Turtle Bay Treasures

Which New York neighborhood has the wealthiest property?  The high-rise coops on 5th avenue overlooking Central Park certainly come to mind.  But let's not forget the townhomes surrounding Gramercy Park, including the "finest house in New York" at 19 Gramercy Park South.  But after a stroll through Turtle Bay (the area of midtown Manhattan between 43rd and 53rd street and east of Lexington Ave) certainly has "swank."

Overlooking the Hudson River at 1 Sutton Place (near 57th st) is the home of Teresa Heinz, heiress to the Heinz fortune and wife of Secretary of State John Kerry.  The home was built for the wealthy Mrs. William Vanderbilt, who was induced to move from her 5th avenue brownstone to Sutton Place by developers of the new Sutton Place enclave.  The goal was for Vanderbilt to act as "window dressing" to get people to move further east to Sutton Place.  Next door, at 3 Sutton Place, is the home of the Secretary General of the UN.  According to a 1994 New York times, a 2 bedroom, 2 bath home at 20 Sutton Place was on the market for $335,000, quite a steal in today's market.


Down the street from the Heinz mansion, is the former home of John D. Rockefeller, at 1 Beekman Place (near 50th st overlooking the East River).  Beekman Street is one of the wealthiest and smallest in all of Manhattan.   Irving Berlin, the composer of "White Christmas" fame lived for 40 years at 17 Beekman place until he passed away at the age of 101.  It now houses the Luxemburg government in New York City.

A few feet away is 39 Beekman place, a 5,300 square foot, 5 story townhome that appears to be valued at $7.3 million.  Interestingly, Aristotle Onassis purchased the home in 1968 for his new bride Jackie Kennedy.  The paparazzi set up shop full time next door, and the new couple never moved in.  The image to the rest shows the back side of the mansion.  It has plenty of outdoor space to barbeque and take in the scenic East River views, overlooking Queens and Roosevelt Island.

Finally, just east of 58th and Sutton Place leads to Riverview Terrace, shown to the bottom right.  It is one of the most private cul-de-sacs in all of Manhattan, complete with a private guard gate and cobble stonesstreet not open to the public.  It even

has private garages for each of the six row homes.  Who knew Manhattan had a private street?  The homes are elegant beauties, each in their own way.  A 1921 New York Times article described the homes at Riverview Terrace as "settled in the 1870s by nice people who were erratic enough to prefer a view of the river to a more convenient location."  Looks like they had it right, and the location sure makes for a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.  Turtle Bay has many lush properties to brag about, but the homes at Riverview Terrace may just be the best.