Originally Posted by
neuron
That is a fairly safe area as the UES side starts to stretch northwards from the old 96th St boundary. Lexington is the street for the 4,5 and 6 line, with stops at 96 and 106. If you are taking the E train after Airtrain, get off at 59th St and take 6 train Bronx/Northbound to one of the two stops.
You'll transfer at 51st, not 59th. The E doesn't go to 59th. The stop when you're on the E is called "Lexington Avenue/53rd St" but on the 6 train the corresponding stop is 51st St.
I live in that area, more or less (96th and 3rd). It gets a little sketchy on Lex north of 96th but not awful. It's the gray area where the UES turns in to Spanish Harlem. A handful of fun bars/restaurants (and my favorite wine store, Vinyl Wine).
There are some public housing projects just north of 96th on 3rd and Lex that don't help matters, but overall it's a perfectly safe neighborhood.