Avenue B is a north–south avenue located in the
Alphabet City
Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names. It is bounded by Houston St ...
area of the
East Village neighborhood of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, east of
Avenue A and west of
Avenue C. It runs from
Houston Street
Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River i ...
to
14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in
Stuyvesant Town Stuyvesant may refer to:
People
* Peter Stuyvesant (1592–1672), the last governor of New Netherland
* Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778–1847), lawyer, landowner and philanthropist.
* Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1843–1909), socialite and land develope ...
, to be connected with
Avenue A. Below Houston Street, Avenue B continues as Clinton Street to
South Street. It is the eastern border of
Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...
.
History
The street was created by the
Commissioners' Plan of 1811
The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march uptown ...
as one of 16 north-south streets specified as in width, including 12 numbered avenues and four designated by letter located east of
First Avenue. In 1824, prior to any construction, its width was reduced to , the standard for cross-streets, by taking from the east side. The city reasoned that the lettered avenues were "incapable of use as thoroughfares to and from the City" and could not "be considered as avenues in the proper Sense of the term."
East End Avenue
On the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the we ...
, Avenue B reappears as East End Avenue; principally residential in character, it runs only from East
79th Street to East
90th Street through the
Yorkville neighborhood. It was called Avenue B under the original Commissioners' Plan of 1811, but is no longer given that designation.
Carl Schurz Park
Carl Schurz Park is a public park in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, named for German-born Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz in 1910, at the edge of what was then the solidly German-American community of Yorkvill ...
, the location of
Gracie Mansion
Archibald Gracie Mansion (commonly called Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. ...
, is adjacent to the avenue at this point. In 1928, the
New York City Board of Estimate
The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...
ruled that development below East 84th Street was restricted to residential use.
Landmarks
* The
Christodora House, a former women's
Settlement House
The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...
and now a condominium, is located on Avenue B at
9th Street.
* The
Charlie Parker Residence at 151 Avenue B between 9th and
10th
10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The re ...
Streets, where jazz musician
Charlie "Bird" Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
lived from 1950 to 1954, is a
New York City landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
.
*
Gracie Mansion
Archibald Gracie Mansion (commonly called Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. ...
, a New York City landmark and official residence of the mayor of New York City, is located on East End Avenue at 88th Street.
Transportation
Currently, there is no bus that travels on Avenue B. The M9 bus formerly used this street from East Houston Street to 14th Street. The M9 now travels on Avenue C from Houston to
23rd Streets. The M79 bus travels along East End Avenue from 80th Street to 79th Street.
In popular culture
* In 1922
Fanny Brice
Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. ...
recorded "The Sheik of Avenue B", a parody of "
The Sheik of Araby
"The Sheik of Araby" is a song that was written in 1921 by Harry B. Smith and Francis Wheeler, with music by Ted Snyder. It was composed in response to the popularity of the Rudolph Valentino feature film '' The Sheik''.
"The Sheik of Araby" was ...
" written by
Harry Ruby
Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.[Bert Kalmar
Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter.
Biography
Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early ag ...]
"The Sheik of Avenue B"
on the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
National Jukebox
* In Jonathan Larson's musical ''Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'', most of the characters live on Avenue B and 11th Street
* In 1983 Pierce Turner
Pierce Turner (born June 1949) is an Irish singer-songwriter. After forming a duo with Larry Kirwan he went solo in the mid-1980s and has since released several albums.
Biography
Turner grew up in the port town of Wexford, where his mother r ...
, Larry Kirwan and Thomas Hamlin wrote "Avenue B (is the place to be)", which was recorded by their band Major Thinkers
* A 1999 Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...
album is entitled ''Avenue B'', written while he was living at Christodora House
* A song by The Fleshtones
The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York, United States, formed in 1976.
History 1976–1979
The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York, by Keith Streng (born September 18, 1955, New York City) an ...
entitled ''Take a Walk with the Fleshtones'' on their album ''Beautiful Light'' describes the street scene, starting at "Eleven Eleven" with the chorus repeating "...on Avenue B"
* Gogol Bordello wrote a song called "Avenue B"
* Several scenes from the 1986 film "Crocodile Dundee
''Crocodile Dundee'' (stylized as ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' in the U.S.) is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee, and American actress Linda Kozlowski as ...
" were filmed in and around a bar located at 108 Avenue B where that street intersects with East 7th Street, otherwise known as Tompkins Square
Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...
.
* On Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...
's 1989 album ''New York'', the song "Halloween Parade" includes the line "The boys from Avenue B, the girls from Avenue D, a Tinkerbell in tights." The song is about the ravages of AIDS, using the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade as a backdrop.
* On Cop Shoot Cop
Cop Shoot Cop was a noise rock group founded in New York City in 1987. They disbanded in 1996. The band were frequently classified as industrial rock, but were often quite different from many bands so dubbed: having a distinctive instrumental l ...
's 1994 ''Release'', the song "It Only Hurts When I Breathe" references the corner of Avenue B and 3rd Street.
References
Notes
External links
New York Songlines: Avenue B
a virtual walking tour
{{Avenues of Manhattan
*B