Kips Bay is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Like other neighborhoods in New York City, the boundaries of Kip's Bay are somewhat vague, but it is often considered to be the area between East 23rd Street and East 34th Street extending from Lexington Avenue to the East River.[1] Often Kips Bay is linked to neighboring regions such as Murray Hill, Midtown East, or Gramercy.
Kips Bay was named after the Dutch settler Jacobus Henderson Kip, whose farm ran north of 30th Street to the East River, around a bay in the East River which was named after him. The bay became reclaimed land, yet "Kips Bay" remains in the name of the area. Kip built a large stone house, which today would have been located near the intersection of Second Avenue and East 35th Street. The house stood from 1655 to 1851 and was the last farmhouse from New Amsterdam remaining in the city.[2]
Kips Bay was also the site of the Landing at Kip's Bay, an episode of the American Revolutionary War and part of the New York and New Jersey campaign. About 4,000 British Army troops under General William Howe landed at Kips Bay on September 15, 1776, near what is now the foot of East 33rd Street. Howe's forces defeated about 500 American militiamen commanded by Colonel William Douglas. The American forces immediately retreated and the British occupied New York City soon afterward.
Urban
There are two large apartment buildings in the neighborhood named Kips Bay Towers, a 1,112-unit complex completed in 1963 and designed by architect I.M. Pei.[1] Many businesses in the neighborhood use the name (Kips Bay Cinemas, Kips Bay Cleaners, Kips Bay branch of the New York Public Library). Built on a pier above the East River between East 25th and East 28th Streets are Waterside Plaza and the United Nations International School. There were plans to build additional above-water apartments, offices, and a hotel in the 1980s but environmental concerns and community opposition doomed the project.[3] Today, the waterfront south of Waterside Plaza is Stuyvesant Cove Park. The park includes a small man-made land mass extending out into the East River, which was created from excess cement dumped into the river.[4]
Within Kips Bay, the area along First Avenue is dominated by the institutional buildings of New York University, including the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU College of Dentistry, NYU School of Medicine, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Bellevue Hospital Center teaching hospital, and the Manhattan VA Hospital. Further north on First Avenue between East 37th and East 38th Streets is the former Kips Bay Brewing Company, originally constructed in 1895 and now occupied by offices.[5]
Since the late 1990s, the area has been best recognized by a commercial strip mall on Second Avenue between East 30th and East 33rd Streets, set back from the street by a driveway running parallel to Second Avenue. This group of stores is referred to as "Kips Bay Plaza" and consists of an AMC/Loews movie theater, a Borders bookstore, a Crunch Fitness center, and a 24-hour Rite Aid pharmacy.[6]
In the 1960s and later, four Henry Phipps high-rise apartment complexes were constructed mainly on East 29th Street between First and Second Avenues, and south to East 27th Street. Historically, Phipps had been a partner of Andrew Carnegie. Much earlier in time, by 1940, the Madison Square Boys (and later Girls) Club, which had been located on East 30th Street just east of Second Avenue, built its own facilities on East 29th Street (back-to-back with its older facility). In the 1990s, the Club sold its facility to The Churchill School and Center and has operated its office in the Empire State Building.[7][8]
References
- ^ a b Cohen, Joyce (1999-04-11). "If You're Thinking of Living In Kips Bay". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/11/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-kips-bay-cohesive-with-a-relaxed-ambiance.html. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ "Few Landmarks Around Kip's Bay". New York Times. 1913-11-28. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9801E4D61E3BE633A2575BC2A9679D946296D6CF. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ Stamler, Bernard (1997-10-26). "Park to Grow on the Ashes of the Riverwalk Plan". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/nyregion/neighborhood-report-stuyvesant-cove-park-grow-ashes-riverwalk-plan.html. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ Kinetz, Erika (2002-01-13). "Rock Outcropping or Rubble? No One's Neutral on Old Cement". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/nyregion/neighborhood-report-east-side-rock-outcropping-rubble-no-one-s-neutral-old.html. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot (June 2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. p. 219. ISBN 0812931076.
- ^ Hughes, C.J. (2004-02-09). "Choosing the Proximity of the Middle". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/realestate/19living.html. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ Sutton, Imre (2008). Back to E. 29th Street: Where Fact and Fiction Revisit Kips Bay, N.Y.. Fullerton: Americo Publications. http://dspace.library.cornell.edu:8080/handle/1813/11665. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ Harris, Irving (2009). Madison Square Memoir: The Magic and History of Madison Square Boys and Girls Club.
Coordinates: 40°44′29″N 73°58′42″W / 40.74139°N 73.97833°W
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