☞ DWELL: Number 5: Upper Fifth Avenue

Harlem is a large part of Manhattan that changes block by block so we have put together a list of the best micro-nabes in Harlem based on location, architecture, transportation and local amenities. This is our own opinion based on reporting on the neighborhood for a few years and a new post will be made each day until the number one spot has been revealed.


No. 5: Upper Fifth Avenue, Central and East Harlem, from 125th Street up to 130th Street.  The blocks north of 125th Street by Fifth Avenue have the distinction of being on the cusp of East and Central Harlem but are also quite intact architecturally.  Most of the handsome buildings have been restored and Upper Fifth made the top five this year because the area received a bit of celebrity status by 2013.  Actor Neil Patrick Harris purchased a contextually restored brownstone for a record sale well over $3.5 million just north of 125th Street while notable artist Ugo Rondinone bought a church just a block up that is currently going under a major conversion into a gallery and residence space.

Transportation and great boutique retail is just a block away on Lenox and the quiet Fifth Avenue corridor is basically a residential oasis just a block east.  This area also has the National Black Theatre and Langston Hughes' famous block in the vicinity but the church of Scientology has also arrived this past year.  The houses on the avenue tend to be extra wide but not all of them are renovated at a great taste level.  In our opinion, those homes asking for well over $3 million should not only bank on location for a record sale since the high end buyer is also looking for a bit of architectural history and better classic finishes within the interior at this price point.