Hell's Kitchen Apartments & Rentals

Hell's Kitchen rental apartments are as nice as those in surrounding neighborhoods. Don't let the name put you off. While residents were once primarily poor and working class Irish immigrants, Hell's Kitchen is now home to actors, young professionals, and members of Manhattan's LGBT community.

Roughly falling between 34th to 59th Streets, west of Eighth Avenue, the neighborhood's history of tenements, gangs, and bootleggers is just that: history. Also called Clinton or Midtown West, Hell's Kitchen includes off-Broadway theaters, the renowned Actor's Studio on West 44th St, and tons of restaurants. Once gentrification hit the area, it didn't let up. West Side Story was set here, but the Sharks and Jets have given way to Anthony Bourdain and Robert DeNiro.

Hell's Kitchen cooks up a storm. Ninth Avenue is noted for its ethnic restaurants and you can order everything from Afghani to Vietnamese. The stretch of West 46th known as Restaurant Row serves more traditional options for theatergoers. Shopping in the area has room to grow, but Fifth Avenue is just a crosstown walk away. The Hell's Kitchen Flea Market does sell vintage fashion and furniture if outdoor shopping suits you. From swanky bars like Zanzibar to places more suited to chugging beer, the nightlife in Hell's Kitchen is lively. For the LGBT community, there are bars like Therapy and the club Escuelita, playing Latino and urban music, is an institution. This neighborhood is also synonymous with off-Broadway. There's no end of theaters as well as the original Improv comedy club. Hell's Kitchen is a bit short on parks, but there are tree lined side streets and smaller green spaces. Dewitt Clinton park is on the river and Central Park makes up part of the northern boundary of the neighborhood. Hell's Kitchen Park, on 10th Avenue and 47th and Street, has a playground plus volleyball, handball, and basketball courts.

The gritty reputation that stuck to Hell's Kitchen kept area rents low until the 90s. Then they shot up. A middle-of-the-road, non-doorman, one bedroom in Hell's Kitchen rents for $2,473. You can find luxury, high-rise lofts, low-rise walk-ups, and mid-rise elevator apartments here.

The area is popular with graduates and young professionals, but rent control keeps many long-time residents from moving. Hell's Kitchen is gay-friendly. In terms of transportation, several subways and bus lines serve the neighborhood. Cabs are easy to catch on Eighth and Ninth Avenue.

Hell's Kitchen is in Manhattan Community District 4 and it has a few libraries and post offices. Buy a ticket at the Port Authority bus terminal, and you can get a ride pretty much anywhere in driving distance. The neighborhood's local weekly paper, the Chelsea Clinton News, pre-dates the president's daughter in case you were wondering.

Hell's Kitchen's zip codes are 10019 and 10036.