Live Like a Celebrity in a New York City Luxury Condo
By Jennifer Merritt

Los Angeles is where celebrities go to be seen; New York is where celebrities go to live. Anonymity is the draw, as most jaded New Yorkers deem themselves too sophisticated to get caught gawking at celebrities. As Sarah Jessica Parker told Good Housekeeping recently, “You can’t live in New York City and be the most important person in town, you just can’t. There are too many other important people here.”

This sentiment succinctly sums up why New York City luxury has become a sanctuary for paparazzi-plagued celebrities. So much so that everyone from kitschy icons like Ricky Martin and Angela Lansbury to Academy Award nominees Jennifer Connelly and Heath Ledger take up space in the island of Manhattan and its outlying boroughs.

Way downtown on the Lower East side, get your "Sopranos" fix with neighbors Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Michael Imperioli. (Co-stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco choose slightly more uptown addresses in the West Village.) Here you’ll find a hipness unrivaled by any other part of the city, where streets are filled with quiet bistros and trendy bars surrounded by buildings that rarely venture over six stories.

Blondie lead singer and CBGB’s icon Debbie Harry occupies the West Side of Manhattan at 23rd Street and 9th Avenue. Next-door New York City luxury condo neighbors include actress Kate Winslet and director hubby Sam Mendes, as well as comedian Sandra Bernhard and supermodel Linda Evangelista. Head east toward Gramarcy Park and you may just walk the dog with Julia Roberts, Karl Lagerfeld, or Winona Ryder.

On 37th street and 5th Avenue, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has set up camp for a close and easy commute to work at Columbus Circle. A few blocks over and on 38th and Lexington you may run into indie actor Gabriel Byrne while picking up the dry cleaning. Midtown is home to some of the most spectacular New York City luxury condos, such as those by the United Nations or directly in the Time-Warner Center.

Move to the New York City luxury condo areas of midtown Manhattan and you could find yourself partying on New Year’s Eve with Paris and Nicky Hilton on Park Avenue then heading a bit uptown to 56th Street and 5th Avenue to spend New Year’s Day with neighborly Dick Clark.

Celebrities also bookend both the East and Upper West sides of famed Central Park. Waking up at your abode on the west side at Columbus in the upper 60s through mid 70s and you could get your morning news from neighborhood residents Ann Curry, Howard Stern, and Regis Philbin. A little further east, mingle with the likes of Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, and Diane Sawyer.