Madison Street (Manhattan)

Madison Street is a two-way thoroughfare in the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan that begins under the Brooklyn Bridge entrance ramp and ends at Grand Street. It is roughly sixteen large city blocks long. Due to security measures implemented after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, public access to the street starts from St. James Place. [Saulny, Susan. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E1DC133BF934A25757C0A9629C8B63 "Park Used by Police Since 9/11 Is Given Back to Chinatown"] , "The New York Times", April 17, 2004. Accessed December 31, 2007.]

The character of Madison Street changes quickly, from St. James Place to Catherine Street, the street is populated by mostly Hispanics and Asians. There are housing projects on this section. Between Catherine Street and Pike Street, the section is a residential area dominated by mostly tenements. The street is considered one of the southern boundaries of Chinatown. [ [http://gonyc.about.com/od/neighborhoodguides/a/chinatown.htm Go NYC web site Neighborhood Guides page on Chinatown] . Accessed January 2, 2008.]

Notable public buildings

The Hamilton-Madison House, at 50 Madison Avenue, is a major provider of child care for the Chinatown, Two Bridges, and Lower East Side nighbohoods. [ [http://www.hmhonline.org/ Hamilton-Madison House official web site] . Accessed January 2, 2008.] [ [http://www.unhny.org/member/agency_detail.cfm?ID=5030 United Neighborhood Houses official web site] . Accessed January 2, 2008.]

Madison street is surrounded by housing projects, tenements and schools. [http://schools.nyc.gov/schoolportals/02/M001 P.S. 1] , [http://schools.nyc.gov/schoolportals/02/M002 P.S. 2] and the Corlears Complex schools have yards facing the street.

Gouverneur Health Care Services, located at 227 Madison Street, is an important medical facility to the community with clinics and pharmacy facilities. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/facilities/gouverneur.shtml Gouverneur Health Care Services official web page] . Accessed January 2, 2008.] It once was a major hospital with emergency care facilities; however, it is scaled back. The other major pharmacy in the area is Chatham Chemists at 5 Madison St. [ [http://www.nychinatown.com/chinatown_d_drug_stores.htm Chinatown Drug Stores web page] . Accessed January 2, 2008.]

Transportation

The F train stops at the East Broadway station, and there is a Madison Street exit. The M22 bus runs on Madison Street from Grand Street to Pike Street before turning towards Downtown, and the M15 bus runs on Madison Street from Pike Street to St James Place. [ [http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/lowermanhattan.pdf MTA Lower Manhattan bus map] . PDF file. Accessed December 31, 2007.]

References