Sophie Hoeller

The battle over gentrification in the East Village can become heated at the flick of an offhand comment about an apartment rental. But today came a bit of news that is all but certain to fuel the debate even further: the East Village made the top 25 of the annual Forbes list of America’s richest ZIP codes.

The ZIP code 10003 – an oddly shaped sliver of the Village that is roughly bordered by First Avenue to the east, East Houston Street to the south, 20^th Street to the north and Washington Square Park to the west – was designated No. 22 on the list based on the average home price here of more than $2.8 million.

The area’s inclusion in the upper stratosphere of the Forbes list was reported today by The Daily News.

No. 9 on the Forbes list was SoHo (10012).

What does this say about the East Village today – and what might it portend for the future? Feel free to put your thoughts here.

Meanwhile, if you want to explore more, and help us figure out the housing trends in the neighborhood, The New York Times offers these pages devoted to real estate in the East Village:

• Market Snapshot Data
• Building Permits Data
• Sales Activity Data
• Building Directory Index