The Forever Neighborhood: Lauren Muss Shares Her Upper East Side Story

By David Graver View the full issue. Consistently ranked by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top 50 agents in the nation and among the top 10 in New York City, Lauren Muss has lived between 65th and 79th Street her entire life except for her four years at university. With an expertise that extends across co-ops, condos, new developments and townhouses, Muss’ voice offers immense insight into the Upper East Side. What are the most appealing attributes of Upper East Side living? There is such variation between each avenue that it offers something for everyone. The city is ever changing but the Upper East Side just gets better. It’s also easy. It’s a quiet, clean environment. And who does not love Central Park? There are places in the neighborhood where you know you’ll run into someone. I don’t think that will change. More people are realizing that it’s where they want to live. Paint a picture of the Upper East Side for us. If you look at Madison Avenue, it has beautiful stores on every single block from 57th to 94th. There are amazing stores in the 60s and 70s, with high-end boutiques all the way up to the 90s. There’s the Park Avenue Armory, and museums and fabulous galleries. I don’t think there’s anywhere else that has all that without having to get in a car. The west side doesn’t have that. SoHo has it on a smaller scale. Over the years, if I wanted something to do, I would stroll up and down Madison Avenue. There’s a movement of the younger generation to the Upper East Side. Why? The prices. You see people having a three-to-five-year stint downtown but when they’re ready to buy, they come back. It’s a combination: the park, the zoo, the playgrounds. Can you help us visualize your neighborhood? Every boutique shop, restaurant, coffee house, shoe repair and nail salon has been in the same place since I was a child. I now live on 79th Street. There’s so much around. There’s every single workout place, whether you want to do Pilates or yoga, row or bike; it’s all just an avenue away. On Madison Avenue, you’ve got The Mark, The Carlyle, and coming back soon is The Surrey. You also have Sant Ambroeus, Ralph’s, Via Quadronno and Three Guys Restaurant. There’s the new sushi spot, Tokugawa. There’s Serafina. There’s Antonucci, Elios and Due, which is my new kitchen, all known for amazing Italian food. For grocery stores, there’s Butterfield, that is a new favorite, Eli’s Market and Eli’s Essentials. If you go to First Avenue, there’s Agata. There’s even a gluten-free market. There are amazing bread places and ice cream shops on every avenue. Diptyque just opened up a gorgeous store, and Elyse Walker. Zitomer is everyone’s go-to. It’s a mini department store. It’s all convenient! Is there something people should know about your UES listings? There is great value on Fifth and Park Avenue, especially if the listings need work. There is a trend that buyers are paying more for new smaller places in condos further east. I sell a lot between 57th and 95th. I sell a lot of six to twelve-room apartments and townhouses. A lot of five to fifteen million. We also do smaller scale price points. What does UES architecture mean to you? I think of Carpenter, Emery Roth and Candela. When you walk down Park or Fifth Avenue, you are looking at buildings that were built between 1920 and 1930 with grand proportions and architectural details. There are magnificent townhouses on the side streets. You can’t recreate these homes. Is there anything you want readers to know about the Upper East Side? It’s here to stay. You will always have your downtown person, and there are some wonderful places downtown, and I sell many of them, but there’s something about everything being at your fingertips on the Upper East Side, that’s not going anywhere. It’s not trendy, it’s forever.