23rd Street (6)

Dec 13

Welcome to Gramercy Park, a neighborhood that is expensive, old-money exclusive, and a little boring. Tall office buildings, not a lot of youthful energy. In general I’d come to this area for a nice foodie experience, but I’m not hanging out here otherwise.

Gramercy Park (like, the actual park) prides itself on not being available to the public. You need a literal key to access it, and if you don’t have one, you’re stuck looking in at a nice, empty park from outside the metal gate. In the words of my kind and loving husband, “That’s fucked up.” If you really want a key, you can get one, but I can’t help but think the allure of the park is in its priced-out exclusivity, and that just makes the whole thing less cool for me, personally. Save your time and money and just go south to Stuyvesant Square Park instead for what I imagine to be a similar vibe.

You can do some pleasant fine dining in the area, but you’ll definitely want to source a reservation first. Cosme offers fancy, aesthetically-plated Mexican dishes; Milu offers the same for Chinese dishes. Gramercy Tavern is a classic NYC American fine dining experience.

The Friends Experience is off this stop, and I’ve heard its fun if you’re into the show. And, the Gramercy Theater is here, which hosts comedy shows, small concerts, and surprise surprise, private events. If you’re a Baruch College student and have to be in the area to, you know, go to school, rest assured for just the price of the subway fare you can go to literally 471 other stations that will probably be cooler.