5th Avenue & East 81st Street

The four-way crossing of 5th Avenue and East 81st Street is in Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, Manhattan. It lies on the edge of the Metropolitan Museum Historic District. Between 2021 and 2025, six police-reported crashes were recorded here, fewer than the median of ten crashes for a Manhattan corner. The Stanhope Hotel stands 150 feet away, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art is 310 feet away. The nearest subway, 77 St, is about ten minutes on foot, for the 6. Within a five-minute walk are 23 public places, six of them listed historic places, and 12 places to eat.

Safety record
3 hurt
6 police-reported crashes, 2021–2025
Nearest subway
77 St
0.5 miles · 10 min on foot · 6
Nearest bus stop
60 feet
5 Av/E 81 St · M1, M2, M3, M4 +1
Within a walk
23 places
6 listed historic places, 3 park features and 7 more kinds, within five minutes

Map

Layers
5th Avenue & East 81st Street Nearby corners, linked

Getting there

How walks are measured

Subway

The nearest subway station is 77 St, 0.5 miles from this corner, about ten minutes on foot.

  1. 77 St 6
    0.5 miles
    6

Next trains at this station

Uptown
1 line
  1. 6 …
Downtown
1 line
  1. 6 …

The MTA's permanent art catalog lists “4 Seasons Seasoned” (2004) by Robert Kushner at the 77 St station.

Bus

The nearest bus stop is 5 Av/E 81 St, 60 feet away, for the M1, M2, M3, M4 and BxM2.

  • 21 routes within a ten-minute walk
  1. 5 Av/E 81 St M1, M2, M3, M4 +1
    60 feet
    M1 M2 M3 M4 BxM2

Next buses at this stop

  1. M1 …
  2. M2 …
  3. M3 …
  4. M4 …
  5. BxM2 …

Live arrivals

A lane DOT records as a shared lane, not a bus-only lane, runs along 5th Avenue, 7am to 7pm on weekdays.

Cycling

  • 26 bicycle racks within 820 feet
  • 1 more bike-share station within a five-minute walk

Nearest bike-share station

  1. Madison Ave & E 82 St 34 docks in all
    750 feet

By car

The nearest highway entrance is the ramp to the FDR Drive southbound at FDR Drive & East 78th Street, 1.1 miles by car along the streets.

  1. 1855 1st Avenue Gas station
    1.5 miles
  2. 50 East 79th Street Charging for electric cars, ten Level 2 chargers
    1,170 feet
  3. 401-471 West 42nd Street Fast charging for electric cars
    2.7 miles

Safety record

How crashes are counted

Between 2021 and 2025, police reported six crashes at this corner, fewer than the median of ten crashes for a Manhattan corner.

  • 3 people injured
  • 0 people killed
  • 3 of those hurt, on foot

The most recent crash recorded here was in April 2025.

What the city has done here

  • Leading pedestrian interval, June 2019
  • Accessible pedestrian signal, August 2026

About this corner

Where facts come from
ZIP code
10028
Community board
Manhattan Community Board 8
City Council district
4 and 6 (the boundary runs through this corner)
Police precinct
19 and 22 (the boundary runs through this corner)
Neighborhood (City Planning area)
Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill
Elevation
82 feet above sea level

The streets

  • Up to two travel lanes
  • Two of the streets are one-way

Homes

About 1,700 homes stand within 820 feet of this corner, most of them in buildings of ten homes or more.

Trees

NYC Parks records 86 trees within 330 feet; the most common is the littleleaf linden.

Parking on the streets meeting here

How signs are read
  • 15 signs on these blocks
  • 5 different rules

The sign wording is DOT's, as recorded between October 2019 and December 2019, and the sign on the street decides.

East side of 5th Avenue

  • No parking 4 signs NO PARKING 7AM-7PM ALL DAYS
  • Taxi stand 1 sign TAXI STAND

North side of East 81st Street

  • No parking 2 signs NO PARKING ANYTIME
  • No parking 3 signs NO PARKING MONDAY THURSDAY 9AM-10:30AM

South side of East 81st Street

  • No parking 5 signs NO PARKING TUESDAY FRIDAY 9AM-10:30AM

Landmarks, monuments and public art

How landmarks are placed

Landmarks and historic districts

The corner stands at the edge of the Metropolitan Museum Historic District.

Within 820 feet are two Individual Landmarks, and 106 buildings in all are designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, recorded most often as Beaux-Arts. They were mostly built between 1884 and 1912.

  1. The Stanhope Hotel Designated landmark
    150 feet

Monuments and public art

The City's public art inventory lists one work near this corner, in Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground.

  1. Irving and Estelle Levy Playground Gate Ornamental gates by A. Walter Beretta, 1958
    430 feet

Schools, parks and places within a walk

How places are listed

Within a five-minute walk there are 23 public places.

  • 6 listed historic places
  • 3 park features
  • 3 playgrounds
  • 3 public spaces
  • 3 schools
  • 5 other places

Schools and child care

  1. P.S. 006 Lillie D. Blake School
    700 feet
  2. Rudolf Steiner School
    700 feet
  3. Marymount School of NY School
    770 feet

Parks, playgrounds and gardens

  1. Central Park Listed historic place
    70 feet
  2. Ruth and Arthur Smadbeck-Heckscher East Playground
    420 feet
  3. Group of Bears Sculpture in Central Park Park feature
    460 feet
Show all 7
  1. Cedar Hill in Central Park Park feature
    520 feet
  2. Ancient Playground
    900 feet
  3. Sophie Loeb Fountain in Central Park Park feature
    1,130 feet
  4. James Michael Levin Playground
    1,180 feet

Plazas and public spaces

  1. Public space at 985 Fifth Avenue Public space
    410 feet
  2. Public space at 980 Fifth Avenue Public space
    580 feet
  3. Public space at Park 900 Public space
    1,270 feet

Libraries, museums and history

  1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum · landmark
    310 feet
  2. Duke Residence Listed historic place
    320 feet
  3. Harry F. Sinclair House Listed historic place
    660 feet
Show all 8
  1. House at 49 East 80th Street Listed historic place
    810 feet
  2. Houses at 1026-1028 Fifth Avenue Listed historic place
    810 feet
  3. James B. Duke Mansion Listed historic place
    880 feet
  4. New York Society Library (The) Research library · listed historic place
    1,120 feet
  5. William Schickel House Listed historic place
    1,150 feet

Bank branches

  1. Citibank Bank branch
    960 feet
  2. Flagstar Bank Bank branch
    1,140 feet
  3. Chase Bank branch
    1,160 feet

Supermarkets

  1. D'Agostino Supermarket
    0.4 miles
  2. Morton Williams Supermarket
    0.4 miles

Pharmacies

  1. Duane Reade Pharmacy
    0.4 miles

Food stores and places to eat

Within a five-minute walk there are 12 places to eat and four food stores.

Nearby corners

The eight corners within a three-minute walk:

See every intersection along 5th Avenue or East 81st Street.

Sources: NYC Technology and Innovation, NYPD, NYC DOT, MTA, NYC City Planning, New York City's bike-share system, NYS Environmental Conservation, US Department of Energy, Landmarks Preservation Commission, NYC Public Design Commission, NYC Parks, NYC Health, FDIC, NYS Agriculture and Markets and USDA, retrieved September 18 – October 6, 2026.