Upper West Side Story the next morning. The poem was ultimately included in a scene in which Neal is teaching an English class. Kenny Herzog of "The A.V. Club" pointed out that the episode contained various references to Shakespearian and Victorian-era literature, specifically mentioning "Romeo and Juliet". He stated that these metaphors helped move the plot forward. The initial broadcast of the episode drew 3.472 million viewers, and earned a 1.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic. "Upper West Side Story" ranked seventh place among cable series for the night in the 18–49 demographic and fourth in its timeslot, surpassed by "Teen Mom 2", "Storage
Upper West Side Story and "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper". It was first reported on July 11, 2011 that Dylan Baker and Elizabeth Gillies would appear in an episode of "White Collar" as Andy Woods and his daughter. Other guest stars to appear in the episode include Graham Phillips. Series star Tim DeKay stated that he enjoyed working on the episode, in part because it was primarily a standalone. Bomer said, speaking of "Upper West Side Story", that he enjoys portraying different aspects of Neal's undercover roles. Bomer stated that he received a phone call from Campolongo requesting that he memorize a Byron poem by