Delancey Street is one of the main thoroughfares of
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
's
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, E. Houston, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street...
, running east from the
BoweryThe Bowery is the name of a street and a small neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood's boundaries are East 4th Street and the East Village to the north, Canal Street and Chinatown to the South, Allen Street and the Lower East Side to the...
to connect to the
Williamsburg BridgeThe Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on Long Island at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway...
to
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
. It is an eight-lane, median divided street.
Businesses range from
deliDelicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
s to check-cashing stores to
barA bar is an establishment that serves drinks, especially alcoholic beverages such as beer, liquor, and cocktails, for consumption on the premises....
s. Delancey Street has long been known for its discount and bargain clothing stores. Famous establishments include the
Bowery BallroomThe Bowery Ballroom is a music venue in the Bowery section of New York City. The structure, at 6 Delancey Street, was built just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It stood vacant until the end of WWII, when it became a high-end retail store. The neighborhood subsequently went into decline...
, built in 1929,
Ratner'sRatner's was a famous Jewish kosher dairy restaurant on the Lower East Side of New York City. Since it did not serve meat in deference to the kosher rule about not mixing milk and meat products, it was often regarded as a complement to Katz's Deli....
kosher restaurant (now closed), and the
Essex Street MarketThe Essex Street Market is an indoor retail market that was one of a number of such facilities built in the 1930s under the administration of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at 120 Essex Street at the corner of Delancey Street...
, which was built by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to avoid pushcart congestion on the neighborhood's narrow streets.
Delancey Street is one of the main thoroughfares of
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
's
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, E. Houston, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street...
, running east from the
BoweryThe Bowery is the name of a street and a small neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood's boundaries are East 4th Street and the East Village to the north, Canal Street and Chinatown to the South, Allen Street and the Lower East Side to the...
to connect to the
Williamsburg BridgeThe Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on Long Island at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway...
to
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
. It is an eight-lane, median divided street.
Businesses range from
deliDelicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
s to check-cashing stores to
barA bar is an establishment that serves drinks, especially alcoholic beverages such as beer, liquor, and cocktails, for consumption on the premises....
s. Delancey Street has long been known for its discount and bargain clothing stores. Famous establishments include the
Bowery BallroomThe Bowery Ballroom is a music venue in the Bowery section of New York City. The structure, at 6 Delancey Street, was built just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It stood vacant until the end of WWII, when it became a high-end retail store. The neighborhood subsequently went into decline...
, built in 1929,
Ratner'sRatner's was a famous Jewish kosher dairy restaurant on the Lower East Side of New York City. Since it did not serve meat in deference to the kosher rule about not mixing milk and meat products, it was often regarded as a complement to Katz's Deli....
kosher restaurant (now closed), and the
Essex Street MarketThe Essex Street Market is an indoor retail market that was one of a number of such facilities built in the 1930s under the administration of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at 120 Essex Street at the corner of Delancey Street...
, which was built by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to avoid pushcart congestion on the neighborhood's narrow streets. As the Lower East Side becomes gentrified, more upscale retail and nightlife establishments have moved in.
Delancey Street is named after
James De Lancey, Sr.James DeLancey served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York.DeLancey was born in New York City on November 27, 1703, the first son of Etienne DeLancey and Anne-daughter of Stephanus Van Cortlandt...
, whose farm was located in what is now the Lower East Side.
The
IND Sixth Avenue LineThe Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south through the Rutgers Street Tunnel to Brooklyn. It was the last trunk line of the Independent Subway System, completed...
and
BMT Nassau Street LineThe BMT Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system. It is served by the , , and trains which are colored brown on maps and signage....
of the
New York City SubwayThe New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
stop at Delancey Street–Essex Street, and the Nassau Street trains also stop at
BoweryBowery is a station on the BMT Nassau Street Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of the Bowery and Delancey Street in Manhattan, it is served by the train , by the train , and by the train .The station has a high ceiling at the north and south end...
. The M9, M14, and M15 NYCTA buses stop on Delancey Street, and the B39 bus traverses the Williamsburg Bridge.
Delancey Street used to be one of the main shopping streets in the Jewish Lower East Side. As of 2009, the neighborhood around Delancey is a mix of young professionals and artists along with working-class African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Chinese. Delancey Street is considered by many to be the unofficial northern border of Manhattan's Chinatown.
From west to east, Delancey Street starts from the Bowery, intersects Chrystie Street,
Forsyth StreetForsyth Street runs from Houston Street south to East Broadway in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street was named in 1817 for Lt. Colonel Benjamin Forsyth....
, Eldridge Street,
Allen StreetAllen Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan which runs north-south through the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of Chinatown, and the Lower East Side, and is continued north of Houston Street as First Avenue. Northbound and southbound sides are separated by a meridian mall...
,
Orchard StreetOrchard Street is a street in Manhattan which covers the eight city blocks between Division Street in Chinatown and East Houston Street on the Lower East Side...
,
Ludlow StreetLudlow Street runs between Houston and Division Streets on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, an important cultural street rich with history....
,
Essex StreetEssex Street is a north-south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A....
, Norfolk Street, Suffolk Street, Clinton Street, Attorney Street, Ridge Street, Pitt Street, Willett Street, Sheriff Street, Columbia Street (Bialystoker Place), Lewis Street, Baruch Drive, and Mangin Place, and ends at the
FDR East River DriveThe Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
. The street continues as Kenmare Street west of the Bowery.
Film and TV
The 1988 film
Crossing DelanceyCrossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
is a romantic comedy focusing on the different shades of urban life in the area.
A 1974 episode of the TV series
McCloud was titled "Shivaree on Delancey Street".
"Chrystie Delancey" is thought to be a woman's name by several characters in the 2000 film
Happy AccidentsHappy Accidents is a 2000 film starring Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio. The movie revolves around Ruby Weaver, a New York woman with a string of failed relationships, and Sam Deed, a man who claims to be from the year 2470...
, starring
Vincent D'OnofrioVincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor and film producer. He first gained attention for his role as "Private Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence" in Full Metal Jacket, and more currently for his role as Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Early life:D'Onofrio was born in the...
and
Marisa TomeiMarisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Tomei first came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987....
, until it is revealed to be a reference to the corner of Chrystie and Delancey streets.
In the 1988 Disney animated film
Oliver and Company, the song sung by Dodger (
Billy JoelBilly Joel is an American rock musician, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist in the United States, according to the RIAA....
), "Why Should I Worry", mentions the street: "One minute I'm in Central Park, then I'm down on Delancey Street."
In the 1992 Disney film
NewsiesNewsies is a American Disney musical starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...
, the song Carry the Banner contains the line, "Harlem to Delancey."
Music
The well-known song "
Manhattan"Manhattan" is a popular song. It has been performed by Lee Wiley, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. It was also performed by Anne Bancroft, in the role of a lounge singer, in the 1952 movie Don't Bother to Knock....
" by
Rodgers and HartRodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...
informs: "It's very fancy/ On old Delancey/ Street, you know."
The
Desi ArnazDesi Arnaz was a Cuban-American musician, actor and television producer. He gained international renown for leading a Latino music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra...
song "
Cuban PeteCuban Pete may refer to one of the following:*Cuban Pete, a 1946 film starring Desi Arnaz*Cuban Pete is the nickname of the famous Mambo dancer Pedro Aguilar...
" (sung by
Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
) features the verse "They call me Sally Sweet, I'm the Queen of Delancey Street".
The cover of
Jesse MalinJesse Malin is a rock musician. He has played for various bands during their career such as Heart Attack as well as D Generation. He is currently a solo recording artist.-Biography:...
's solo debut album
The Fine Art of Self DestructionThe Fine Art of Self Destruction is Jesse Malin's debut solo album. Released on December 24, 2002 in the UK and January 28, 2003 in the United States. It was produced by Ryan Adams .-Track listing:...
was filmed at the Delancey Street subway station.
Regina SpektorRegina Spektor is a Soviet-born American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered on New York City's East Village.-Early life:...
mentions Delancey Street in her song "That Time", from the 2006 release
Begin to HopeBegin to Hope is the fourth album by Russian-American singer-songwriter, Regina Spektor. It was released June 13, 2006. The album debuted at number 70 on the Billboard 200, but due to the popularity of the single "Fidelity", it peaked at number 20 and was labeled a "pace setter" by Billboard....
: "Hey, remember that time I found a human tooth, down on Delancey?"
DJ Kool Herc, the man widely acknowledged as the "inventor" of Hip-Hop, DJ'd his first party August 1973 in effort to raise money for his sister, Cindy Campbell, to buy back-to-school clothes from Delancey Street. As Cindy says in Jeff Chang's book
Can't Stop, Won't Stop: "I was saving my money, because what you want to do for back to school is go down to Delancey Street instead of going to Fordham Road, because you can get the newest things that a lot of people don't have. And when you go back to school, you want to go with things that nobody has so you could look nice and fresh..."
In the song "Delancey Street" (1986), 80's rapper Dana Dane raps:
- "Now this little story's called Delancey Street/
- It's the place where clothes are bought and people meet/
- Each city has a place that's quite the same/
- Even though it might go by a different name."
The 1987
Sonic YouthSonic Youth is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Mark Ibold and Steve Shelley ....
song "Stereo Sanctity" refers to "satellites flashing down Orchard and Delancey."
HarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.Harlem has been defined by a series...
rapper
Cam'ronCameron Giles better known by his stage name Cam'ron, previously known as Killa Cam, is a Grammy-nominated American rapper and actor. He is the founder of the hip hop group The Diplomats, commonly known as Dipset....
mentions it in his cover of "Weekend Girl": "Dated Nancy Niece, we did Delancey Street".
The 1996 song "Lazybones" by
Soul CoughingSoul Coughing was a New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 90's. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unique cult bands of...
(with lead singer
Mike DoughtyMike Doughty is an American indie and alternative rock singer-songwriter. He led the band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, became a solo artist...
) refers to "Cameraman sways to remember how the eye dances, drunkenness is a hand-held scrambling down Delancey, I come stumbling".
The song "Sunken-Eyed Girl" off of the album
Haughty MelodicHaughty Melodic is an album by Mike Doughty released on May 3, 2005. Doughty described the album as "a bunch of songs about yearning and redemption and happiness and hope." The album's sound is dense, stuffed full of multi-tracked guitars, horns, keyboards, and Doughty's own voice multiplied over...
by
Mike DoughtyMike Doughty is an American indie and alternative rock singer-songwriter. He led the band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, became a solo artist...
is about a "sunken-eyed girl on Delancey Street".
The
Fun Lovin' CriminalsThe Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American alternative rap / alternative rock group from New York City. Their musical style is eclectic, covering such styles as hip hop, rock, blues and jazz. Their songs often deal with life in a city, often explicitly New York City, but just as often urban life in...
' song "South Side" contains a chorus which revolves around Delancey Street.
External links