615 East 138th Street, 5-A

The neighborhood, Mott Haven, a waterfront enclave with a mix of industrial and residential properties, is no longer defined by old stereotypes. It is undergoing a gradual reinvention, with restaurants opening, scruffy buildings getting spiffed up and apartments being built on gap-toothed lots. Plans are in motion for hundreds of rental units along a stretch of the Harlem River where Jordan L. Mott, for whom the area was named, once made iron stoves and other items. The 4, 5, 6 and 2 trains all serve the neighborhood, some part time. Some commuters in the Bruckner Boulevard area take the 6 train from Third Avenue-138th Street, then transfer to either the 4 or 5 express train at 125th Street, arriving in Midtown in 20 minutes. The closest Metro-North Railroad stops are Harlem 125th Street and Yankees East 153rd Street.