By Dan Orlando
In one of the most crowded cities on the planet, loving thy neighbor may not always be the easiest task. But for some locals, itâs more than doable.
As 2014 wound down, Zillow polled America to see which celebrities would likely be the best neighbors.
Despite the hustle and bustle of city life, several New Yorkers made the list and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon was crowned as the âMost Desirable Neighbor,â for the second year in a row.
Jimmy Fallon
âEach December, Zillow looks at celebrities that have made headlines throughout the year and creates a list of 7-10 of the most desirable/worst neighbors,â Jill Simmons, Zillowâs director of consumer communications told Brokers Weekly.
â2014 was another landmark year for Jimmy Fallon,â she continued.
âHe had an incredibly successful first year on The Tonight Show, and for the second year in a row was named the best celebrity neighbor on Zillowâs annual celebrity neighbor survey.
âHe carries an all-around positive, funny, and relatable vibe, which people would love to have in a neighbor. He also has a reputation for being extremely humble â a quality that can be very appealing if you had to choose a celebrity neighbor.â
In fact, Fallon is more than humble. Arlene Harrison, president of the Gramercy Park Block Association as well as a trustee of the coveted private park and the comedianâs neighbor, told Brokers Weekly that Fallon is always eager to contribute to the Gramercy Park community in which he lives.
âWhen Hurricane Sandy hit, he contributed to the complete do over of three detectiveâs homes,â Harrison said, âHe stepped up to the plate. He loves the police, he loves the NYPD.â
Harrison described the comedian as âvery supportive of the work of the park association.â
âItâs critically important because we have a legacy,â she said.
âMy mission is to protect this legacy for future generations, so itâs critical for us to set up the park and neighborhood so that future generations can protect this unique two-acre piece of propertyâ added Harrison.
âWeâre hell bent on protecting its future. Iâve been head of this community for three decades now and we always join together.â Fallon is buying up more apartments in the Gramercy Park neighborhood â and heâs not alone.
The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons also lives in Gramercy with his partner, Todd Spiewak, and Harrison was quick to praise the work that the two have done to help restore the historic community.
âEven though theyâre only here for half of the year because he films in LA, they intend to make Gramercy Park their long-term home and their permanent residence,â she said.
The community advocate pointed out that the couple recently âexpanded their real estateâ within the neighborhood, which strengthens her belief that they intend âto set down roots.â
Gramercy Park
âTheyâre big fans of the park, the Gramercy Park Block Association and theyâre huge fans of the building that theyâre living in.â
While many of the residents are at least partially involved in restoring the buildings and the upkeep of the park, Harrison said that Parsons and Spiewak go out of their way to give both extra time and financial support to certain restoration efforts, which they are âdeeply and personally supportiveâ of.
âThey are preservationists, both of them,â said Harrison. âThey love living here.â
While Parsons didnât earn Americanâs endorsement for top neighbor â or even make the list â despite his dedication to his community, locals that did join Fallon as a finalist included Neil Patrick Harris.
Harris, who enjoyed a triumphant return to the A-List when How I Met Your Mother hit the airwaves, told Charlie Rose in a 2014 interview that his family opted to set down roots in Harlem because the neighborhood offered âthe most bang for your buck financially.â
The 8,000 s/f townhouse that he purchased â and labeled âa pretty good buyâ â set a record for the revived area when it was sold to the TV star for the full asking price of $4 million.
Of course, a list of the best neighbors would not be complete without a ranking of the worst.
Manhattan icon Donald Trump finished fourth in that unenviable category, with five percent of the votes.
Because Trumpâs gruff television persona likely played a part in this Zillow ranking, his spot on the list isnât exactly puzzling. However, a recent addition to the New York social scene, Taylor Swift, managed to make both the good and bad lists. Taking home three percent of the negative vote, Swift also claimed seven percent of the positive votes.
She was joined in the thumbs down column by Gwyneth Paltorw, who got two percent of the vote for worst celebrity neighbor.
Pop star Justin Bieber topped the list of worst neighbors for the year, earning the highest percentage of votes in survey history.
One in three voters (34 percent) found Bieber to be the most undesirable neighbor of 2014 â more than double last yearâs 16 percent.
Last yearâs worst neighbor winners, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, came in second with 22 percent of the votes, down slightly from 25 percent last year.
âNo one wants to live on the same street as someone accused of reckless driving or egging neighboring homes, which is likely why Bieber received the highest percentage of âworstâ votes in survey history,â said Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow chief marketing officer.While there are plenty of New Yorkers who exemplify what it means to be a good neighbor, the celebrities that took home the top positive spots shared a common thread of being actively involved in improving and helping their communities.
While Fallon shows no signs of slowing down his involvement, Harrison joked that next yearâs list could look quite different, with Parsons making his first appearance, and claiming the top spot.
Hereâs the full Zillow list of the nations favorite celebrity neighbors:
1. Jimmy Fallon
2. Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton
3. Taylor Swift
4. Matthew McConaughey
5. Neil Patrick Harris
6. George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin
7. Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis
And the worts:
1. Justin Bieber
2. Kim Kardashian & Kayne West
3. Miley Cyrus.
4. Donald Trump.
5. Alec Baldwin
6. Taylor Swift
7. Gwyneth Paltrow
