July 10, 2025

A loft in Red Hook. Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Courtesy of the owner

Summer is in full swing here in New York: air conditioners cranked, ferries full of sweaty city dwellers on their way to the Rockaways, manic storms that cool the city off for about ten minutes before the temperature climbs back up to 90. Inspired by my own weekend plan to escape the rainy heat with a trip to the Frick, I pitted two parts of town against each other: Upper East and Upper West. I’ll let you declare the winner.

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$15,000, 2-bedroom: Starting off in the land of the unrealistic because why not. A pretty tastefully renovated loft apartment with windows at every turn, high ceilings, and white-oak flooring. The building’s called the Wellington, and it’s (obviously) on Madison Avenue.

1290 Madison Avenue. Photo: Corcoran

$4,500, 1-bedroom: POBW (Previously Owned by Wasps). If that offends you, keep it moving.

$8,500, 1-bedroom: Hideous but sort of fabulous in the commitment to its own bland aesthetic. If you were to remove some of — okay all of — the furniture, you’d have a beautiful one-bedroom with great bones, beams, and herringbone floors.

$3,400, 1-bedroom: A kind-of-nice, no-frills one-bedroom with a lofted bedroom and a decorative fireplace.

1169 Second Avenue Photo: Corcoran

$5,175, 1-bedroom: Lovely and charming floor-through with stained-glass windows and deep-seated, mahogany-lined windows. Great location — a block from the Hudson.

$3,950, 1-bedroom: The gorgeous fireplace is the highlight here, plus it’s spitting distance from Riverside Park.

$5,450, 1-bedroom: More great herringbone. Which you’ll have to focus on to move past the fact that you’re surrounded by buildings, with no view except for the one that stares directly into your neighbor’s bedroom. Kind of fun, though.

166 W. 72nd Street Photo: Bond New York

$7,300, 2-bedroom: Perfectly charming Upper West Side apartment with a built-in bookshelf, an aquamarine velvet couch I’m oddly into (but does not come with the price of admission), and windows with a view.

166 W. 72nd Street — this time with a view! Photo: Bond New York

$10,500, 3-bedroom: Biggest prewar I’ve seen in a while. Didn’t know they made prewars so big!

$9,000, 2-bedroom: Sort of generic and overpriced, but there’s something about the white box of it all and the shiplike windows overlooking the Hudson that speak to me. That, and the at-home theater in the basement.

$3,300, 1-bedroom: If you’re just one and you’re looking for a more affordable option, this preloved prewar has a surprisingly modern terra-cotta-tiled bathroom that you might like!

$12,995, 3-bedroom: Idiosyncratic townhouse that hasn’t been renovated in decades! But I like the funky ’80s charm — the galley kitchen, especially. Sweet outdoor space, and half a block from Central Park.

$5,500, 1-bedroom: If you don’t like toffee-colored leather couches then this furnished apartment is not for you.

$5,900, 1-bedroom: Kind of ugly, kind of sexy, kind of bachelor? Not usually one for a mustard accent wall or a leather couch, but these things are easy to change!

235 West End Avenue Photo: Platinum Properties

$6,795, 1-bedroom: Gorgeous prewar with an even more gorgeous marbled lobby. The view isn’t bad either. But can’t totally justify the price …

$3,650, studio: Would so love to meet the owner of this studio — if I had to guess, this person writes sprawling nonfiction sagas about whaling ships and the like.

$2,900, studio: Very good, very squat windows — just like I like ’em. MBIM (Must Be Into Mahogany).

304 W. 107th Street Photo: Corcoran

$9,500, 3-bedroom: Nice if you can swing it! Perfect herringbones, claw-foot tub, doorman, gym on premises.

$5,030, 1-bedroom: Surprised by the price for the neighborhood, but this is indeed a very sweet and simple prewar one-bedroom with good beams and boards and a sunken living room.