The best block in New York City. Could there be a more subjective topic? As far as Gotham-related arguments go, it ranks mighty high. Still, fearlessly, we’ve gone there: We’ve picked the best block to live on in New York City. We even devised an elaborate, some might say elegant, six point grading scale to eliminate as much bias as possible. (A round of thanks to our math teachers who were right about it coming in handy one day.)

Of course, aesthetics (including design, cleanliness and the overall condition of housing) was a criterion when scouring the city’s residential stretches. We also took into account nearby amenities (restaurants, dry cleaning, etc.); the “green factor” (not only trees and parks, but waterfront access); the noise and traffic; proximity to public transportation and the length of a trip to midtown (so even if a block is right next to the Staten Island Ferry, it wouldn’t get a high score in this category); a wild card we called “New York–ocity,” the feeling of an only-in–New York spot; and affordability (certainly a relative term), defined by median sale and rental prices in the immediate vicinity.

This last one was the hardest to nail down, but we called real-estate agents and talked to residents to compile data and bestow accurate grades. Affordability is also the reason that many classic blocks, the ones touted in guidebooks, don’t show up. The West Village, for instance, is full of jaw-dropping vistas, but only Internet moguls or descendants of J.P. Morgan can afford to call them home.

Some other wrinkles: When two similar, adjacent blocks were nominated, the one with the higher score stayed in and the other was often eliminated, to avoid neighborhood duplications. In that sense, the first among equals often appears, with its peers included only by association. Overall, the scores are grouped fairly tightly—but keep in mind that we omitted hundreds of blocks, retaining only the top tier. (Clusters with the same score were put in alphabetical order.) Nothing garnered a 6 for affordability; unfortunately, cheap housing often means few amenities and high crime rates. And some blocks just have a certain X factor that adds to their attractiveness, so we doled out bonus points as the situation dictated. Manhattan led the way with 25 entries, followed by Brooklyn with 14; Queens with six; the Bronx with three; and Staten Island with two.

Think we missed the best block? Take issue with our rankings? Bring it! Commend or berate us at bestblocks@timeoutny.com.

THE KEY:

Aesthetics
Amenities
Green factor
Noise and traffic
Public transit
New York-ocity
Affordability