Jealous of neighbors who get to live on streets called Sutton Place and Beekman Place, the residents of the Southgate co-op on 52nd Street would like to class up their block's name. According to the NY Times, some shareholders at the co-op—which stands between Sutton Place South at 53rd street and Beekman Place on 51st—want to ditch the number 52 and rename their block something a bit more elegant. Rich people!
At a recent meeting, a real estate lawyer planted the seed, saying "I know a way to raise the value of all our apartments that won’t cost us any money." (Currently two-bedroom apartments there go for over $1 million.) After that, the movement gained momentum. But can they actually rename the block? The paper points out that ceremonial second names are often given to street blocks (and even that's become increasingly more difficult), but rarely does a block's name actually change.
If they manage to wade through all the red tape, what will they call it? A name hasn't been voted on just yet, but word is that "River Place" is at the top of the list.
