Manhattan Plaza

Two towers filling the whole block west of Ninth Avenue between West 42nd and West 43rd Streets make up Manhattan Plaza, the Hell’s Kitchen complex at 400 West 43rd Street that earned the nickname the miracle on 42nd Street. Related Companies owns and manages it.

The towers were planned in the early 1970s as market-rate apartments, but New York’s fiscal crisis left them unrentable at the prices intended. In 1977 the project was converted to subsidized housing under the federal Section 8 program, with about 70 percent of the apartments reserved for people working in the performing arts and the rest for elderly and longtime neighborhood residents. The arrangement helped stabilize a stretch of 42nd Street then known for its decline. Generations of actors, musicians and writers have lived here: Tennessee Williams spent his later years in the complex, and Alicia Keys grew up there.

Residents share an outdoor pool, tennis courts and a health club. Because most apartments are subsidized, they are let through a waiting list rather than on the open market, so prospective residents should check eligibility and whether the list is open before applying.

The Theater District begins a block east, with Restaurant Row on West 46th Street and the Port Authority Bus Terminal at Eighth Avenue both a short walk away. The A, C and E stop at 42nd Street-Port Authority, the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W and S all reach Times Square-42nd Street, and the 7 continues west to Hudson Yards.