprising Kips Bay resident wrote in to suggest that the small neighborhood next to Murray Hell Hill be renamed NoEVil. As in North of the East Village. Gag us with a spoon.
But before we tell you what we really think, here's Frank M.'s argument for a new name:
Being both underrated and generally affordable (remember we are talking NYC here), Kips Bay is a superbly innocuous neighborhood close to -- well -- almost all of the hip neighborhoods that are both overrated and expensive. Grammercy Park, Eataly and Madison Park are all within dog-walking distance; Chelsea and the High Line are a crosstown bus away; and even Williamsburg is a mere 14-block walk and one subway stop away. Hop on the Second Avenue bus (or ride your fixie) and you're in the Lower East Side. We are trying to get Kips Bay renamed "NoEVil" (North of the East Village) to capture its cachet -- but without having to pay for it.
- Frank M., East 28th Street
First off, we'd like to point out that there are actually other neighborhoods between Kips Bay and the East Village (Gramercy Park and Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village)—why not call it NoGram? Secondly, NoEVil is a terrible name for a neighborhood. Fact. Thirdly, why would you want your neighborhood's name to remind people of Google's failed unofficial motto? It isn't like the search giant is even in the neighborhood. Fourthly, should we start calling SoHo SoEVil? Or should we reserve that moniker for the neighborhood where all the real estate agents live? Anyway, thanks for trying, real estate agent Frank M.! Next?
Tagged
bad names
kip's bay
manhattan
Neighborhoods
noevil
nytimes
real estate
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .