NOMAD A Window of Opportunity in the Neighborhood North of the Park

NOMAD A Window of Opportunity in the Neighborhood North of the Park

An Area with Good Bones The area north of Madison Square Park has a rich historic heritage extending from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Once a meeting place for Gilded Age elite, the area experienced a commercial boom as the 20th Century began with the arrival of hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues and office buildings. It benefits from a large number of buildings constructed of the finest materials and beautifully designed in the Second Empire Baroque, Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Classical styles. The quality of these structures is attracting developers to restore them as hotels and residences. Prompted in large part by the 2001 restoration of Madison Square Park, the area has become more attractive to cutting-edge restaurateurs, hip hoteliers and upscale residents. The advertising leader Grey, the luxury jeweler Tiffany, and the couture designer Vera Wang have recently relocated to the area, joining other corporate giants such as New York Life and Credit Suisse.

Current Developments in NOMAD On Broadway, heavy foot traffic from Herald Square to Madison Square has been increased further by the city s newly established pedestrian mall extending from Midtown to the busy intersection of Fifth and Broadway at 22nd Street. The Ace, NoMaD, Gershwin, Giraffe, Carlton, Flatiron, and Gansevoort Hotels and their bars and restaurants are introducing hip, European and American visitors to the area. Nightspots like Jazz Standard, 40/40, Gstaad and The Breslin Bar are bringing in a diverse, young crowd and enlivening the streets at all hours. The new Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) had joined the Museum of Sex just north of the park. New restaurants like SD26, Hill Country Barbeque, Hill Country Chicken, The Breslin, John Dory s Oyster Bar, Hurricane, Café Millesime and Eataly along with favorites such as Eleven Madison, Avoce, Ben & Jacks, Le Petite Auberge, Shake Shack, ilili and Blue Smoke are making this area an eating destination. New residential developments such as 225 Fifth Avenue, 15 Madison Square North, Sky House, as well as the numerous new buildings along Sixth are making the area increasingly a living neighborhood, 24/7.

Where is NOMAD? As early as 1999, the area in question has been identified as NOMAD, but there have been varying definitions of the area. In an article in The New York Times on August 5, 1999, Elaine Louie defined NOMAD as extending from 23rd Street to 34th Street, between Madison and Second Avenue. Sanna Feirstein, in her book Naming New York, written in 2001, identified NOMAD as extending from 23rd to 34th Streets and from Sixth Avenue to Park Avenue. Several years ago, the hotel being renovated at 28th and Broadway was named NOMAD reflective of the Madison Square Park North Historic District. In The New York Times of March 28, 2010, and article on the Breslin Bar referred to the area as NOMAD. In a feature article, Soho. Nolita. Dumbo. NoMad? in the April 19, 2010 issue of New York magazine, the area was mapped as running from Broadway to Park Avenue and from 23rd to 34th Streets.

Area Definition NOMAD is a designation that identifies the area north of Manhattan s Madison Square Park and is centered around the Madison Square Park North Historic District (established by New York City in 1999). It can best be defined as running from: 23rd to 30th Streets, 6th Avenue to Lexington Avenue. As is true of most districts in New York City, there is some overlap and lack of clarity as to where the neighborhood begins and ends. The current definition of NOMAD is anchored in the historic district and the essential cohesiveness of the areas around it as well as the customary understanding of the area in print and among residents.

Area Definition Naming New York Map

Area Definition Map from New York Magazine

Area Definition Map of MSPNHD from Landmarks Commission

Area Definition NOMAD Map BROADWAY LEXINGTON AVE PARK AVE MADISON AVE FIFTH AVE WEST 30TH EAST 30 TH WEST 28 TH EAST 28 TH MADISON SQUARE NORTH HISTORIC DISTRICT WEST 26 TH EAST 26 TH WEST 24 TH MADISON SQUARE PARK EAST 24 TH