Restaurant space for lease in the Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is one of Manhattan's main medical office markets, with practices clustered near NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Lenox Hill Hospital. Madison Avenue carries luxury boutiques through the 60s and 70s, while Lexington, Third and Second Avenues and 86th Street hold neighborhood retail and restaurants.
- Retail stock
- 7.6M SF
- Retail properties
- 1,658
- Largest retail
- 325 East 60th Street
- Transit
- 4 5 6 at 86 St
Building figures are existing stock from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax lot records, not space on the market. More below.
On Leasemark No restaurant space for lease and no requirements posted in the Upper East Side yet. Post yours and it is matched the day it goes up.
Nothing listed here yet
New restaurant spaces in the Upper East Side are matched to requirements the day they are posted. Post yours and be first in line.
NYC storefront registry
Storefronts in the Upper East Side
How many shopfronts the city's registry counts here and how many stood empty at the end of 2024: a quick read on how much choice a retail or restaurant tenant has.
- Registered storefronts
- 2,557
- Vacant on Dec 31, 2024
- 219
- Vacancy rate
- 8.6%
- NYC 8.7%
- A year earlier
- 10.4%
- fewer empty now
Streets with the most storefronts in the Upper East Side
Storefront vacancy across New York City
Source: NYC Department of Finance, Storefronts Reported Vacant or Not (Local Law 157), annual filings, pulled 2026-10-01. Owners of buildings with ground- or second-floor storefronts register each one every year with its status on December 31. Neighborhood figures count storefronts near the neighborhood's commercial core, the same area as the building figures on this page. A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.
NYC tax lot records
Retail buildings in the Upper East Side
What already stands here, from the city's own property data. Useful for sizing a search before a single space is listed.
- Retail space
- 7.6M SF
- Properties with retail space
- 1,658
- All commercial space
- 38.7M SF
- Built before 1940
- 76%
Largest retail buildings
All 6 large commercial buildings in the Upper East SideAge, height and zoning
- Median year built: 1918.
- Median height: 5 floors.
- Most common zoning districts: R8B (813), C1-9 (412), R10 (411).
- Historic districts: Upper East Side Historic District (401 lots), Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District (95 lots), Metropolitan Museum Historic District (58 lots).
- 69 lots are designated city landmarks.
Source: NYC Department of City Planning, PLUTO 26v2, pulled 2026-09-30. Counts cover tax lots with commercial floor area within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's commercial core, and each lot counts toward one neighborhood only, so boundaries are approximate. Building figures are the city's floor-area estimates, not available space.
MTA station data
Subway stations in the Upper East Side
Every station within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's commercial core, closest first. Stations joined by a free transfer count once.
- Stations
- 10
- Subway lines
- 8
- Fully accessible
- 5 of 10
- Closest
- 77 St, 1 min walk
The 10 stations
- 77 St
- 86 St
- 68 St-Hunter College
- 86 St
- Lexington Av/63 St
- 72 St
- Lexington Av/59 St
- 96 St
- 96 St
- 5 Av/59 St
Lines
The 4, 5, 6, M, N, Q, R and W trains stop within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's core.
Step-free access
- 68 St-Hunter College (6) is fully accessible.
- 86 St (Q) is fully accessible.
- Lexington Av/63 St (M Q) is fully accessible.
- 72 St (Q) is fully accessible.
- 96 St (Q) is fully accessible.
- 86 St (4 5 6) is partly accessible (one direction only).
Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Subway Stations, pulled 2026-09-30. Walking times are straight-line estimates from the nearest point of the Upper East Side's commercial core (the same area as the building counts), so the street route is longer. Accessibility is the MTA's rating for the named station. PATH, LIRR, Metro-North and ferries are not in this data.
Before you sign
Plain-English guides to square footage, rent and lease terms in New York, and free calculators to run your own numbers.
Retail lease terms in New York: percentage rent, escalations and more
A New York retail lease covers much more than rent. Here is what percentage rent, escalations, pass-throughs, use clauses and restaurant terms mean for you.
Gross vs net leases in NYC: what tenants actually pay
Gross, modified gross or triple net: how NYC leases split taxes, operating costs and electricity, what the asking rent leaves out, and how to compare two spaces fairly.
How to read a New York commercial lease, clause by clause
Walk through a New York commercial lease clause by clause: rent start, escalations, deposit and guaranty, use, alterations, subletting, default and the end of the term.
Questions about restaurant space in the Upper East Side
How much does restaurant space cost in the Upper East Side?
Pricing depends on building class, floor, condition and lease length. Post a requirement with your budget and Leasemark will match you with spaces that fit it as they are listed.
How do I find restaurant space in the Upper East Side that is not publicly listed?
Post a requirement on Leasemark. Owners and listing brokers see what you need (without your contact details) and can respond with spaces, including ones that are not on the market yet. You choose who gets an intro.
How much retail space is there in the Upper East Side?
New York City's PLUTO tax lot data (26v2) records about 7.6 million square feet of retail floor area across 1,658 properties in the part of the Upper East Side Leasemark covers. The largest by that measure is 325 East 60th Street, at about 86,000 square feet. That is the existing building stock, not space currently for lease.
How many storefronts are vacant in the Upper East Side?
Owners registered 2,557 ground- and second-floor storefronts in the part of the Upper East Side Leasemark covers for the end of 2024, and 219 of them (8.6%) stood vacant on December 31, 2024, against 8.7% citywide and 10.4% here a year earlier. The most storefronts are on Lexington Avenue (265) and First Avenue (263). A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.
What subway lines serve the Upper East Side?
Ten subway stations sit within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's commercial core, served by the 4, 5, 6, M, N, Q, R and W trains. The closest is 77 St (6), roughly 1 minute on foot; then 86 St (4 5 6), 68 St-Hunter College (6), 86 St (Q), Lexington Av/63 St (M Q), 72 St (Q), Lexington Av/59 St (N R W 4 5 6) and 3 more. Walking times are straight-line estimates from MTA station data.
Do tenants in the Upper East Side pay the NYC Commercial Rent Tax?
It depends on the address. The tax covers Manhattan premises south of the center line of 96th Street, and the Upper East Side runs up to that line: space below 96th Street is in the zone, space above it is not. A tenant owes it only when base rent for the space is $250,000 a year or more. The tax is 6% of base rent after a 35% reduction, so 3.9% of rent, with a sliding credit between $250,000 and $300,000, and the Small Business Tax Credit wipes it out for businesses with total income of $5 million or less and base rent under $500,000.
Is it free to post on Leasemark?
Yes. Posting a space or a requirement is free. Contact details are only shared when both sides accept an intro.