Delancey Street is one of the main thoroughfares of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

's Lower East Side

Lower East Side, Manhattan

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

, running east from the Bowery

Bowery, Manhattan

Bowery , commonly called "the Bowery," is a street and a small neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan...

 to connect to the Williamsburg Bridge

Williamsburg Bridge

The 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 at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway...

 to Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

. It is an eight-lane, median-divided street.

Businesses range from deli

Delicatessen

Delicatessen 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 bar

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

s. Delancey Street has long been known for its discount and bargain clothing stores. Famous establishments include the Bowery Ballroom

Bowery Ballroom

The 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's

Ratner's

Ratner'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 Market

Essex Street Market

The 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.