Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Hilarious NY Times Article Examines Rich Folks Who Dare Venture Below 59th Street
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 6, 2013
Modified Jul 6, 2013
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
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 6, 2013
Modified Jul 6, 2013
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 NY Times Real Estate section is the Rosencrantz to the Style Section's Guildenstern, the yin and yang of out-of-touch manufactured high class trend stories. This weekend, the world's most unintentionally hilarious newspaper put forth yet another brilliant missive about the struggles of the oh so rich centered around a particularly relatable concern: "You are seeing people ask themselves: Do I have an affair, get a divorce or get a downtown apartment?" said Michele Kleier, the president and chairwoman of Kleier Residential. "It has become a very sexy thing to do, especially for those people living a sedate Park Avenue lifestyle."
Yes, the hottest trend for NYC's upper elite is to venture below 59th Street, "embracing downtown neighborhoods that would once have been considered unthinkable" as the Times put it. “Downtown is livelier — we feel as though we have been in Milan for the weekend,” said Brooke Garber Neidich, a chairwoman of the Whitney Museum whose resume reads like the ideal fit for a Weddings Section biography, and who apparently has never been to Milan....unless Milan opened up their own Welcome To The Johnsons outpost and no one told us.
With all the kids stuck in a gentrification loop in Brooklyn or buying $1 million condos in Bed-Stuy, the olds have begun to cautiously venture to the abandoned Lower East Side, where the kickball games go all night long.
“I think there is a big romance about living downtown,” said developer and (apparently) amateur anthropologist Izak Senbahar. “It is much more diverse, it isn’t all fund managers, but artists, literary people, then some Wall Street sprinkled in.” These Upper East and West Siders are quickly discovering that life below the 59th Street fault line of Manhattan is wild and untamed, a wild west for the gaggles of Muffys and Thurstons: “You can go out to dinner and you don’t have to be dressed,” said Linda Lambert. “You don’t have to wear jewelry.”
Tagged
hilarious
lol
ny times
real estate
rich people
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC Council to consider earlier Legionella reporting after deadly outbreaks
A bill facing a hearing Monday would require cooling tower owners to notify city health officials when bacteria levels reach a much lower threshold.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 18, 2026 at 7:36 p.m. ET
Staten Island fire injures 2, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
Staten Island fire injures 2, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
By
Gino Fanelli
NYPD identifies Bronx man, 26, killed in Midtown subway shooting
By
Ryan Kost
,
Elizabeth Kim
and
Phil Corso
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
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 .