96th Street (Manhattan)

96th Street is a major two-way street in East and West Harlem, which is a part of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from the East River at the FDR Drive to the Henry Hudson Parkway at the Hudson River. It is one of the 15 hundred-foot wide crosstown streets mapped out in the Commissioner's Plan of 1811 that established the numbered street grid in Manhattan. [ [http://www.library.cornell.edu/Reps/DOCS/nyc1811.htm REMARKS OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR LAYING OUT STREETS AND ROADS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, UNDER THE ACT OF APRIL 3, 1807] , accessed May 2, 2007. "These streets are all sixty feet wide except fifteen, which are one hundred feet wide, viz.: Numbers fourteen, twenty-three, thirty-four, forty-two, fifty-seven, seventy-two, seventy-nine, eighty-six, ninety-six, one hundred and six, one hundred and sixteen, one hundred and twenty-five, one hundred and thirty-five, one hundred and forty-five, and one hundred and fifty-five--the block or space between them being in general about two hundred feet."]

On the East Side, 96th Street forms the traditional dividing line between Yorkville to the south and Spanish Harlem to the north. [Hinds, Michael DeCourcy. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02EFDD1E38F930A25756C0A962948260 "BATTLING TO CONTROL E. 96TH GROWTH"] , "The New York Times", May 13, 1984. Accessed December 5, 2007. "EAST 96TH STREET is not just a dead piece of real estate - it is a socially important corridor," said August Heckscher. "With El Barrio to the north and Yorkville to the south, it could be the meeting place of two cultures, a river into which both flow."] [Lee, Denny. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E6DD1E39F932A15754C0A9649C8B63 "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: EAST HARLEM; A 'Museo' Moves Away From Its Barrio Identity"] , "The New York Times", July 21, 2002. Accessed December 5, 2007. "The neighborhood north of East 96th Street is sometimes called East Harlem or Spanish Harlem, but local Puerto Ricans affectionately call it El Barrio."]

The street is separated by Central Park, whose West 96th street pedestrian gate is called "Gate of all Saints" and whose East 96th Street gate is called "Woodmans Gate". A sunken street through the park, often called the 97th Street Transverse road or Transverse Road #4, connects the East Side and West Side via 96th and 97th Streets.

On the West Side, 96th Street runs through a natural valley, but is also regarded as the southern border of the nearby Manhattan Valley [Cohen, Joyce. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506E7D61730F930A3575AC0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 "If You're Thinking of Living On/Central Park West; At Every Front Door, a Great Playground"] , "The New York Times", September 3, 2000. Accessed December 5, 2007. "North of 96th Street, where the area is known as Manhattan Valley, the avenue turns more modest, with a mix of co-ops, condominiums and rentals."] , which is a part of West Harlem. [Nieves, Evelyn. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5DE1231F936A15751C1A966958260 " Manhattan Valley's Long Awaited Boom Ends Up Just a Fizzle"] , "The New York Times", December 25, 1990. Accessed December 5, 2007. "For the last 10 years, Manhattan Valley, a quick dip between the Upper West Side and Harlem."] The street is entirely within the boundaries of ZIP Code 10025 on the West Side.

96th Street is the northern border of the New York City steam system which pumps 30 billion pounds of steam into 100,000 buildings south of the street -- the largest such system in the world. [ [http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/issueoftheweek/20031110/200/674 Steam (Gotham Gazette, November 10, 2003) ] ]

Transportation

96th Street is served by subway by the NYCS service|4 (late nights only) and NYCS service|6 on Lexington Avenue at the 96th Street station of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, by the NYCS service|1, NYCS service|2 and NYCS service|3 at Broadway at the 96th Street station on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line, and by the NYCS service|A (late nights only), NYCS service|B and NYCS service|C at the 96th Street station of the IND Eighth Avenue Line on Central Park West. 96th Street is expected to be the northern terminus for the first phase of the long-awaited Second Avenue Subway.The M96 bus line serves a majority of the street.

West of Broadway, 96th Street descends steeply along a natural valley, passing under Riverside Drive and connecting to Henry Hudson Parkway.

External links

* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10028&ll=40.781809,-73.966784&spn=0.021393,0.051207&hl=en Google Map]

References

Streets of Manhattan
West = Henry Hudson Parkway
East = FDR Drive