Foodscape: Upper East Side

Upper East Side Foodscape

Manhattan Community District 8

About Foodscapes

Access to affordable and nutritious food is one of the cornerstones of good health. Without this, individuals—and communities—are at a higher risk of food insecurity and serious chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. To improve the health of New Yorkers, we must recognize that each neighborhood has a distinct food environment.

Purpose

These Foodscape reports provide a community-level snapshot of a community’s food environment, including data on healthy and unhealthy food consumption, food access, and diet-related diseases. Additionally, the reports detail a comprehensive guide of the many food-related resources available to residents within their neighborhoods to support them in eating healthier. The Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center has compiled this information from various sources, presenting it in a user-friendly format to help NYC residents and communities better understand their local foodscapes.

The NYC Foodscape Reports were published in 2020 and are continually updated every six months. Data in the Foodscape Reports is collected from multiple primary sources to ensure the most up-to-date statistics for each indicator. Learn more about organizations and resources highlighted in the Foodscape Reports by visiting the Center’s Neighborhood Food Resource Guides as well as the Food Policy and Practice Database. Together, these three resources provide a comprehensive food-related guide to each New York City neighborhood. 

Zipcodes include: 10021, 10022, 10028, 10044, 10065, 10075, 10128

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• DEMOGRAPHICS
• NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD
• FOOD CONSUMPTION
• HEALTH AND DISEASE STATUS
• ECONOMIC AND LIVING-CONDITION STRESS, CONTRIBUTORS TO FOOD INSECURITY
• EXERCISE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BURDEN
• COMMUNITY GARDENS
• GREENTHUMB GARDENS
• SCHOOL GARDENS
• FARMERS’ MARKETS
• OFFICIAL SNAP ENROLLMENT SITES IN NYC – HUMAN RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
• WIC SITES
• FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS
• RETAIL FOOD STORES
• PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
• FOOD POLICY ORGANIZATIONS
• ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

DEMOGRAPHICS:

• Total Population: 231,983 (2.65% of NYC population) (1)
• Population by Race and Ethnicity of Upper East Side and New York City (2) 
  • Upper East Side: 9.7% Latino | NYC: 29.2% Latino
  • Upper East Side: 2.3% Black | NYC: 21.7% Black
  • Upper East Side: 75.3% White | NYC: 31.8% White
  • Upper East Side: 10.2% Asian/Pacific Islander | NYC: 14.1% Asian
  • Upper East Side: 2.4% Other | NYC: 2% Other
• Upper East Side Population by Age: (3)
  • 0-17 years: 21%
  • 18-24 years: 8%
  • 25-44 years: 30%
  • 45-64 years: 25%
  • 65+ years: 16%
• Life Expectancy: 
  • Upper East Side: 86.4 years (2) | NYC: 82.1 years (2)
• Born Outside the US: 
  • Upper East Side: 23.6% (2) | NYC: 36.8% (2)

UPPER EAST SIDE ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD:

• Supermarket to Bodega Ratio: One (1) supermarket in Upper East Side to 5 bodegas (2)
• Meal Gap (# of meals needed per year for food security): 3,939,719 (2)
• Food Insecurity: 
  • Upper East Side: 7.7% of residents (2)| NYC: 15.4% of residents (2)
• Residences that Lack a Kitchen: 
  • Upper East Side: 0.6% of housing units (2)| NYC: 0.8% (2)
• Households Receiving SNAP Benefits: 
  • Upper East Side: 3.5% of households (2)| NYC: 22.4% of households (2)

HEALTH BEHAVIORS:

• No Fruits and Vegetables Yesterday: 
  • Upper East Side: 6% of adults (2) | NYC: 12.9% of adults (2)
• One or More 12-ounce Sugary Drinks Per Day (percent of adults): 
  • Upper East Side: 13% (2) | NYC: 23.6% (2)
• No Physical Activity in the Last 30 Days:
  • Upper East Side: 13% of adults (2) | NYC: 27.1% of adults (2)

HEALTH AND DISEASE STATUS:

• Adults Reporting Their Own Health as “Excellent,” “Very Good” or “Good” (percent of adults): 
  • Upper East Side: 89% (2) | NYC: 77.8% (2)
• Obesity (percent of adults): 
  • Upper East Side: 11% (2) | NYC: 24.6% (2)
•  Childhood Obesity (percent of public school children in grades K through 8): 
  • Upper East Side: 6% (3) | NYC: 21% (3)
• Diabetes (percent of adults): 
  • Upper East Side: 4% (2) | NYC: 11.9% (2)
• Hypertension (percent of adults): 
  • Upper East Side: 16% (3) | NYC: 27% (3)
• Smokers
  • Upper East Side: 8% (2) | NYC: 13.9% (2)
• Binge Drinking
  • Upper East Side: 29% (2) | NYC: 17.4% (2)

ECONOMIC AND LIVING-CONDITION STRESS, CONTRIBUTORS TO FOOD INSECURITY:

• Median Household Income: 
  • Upper East Side: $120,868 (2) | NYC: $63,611 (2)
• Poverty (percent of households with incomes below poverty): 
  • Upper East Side: 6.3% (2) | NYC: 19.7% (2)
• Unemployment (percent of people ages 16 and older): 
  • Upper East Side: 2% (2) | NYC: 4.5% (2)
• Extreme Housing Burden (Extreme Housing Burden includes households spending more than 50% of income on housing): 
  • Upper East Side: 18.6% (2) | NYC: 29.5% (2)
• Rent Burden (households that spend 35% or more of their income on rent)
  • Upper East Side: 32.5% (5) | NYC: 44.2% (5)

EXERCISE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BURDEN

• Air Pollution (micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter): 
  • Upper East Side: 8.7 (2) | New York City-wide: 7.4 (2)
• Bicycle Network Coverage (percent of streets with bike lanes): 
  • Upper East Side: 33% (3) | New York City-wide: 14% (3)
• Pedestrian Injury Hospitalizations (per 100,000 people): 
  • Upper East Side: 19 (3) | New York City-wide: 23 (3)
• Percent of Land User for Public Parks, Open Spaces, and Recreation:
  • Upper East Side: 2.6% (2) | New York City-wide: 24.7% (2)
•  Canopy Coverage (percent of ground covered by tree crown/canopy)
  • Upper East Side: 18.69% (6) | Manhattan: 21.38% (6) | New York City-wide: 22.04% (6)

To view information on Upper East Side Community Gardens, Greenthumb Gardens, School Gardens, Farmers’ Markets, Snap Enrollment Sites, Food Pantries, Retail Food Stores, Parks, and more please visit the link below:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230606095302/https://www.nycfoodpolicy.org/foodscape-upper-east-side/

REFERENCES:

1. “2020 Data for NYC, Boros, CDs, Council Districts, NTAs, & Tracts.” NYC Planning. 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/planning-level/nyc-population/2020-census.page.
2. “Data2Go: Upper East Side.” data2go.Nyc, Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council and Helmsley Charitable Trust, https://data2go.nyc/cd/?id=108*36047015900*ahdi_puma!undefined!ns*!buttonHolder~other_pop_cd_506~ahdi_puma_1~life_expectancy_puma_562~sch_enrol_cd_112~high_cost_h_cd_216~unemployment_cd_408~age_pyramid_male_85_plus_cd_20~ex_high_cost_h_cd_historical_402~poverty_ceo_cd_417~bodega_supermarket_cd_148~median_household_income_puma_397~fruits_veggies_cd_164~median_personal_earnings_puma_400!*air_qual_cd~ahdi_puma*family_homeless_cd_245#14/40.7688/-73.9566
3. Hinterland, K, et al. “Community Health Profiles 2018, Manhattan Community District 8: Upper East Side.” Community Health Profiles 2018, Manhattan Community District 8: Upper East Side, 2018, pp.1-20.
4. “Green Thumb Garden Map.” NYC Parks, https://greenthumb.nycgovparks.org/gardensearch.php. 
5. “NYC Community District Profiles” NYC Planning https://communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov/bronx/2#indicators.
6. Treglia ML, Acosta-Morel M, Crabtree D, Galbo K, Lin-Moges T, Van Slooten A, Maxwell EN. The State of the Urban Forest in New York City. The Nature Conservancy. 2021. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5532876

Article Image: “New York City (NYC) Neighborhood Maps – By Borough – Manhattan.” NYCdata, Baruch College Zicklin School of Business, https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/population-geography/maps-boroughs.htm.