The Upper East Side Is Back—and Allison Chalfin Is Here for It
by David Hay
May 2025
If you happen to live outside the United States and are contemplating a move the Upper East Side of Manhattan, you’d be well advised to meet Allison Chalfin.
A resident of the neighborhood since 1993, the award-winning agent for Douglas Elliman is savoring the Upper East’s current resurgence in popularity.
“Everyone’s moving back up here from downtown,” Chalfin says with characteristic exuberance. “They have kids now and need more bedrooms and good schools—where are you going to find it but here?”
In the decades after 1996—when the coolest of Upper East Siders, John F. Kennedy, Jr., decamped for Tribeca—downtown Manhattan became the city’s home for the hip and wealthy. But, oh, how times change.
“We’re back!” exults Chalfin.
Of course, she could start with the value argument (“you get so much more for your money here”), but Chalfin is all about “the vibe” and easily points to all of the places that attest to the neighborhood’s comeback.
There’s Ralph’s Coffee, the joe joint started by Ralph Lauren (she prefers the Madison Avenue branch just off 72nd Street). She’s very keen on Chez Fifi, the months-old hotspot tucked away in a townhouse on 74th and Lexington where, per Wallpaper magazine, diners are transported to “1930s Paris, by way of rich mahogany panelling, rows of bevel-edged mirrors, and eclectic artworks, as well as a menu of classic French dishes paired with favorites from San Sebastián.” Naturally, it’s tough to get a reservation. (Armani / Ristorante, also high on Chalfin’s list, is perhaps easier.)
Lodging on the Upper East Side is also back. Sure, there’s the Four Seasons on 57th Street, but Chalfin is excited about the opening later this year of the Plaza Athenee Nobu Hotel and Spa New York on Park Avenue and 64th Street.
“Once again, it’ll be chic to stay on the Upper East Side,” she asserts.
Beyond the shopping on Madison Avenue (which, she notes, has “never changed”), Chalfin touts the unique sensibility of the neighborhood, which she attributes to the fact that it is actually a neighborhood.
“It’s easy to meet people here, and importantly, meet them again,” she says, noting the many members-only clubs, including Coco's at Colette, Casa Tua, and Maxime's.
And then there’s infinite discoverability of Central Park: “You want to be there all year round and find your own favorite spots—and keeping finding them!”
Along with the many current residents of the neighborhood whom she counts among her network of friends, many of Chalfin’s clients come to her from London and other points in Europe, thanks to her connections with Elliman’s international partner, Knight Frank.
There are also the numerous sports and entertainment clients whom she has helped to set up in the city and is careful not to name.
“Often with these clients, decisions have to be made very quickly especially if they’ve just been traded,” she says of the professional athletes she has represented, thanks in part to a relationship she has cultivated with ESPN.
Having worked at Bear Stearns before transitioning to real estate, Chalfin has the business acumen and experience with putting in the long hours to build a highly successful operation. One of her current standout listings is the apartment of jewelry designer Peter Lindeman, whose designs were once worn by Elvis and Pat Nixon alike! Located on the 19th floor of a 1963 building on Central Park South, the $3.2-million listing boasts spectacular park views from the living room and terrace.
The remodeled six-bedroom, seven-bathroom townhouse she represents on East 81st Street, a stone’s throw from the park, has a much loftier price tag of nearly $18 million.
Chalfin’s listings are more evidence that the Upper East Side is experiencing a resurgence. Still, she’s waiting for more of its extensive and fabled inventory to unlock and hit the market.
“There’s nothing like it downtown,” she says.
And 2025 may well be the year.
David Hay is a well-known architectural writer and playwright. His stories have been featured in The New York Times, Dwell and New York.
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