Learn About Clinton (Hells's Kitchen)
Clinton, known as "Hell's Kitchen", started as a working-class neighborhood comprised mostly of immigrants and dockworkers, but now houses many of New York's publishing magnates, working actors and theater producers who enjoy the activity of the city and the serenity along the Hudson. Zoning had long restricted the extension of Midtown Manhattan's skyscraper development into Hell's Kitchen, but the city relaxed the laws just before Sept. 11, 2001,
which leading to a residential real-estate building boom: Clinton reaped some of the biggest projects in the city. Over the last decade, the Clinton neighborhood has undergone tremendous gentrification.
Clinton's business-district neighbor to the East, Times Square, has also undergone a tremendous Renaissance. Despite the annual New Year's ball-dropping, which always showed the district in its best light, Times Square was once overrun with dive bars, cheap motels and red-light establishments. But just as with Clinton, city officials cleaned up the area and made it - as well as its off-Broadway theater district - a focal point of rebuilding the brand of New York. Both Clinton and Times Square - working in tandem - have become some of the country's most in-demand commercial real estate, sought-after residential property and a cultural center unlike any other.
Clinton, which stretches from 42nd to 59th Street between Eighth Avenue and the Hudson River, has come a long way since it was known as Hell's Kitchen. Once known for having a gang-like presence (as depicted in West Side Story), the neighborhood began gentrifying in the 80s, and now is home to a lively mix of actors, young professionals and families.
Subways: