Gramercy Park
Gramercy, also called Gramercy Park, is focused around Gramercy
Park, a private park between East 20th and 21st Streets at the foot of Lexington
Avenue. The area is named for a stream which meandered like a 'crooked little knife,'
or 'Crom messie' in old Dutch ('Krom mesje').
Roughly speaking, Gramercy is bound by 14th Street, First Avenue, 30th Street, and Broadway.
Some consider its northern boundary to be 23rd Street, and consider the area north of 23rd Street to be Rose Hill, though the usage of Rose Hill has never entered the popular lexicon. Others refer to the area north of 23rd Street as Curry Hill.
Today, the northern boundary of Gramercy more likely meets the Murray Hill section of Midtown at around 30th Street. To the west is the Flatiron District and Union Square, to the south the East Village, to the east Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, and to the northeast Kips Bay
Gramercy, particularly the area immediately around Gramercy Park itself, is generally perceived to be a quiet area, safer than many other parts of the city. Gramercy Park is a private park, to which only people residing around the park have a key. The public is otherwise only allowed in the park one day a year.
Due to the beauty and exclusivity of the park as well as the National Arts Club and The Players' Club located on its south side, it is not uncommon to recognize a famous personality or two. President Theodore Roosevelt was born in Gramercy.
See also transportation and schools for Gramercy Park.
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