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Second Avenue (Manhattan)

 
Second Avenue (Manhattan)

 
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Second Avenue (Manhattan)
 
 
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Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 borough
Borough (New York City)

New York City is one of the largest cities in the world, and it is segmented into boroughs for various reasons. A borough is a unique form of government which administers the five fundamental constituent parts that make up the History of New York City ....
 of Manhattan
Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
 extending from Houston Street
Houston Street (Manhattan)

Houston Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan Manhattan. It runs crosstown across the full width of the borough of Manhattan, from Pier 40 on the Hudson River, through the Port Authority Truck Terminal on Greenwich Street, Manhattan, to the East River, and serves as the boundary between the neighborhoods of Greenwich...
 at its south end to the Harlem River Drive
Harlem River Drive

The Harlem River Drive is a major freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs along the Harlem River from the Triborough Bridge to the George Washington Bridge and points further north in Manhattan....
 at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
 traffic runs only downtown
Downtown

File:Chicago_skyline_march2006c.jpgDowntown is a term primarily used in North America to refer to a city's core or central business district, usually in a geographical, commercial, and community sense....
. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th to 34th Street closes a gap in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
Manhattan Waterfront Greenway

The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a walking and cycle path, long, around the island of Manhattan. The largest portions are operated by the New York City Department of Parks....
. Second Avenue passes through a number of Manhattan neighborhoods including (from south to north) the Lower East Side
Lower East Side, Manhattan

The Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen St., E....
, East Village
East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It lies east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy, Manhattan and Peter Cooper Village?Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side, Manhattan....
, Gramercy Park
Gramercy, Manhattan

Gramercy, a real-estate term extending fashionable Gramercy Park, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, focused around Gramercy Park, a private park between East 20th and 21st Streets at the foot of Lexington Avenue ....
, Murray Hill
Murray Hill, Manhattan

Murray Hill is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Around 1987 many promoters of the neighborhood and newer residents described the boundaries as within East 34th Street, East 42nd Street, Madison Avenue, and the East River; In 1999 Frank P....
, Upper East Side, Yorkville
Yorkville, Manhattan

Yorkville is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Yorkville's northern, eastern and western boundaries include: the East River on the east, 96th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west and 79th Street to the south....
 and Spanish Harlem
Spanish Harlem

Spanish Harlem, also known as El Barrio and East Harlem, is a predominantly low income neighborhood in Harlem, a neighborhood of New York City, in the north-eastern part of the borough of Manhattan....
.

town Second Avenue in the Lower East Side was the home to many Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre

Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish community....
 productions during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as 'Yiddish Broadway'.






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Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 borough
Borough (New York City)

New York City is one of the largest cities in the world, and it is segmented into boroughs for various reasons. A borough is a unique form of government which administers the five fundamental constituent parts that make up the History of New York City ....
 of Manhattan
Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
 extending from Houston Street
Houston Street (Manhattan)

Houston Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan Manhattan. It runs crosstown across the full width of the borough of Manhattan, from Pier 40 on the Hudson River, through the Port Authority Truck Terminal on Greenwich Street, Manhattan, to the East River, and serves as the boundary between the neighborhoods of Greenwich...
 at its south end to the Harlem River Drive
Harlem River Drive

The Harlem River Drive is a major freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs along the Harlem River from the Triborough Bridge to the George Washington Bridge and points further north in Manhattan....
 at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
 traffic runs only downtown
Downtown

File:Chicago_skyline_march2006c.jpgDowntown is a term primarily used in North America to refer to a city's core or central business district, usually in a geographical, commercial, and community sense....
. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th to 34th Street closes a gap in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
Manhattan Waterfront Greenway

The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a walking and cycle path, long, around the island of Manhattan. The largest portions are operated by the New York City Department of Parks....
. Second Avenue passes through a number of Manhattan neighborhoods including (from south to north) the Lower East Side
Lower East Side, Manhattan

The Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen St., E....
, East Village
East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It lies east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy, Manhattan and Peter Cooper Village?Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side, Manhattan....
, Gramercy Park
Gramercy, Manhattan

Gramercy, a real-estate term extending fashionable Gramercy Park, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, focused around Gramercy Park, a private park between East 20th and 21st Streets at the foot of Lexington Avenue ....
, Murray Hill
Murray Hill, Manhattan

Murray Hill is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Around 1987 many promoters of the neighborhood and newer residents described the boundaries as within East 34th Street, East 42nd Street, Madison Avenue, and the East River; In 1999 Frank P....
, Upper East Side, Yorkville
Yorkville, Manhattan

Yorkville is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Yorkville's northern, eastern and western boundaries include: the East River on the east, 96th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west and 79th Street to the south....
 and Spanish Harlem
Spanish Harlem

Spanish Harlem, also known as El Barrio and East Harlem, is a predominantly low income neighborhood in Harlem, a neighborhood of New York City, in the north-eastern part of the borough of Manhattan....
.

History

Downtown Second Avenue in the Lower East Side was the home to many Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre

Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish community....
 productions during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as 'Yiddish Broadway'. Although the theaters are gone, many traces of Jewish immigrant culture remain, such as kosher delicatessen
Delicatessen

Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German language,with the old German spelling , plural of Delicatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
s and bakeries, and the famous Second Avenue Deli
Second Avenue Deli

The Second Avenue Deli is a kosher delicatessen in New York City. Originally opened in 1954 on the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 10th Street in the East Village, Manhattan of Manhattan, New York City, the deli is currently located at 162 East 33rd Street between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue Avenues....
 (which closed in 2006, later reopening on East 33rd Street).

The Second Avenue Elevated train line ran above Second Avenue the full length of the avenue north of 23rd Street
23rd Street (Manhattan)

23rd Street is a large thoroughfare across the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from river to river across Manhattan, carrying two-way traffic....
, and stood from 1880 until service was ended on June 13, 1942. The elevated trains were noisy and often dirty (in the 19th Century they were pulled by soot-spewing steam locomotives). This depressed land values along Second Avenue during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Partially because of the presence of the El, most buildings constructed during this era were working class tenements. The line was finally torn down in 1942 because it was deteriorated and obsolete, and the cost of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 made upkeep impossible. Second Avenue maintains its modest architectural character today, despite running through a number of high income areas.

A Second Avenue Subway
Second Avenue Subway

The Second Avenue Subway is a rapid transit subway line currently under construction underneath Second Avenue in the borough of Manhattan as a part of the New York City Subway system....
 line has been planned by the New York MTA
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S. state of New York, serving 12 counties in southeastern New York, along with 2 counties in southwestern Connecticut under contract to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, carrying over 11 million passengers on a...
 since 1919. A subway line under Second Avenue would relieve congestion on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line
IRT Lexington Avenue Line

File:IRT Lexington Avenue Line a8e3c4b09d o.jpgThe Lexington Avenue Line is one of the lines of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Downtown Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan....
 , currently the only line running up the East Side of Manhattan. A few short sections of the line have been completed over the years, with some serving other subway lines (the Grand Street (IND) Station is one example), and others simply sitting vacant underground.