New York Songlines: Delancey Street

with Kenmare Street

Lafayette | Centre | Mulberry | Mott | Elizabeth | The Bowery | Chrystie | Forsyth | Eldridge | Allen | Orchard | Ludlow
Essex | Norfolk | Suffolk | Clinton | Attorney | Ridge | Pitt | Columbia
Sunset on Delancey Street, NYC by Carl MiKoy, on Flickr

Delancey Street was originally a lane that ran near the northern edge of the Delancey estate, one of the largest pieces of property on Manhattan, covering what are now some 120 blocks on the Lower East Side between Bowery and the East River. The Delanceys, a French Huguenot family that was perhaps the richest in pre-Revolution New York, took the king's side during the conflict and were forced into exile when their side lost. The estate was carved up by more patriotic land speculators.

Delancey Street was once a high-rent shopping district--though by 1922, when Lorenz Hart wrote, ''It's very fancy on old Delancey Street, you know,'' he may have been joking. Through much of the 20th Century, the street went through some hard times-- which is why rapper Dana Dane's 1987 hit ''Delancey Street'' is about being held up at gunpoint while shopping for clothes--but seems to be in a process of hipification.

Lucille Ball sang of being "Sally Sweet, the Queen of Delancey Street" in the song "Cuban Pete." Delancey Street appears under the name "Yancy Street" in the Marvel Universe, where it serves as the neighborhood where Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, grew up. The street is perhaps best known today for Crossing Delancey, a film about a Jewish woman finding love on the more authentically ethnic south side of the street.

Kenmare, the street's name west of the Bowery, is a village in Ireland's County Kerry, and the birthplace of the mother of Big Tim Sullivan, a local Tammany leader.









S <===     LAFAYETTE STREET     ===> N

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the corner by sarah sosiak, on Flickr







Corner: The Corner, diner that's both old-school and hip.

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Cleveland Place

A little triangular park where Lafayette and Centre intersect is named for Grover Cleveland, the only president with two non-consecutive terms, and the only Democratic president between 1869 and 1913--making him popular with New York City's Democratic establishment. He was a former New York governor as well, and he lived and worked in Manhattan during a couple of periods in his life.

It's also called Joseph Petrosino Square, after a NYPD officer who went undercover against anarchists and the Black Hand. He was killed in 1909 investigating the Mafia in Sicily.


S <===     CLEVELAND PLACE     ===> N

South:

Hoomoos Asli by shawnblog, on Flickr

Corner (100 Ken- mare): Hoomoos Asli, Israeli kebabs. Upstairs is Penine Hart Gallery, old-fashioned antique shop.

Corner: Was Nolita's--oddly, because this is the edge of Little Italy proper.

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Corner (17 Cleveland Place): Eileen's Special Cheesecake is said to be some of the best in town; Bar Veloce is an Italian wine bar that people seem to like-- though I think this is something else now.

Storefront for Art and Architecture

97: Exhibit space whose facade pivots to open the gallery to the street.

85: Allstate Glass has been here since 1923.

Corner (195 Mulberry): Paul Frank Store; stuff from that guy who who invented that monkey-face logo.


S <===     MULBERRY STREET     ===> N

This intersection was the "Curb Exchange," where from 1920 to 1922 bootleggers would barter for preferred brands of liquor. It was dominated by Joey "the Boss" Masseria, whose lieutenants included such future heavyweights as Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Vito Genovese and Thomas Lucchese.

South:

Corner (188 Mulberry): Go East, stylish Chinese gifts

72: East Boat Restaurant

70: Lye Yan Inc.




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S <===     MOTT STREET     ===> N

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41: Yee's Farm

37: Nee Fi Trading Corp





S <===     ELIZABETH STREET     ===> N

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19 (corner): Little Charlie's Oyster Bar









S <===               THE BOWERY               ===> N

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Corner (173 Bowery:) Lighting Craftsman boasts the biggest selection of Tiffany lamps on the East Coast.
























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Bowery Ballroom

 Bowery Ballroom in NYC, from Bryans View by fensterbme, on Flickr

6: This Beaux Arts building put up in 1929 to replace an earlier theater on the site remained vacant for years because of the Great Depression, and then was used as a retail outlet, notably by Treemark Shoes. In 1998, it reopened as a music venue, rapidly becoming one of New York's best places to see indy rock--the likes of PJ Harvey, Elliott Smith and Tricky have played here.

Corner: Here was the mansion of James DeLancey, a colonial landowner whose estate took in most of the land between the Bowery, Houston Street, East Broadway and the East River. One of the wealthiest men in New York, he was a staunch supporter of the crown during the Revolutionary War, and consequently had his land confiscated and distributed to more patriotic rich people.


S <===               CHRYSTIE STREET               ===> N

In the movie Happy Accidents, a reference to this intersection is mistakenly thought to refer to a woman named "Chrystie Delancey."

South:

Sara D. Roosevelt Park

Sara D. Roosevelt Park in the a.m. by Ara Alexis, on Flickr Named for FDR's mother, a formidable woman who took credit for her son's political success, and who was something of a terror to her daughter-in-law Eleanor. The park is the result of massive slum clearance in 1929; it was supposed to be replaced with public housing, but corrupt city land deals made the price prohibitive. One block wide and seven blocks long, this park is cited by Jane Jacobs as an example of unappealing park design, though it's been improved lately.

Wah Mei Bird Garden

In this community garden, established by the Forsyth Street Garden Club, Chinese men gather early every morning to give their songbirds a daily dose of fresh air.

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M'Finda Kalunga Community Garden

The name means "Garden at the Edge of the Other Side of the World" in the Kicongo language, commemorating the Second African Burial Ground, which lay just to the north.

17: The song "I Was a Floradora Girl," the lament of a chorus girl who married for love, says "All the other girls are living fancy/My address is 17 Delancey."


















S <===               FORSYTH STREET               ===> N

South:

Spanish Delancey 7th-Day Adventist Church

43 (corner): On this site in the 1880s was a chapel of the Allen Street Presbyterian Church, an unsuccessful missionary effort to convert the neighborhood's Jews that was based in two repurposed houses. This gave way to the current, more impressive structure, built in 1890 as the Forsyth Street Church. Architect J. Cleveland Cady, who also designed the original Metropolitan Opera House and part of the Natural History Museum, gave it a dramatic double staircase leading up to the triple-arched entrance; he also provided space for retail, commercial activity that continues to subsidize the site's more spiritual endeavors. Iglesia Adventista del 7º Día Delancey by enric archivall, on Flickr

In 1900, the church was bought by the Jewish congregation Poel Zodek Anshei Illia--roughly, Do-Gooding People of Illia, a Lithuanian village near Vilnius. The synagogue began to decline in the 1920s, as Jews began to move from the Lower East Side; in the late 1960s, the congregation sold the building to the present worshipers, a group of Seventh-Day Adventists (an idiosyncratic Christian sect that traces back to an upstate New York movement that believed the world would end in 1844) that was originally based on Union Square. The Adventist congregation includes many immigrants from Mexico, Ecuador and the Philippines.

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S <===               ELDRIDGE STREET               ===> N

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S <===               ALLEN STREET               ===> N

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79 (corner): The building with the Corinthian columns was the Bank of the United States, which failed in 1932, surprising many depositors who thought it was a government institution. That year the Hebrew Publishing Company moved in, a leading publisher of literature and religious works in Hebrew and Yiddish. Now A.L.L. Sign & Storefront (at No. 77), Winda Restaurant Supplies. Delancey Street nu john weiss, on Flickr

81 (corner): Klein's of Monticello, "the classiest store on the Lower East Side and one of the best stores in Manhattan" (Born to Shop, 2004). Opened c. 1975, it was bought by a the Pegasus fashion conglomerate in 2001. The building dates to 1910.

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80 (corner): Smile Dental Group




















S <===               ORCHARD STREET               ===> N

Sonic Youth sing of "satellites flashing down Orchard and Delancey" in the song "Stereo Sanctity."

South:

85 (corner): Petland Discounts

95: Schachner Fashions, lingerie; Delancey Discount Store; Triangle Optical; Delancey Dry Cleaners; A and A Deli and Bagel










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86 (corner): Jimmy Jazz; upscale hip-hop boutique

88: Skylight Electronics; Vicmar Stereo & TV

88A: Elco Jewelry

90: Diamond Planet; Adler's Men's Wear

90A: Planet Gold

92: Everything $.99 or Less; Do It Sportswear

98: Morel Jewelry

Corner (109 Ludlow): Suba, pricey Latino


S <===               LUDLOW STREET               ===> N

South:

101 (corner): Happiness Deli; Stetson Hats; Jackson Hewitt Tax Services; Dalmations Nail Salon

111: American Choice Deli






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100 (corner): Bunnies, children's clothes

106: Alchemy 106 / Lan Labs; Downstairs is a premium coffee bar and cybercafe; upstairs is a state-of-the-art computer gaming center.

110: Rainbow




S <===         ESSEX STREET         ===> N

South:

115 (corner): Olympic Restaurant

123: Jade Fountain, liquor store

125: Original site of ABC No Rio, art/activism collective and internationally known punk venue founded in 1980 by Colab (Collaborative Projects). It was here that a sign with missing letters said read "Ab[ogado] C[on] No[ta]rio"--"lawyer and notary republic."









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Essex Street Market

116 (corner): These buildings were put up in 1938 to give pushcart vendors a home when pushcarts were forced off the street to make way for the automobile. While most of the vendors did very poorly by the transition, one of the market buildings is still in use. This end holds Roma Pizza & Pasta.

118: Amigo Mini Mart, newsstand

120: Top Secret Outlet; New Rock Footwear & Sportswear

122: Richies

124: Fabco Shoes; Ritmo Latino

128 (corner): Gem Supervalue Stores


S <===               NORFOLK STREET               ===> N

South:

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132: Solid Gold Jewelers; San Juan Jewelry

134: Banco Popular

Ratner's

138: From its birth in 1905 on Pitt Street until it closed in 2002, one of the great old Jewish delis--famous for its blintzes, rugelach and onion rolls. It was also noted as a hangout for the Jewish mob, with Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel doing business in the back room. Capitalizing on Mafia chic, the owners turned the back into the speakeasy-themed Lansky Lounge--for a time, Ratner's was just the lounge's entrance. Now they're both closed.

140: Bate Records. This used to be the Loew's Delancey Theater, a cinema from 1912-77.

142: Cee & Cee Department Stores

144: BootHill; Soft Touch Shoes; Dynamite, women's clothing

146 (corner): Hyperactive; Outrageous Look, women's clothing


S <===               SUFFOLK STREET               ===> N

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Delancey - then and now by [phil h], on Flickr

150: Bought for $12 million in 2008 by developer Sam Chang, along with Nos. 152-154 for $3.5 million. All demolished, supposed to be replaced by a six-story hotel.

152: Was Hi Fi Electronics

156: Taj Gold

158: Happy Wok

160: Apparel & More

162: Get Set clothing

164 (corner): Abbas clothing


S <===               CLINTON STREET               ===> N

South:

Corner: Was for more than 70 years the 7th Precinct police station.














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Delancey @ Clinton by rbs10025, on Flickr

166 (corner): Was Clinton Papaya. Building c. 1900.

168 1/2: Apolo Restaurant, Chinese/Spanish diner with a misspelled Greek god's name

168: The Delancey, newish three-level rock club with a fish pond on the roof. Also known as Delancey Lounge, though that sounds too much like ''Lansky Lounge.'' Bjork deejayed here at an opening-week party.


S <===               ATTORNEY STREET               ===> N

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P.S. 142: Amelia Castro School

Block (100 Attorney): This 1975 school, shaped like a banjo, is named for the acting principal of P.S. 4, who died in 1973.









S <===               RIDGE STREET               ===> N

South:

Block (132 Broome): A four-story building from 1972--owned by the city.







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River Ridge

198 (corner): Renovated as a luxury condo in 2007, the year before it had been Live Poultry Market, a chicken slaughterhouse. It's also noted for the spectacular views motorists on the Williamsburg Bridge have of residents. The building dates to c. 1930.


S <===         PITT STREET         ===> N

Williamsburg Bridge

Constructed in 1903, this was the second bridge to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. By allowing Orthodox Jews to walk to Lower East Side synagogues on the Sabbath, it created the Jewish enclaves in Williamsburg. Now it also allows Williamsburg hipsters easy access to the newly re-hip LES. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world until 1924 when it was surpassed by the Bear Mountain Bridge. Robert DeNiro's gang hangs out under this bridge in Once Upon a Time in America.

South:







S <===         WILLET ST

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S <===         COLUMBIA STREET         ===> N

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S <===         CANNON ST

285: PS 110: Florence Nightingale School (K-6). Though best remembered for ministering to wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, Nightingale's real achievement was in using statistical analysis to show the benefits of sanitation efforts.


S <===         LEWIS ST

Corlears Hook Houses

ILGWU cooperative housing built in 1956, named for the southeastern corner of the bulge in Manhattan that creates the Lower East Side and Alphabet City. This area was owned by the Van Corlears family in Dutch colonial times.

Corlears Hook was the site of a massacre on February 25, 1643, when New Amsterdam's Gov. Willem Kieft ordered his men to kill Munsee Indians who had fled from warfare to the north. Along with another massacre in Pavonia, New Jersey, the same night, some 120 Indians were killed, including many infants and children.

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Baruch Houses

1953, Delancey St by CORNERSTONES of NY, on Flickr

Public housing named for financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch.













BARUCH DR         N ===>












S <===     FDR DRIVE     ===> N

East River Park

Created in 1939 by Robert Moses when he put through the FDR Drive.





EAST RIVER


Is your favorite Delancey Street spot missing? Write to Jim Naureckas and tell him about it.

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