For some law firms, west midtown looks a little too fresh and smart.

The district is said to have "put West Midtown on the map."

West Midtown is also home to live music venues and drinking establishments.

But it now is clear that there has been too much new construction for the market's need - especially in West Midtown.

East midtown has stabilized; west midtown is growing in a big way.

Before 1982, the zoning in much of west midtown allowed buildings to have floor space equal to 15 times the size of their sites.

Retail tenants include the Coliseum bookstore, one of the few successful independent book dealers left in west midtown.

West Midtown $1.3 million 200 Central Park South 2 3 weeks 1,500-sq.

For now, however, developers and their agents in West Midtown are in a bruising competition.

The rejuvenation of 42d Street probably will boost the capacity of west midtown generally to draw office tenants, a major planning goal.