Five and Ten Cent Store (5 & 10, or Five and Dime)
The "five and ten cent store" was popularized by the F. W. Woolworth Company, former owners of the Woolworth Building (once the world's tallest). Today they're called…
“Worth Every Penny” (Jack’s 99-cent stores)
The 99-cent stores (selling items costing 99-cents or below, but some stores have pricier merchandise) began in California, about 1980. Actually, Woolworth's pioneered the idea of the…
“What New Yorkers Line Up For” (Soup Man)
The "Soup Man," Al Yeganeh, became famous overnight after the "Soup Nazi" episode of the tv show Seinfeld. (See "Soup Nazi" in the food section here.) He has…
Polish Tea Room (Cafe Edison at Hotel Edison)
The Edison Hotel is located at 228 West 47th Street, in the heart of the theatre district. The Cafe Edison is joking referred to as the "Polish Tea Room," after the more famous Russian…
“Un cuadrangular en sabor (A home run of flavor)” (El Nuevo Caridad restaurant)
El Nuevo Caridad restaurant, at 191st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, is a place to watch Dominican baseball players. The restaurant's slogan is ""Un cuadrangular en sabor (A home…
Boss
"Boss" comes from the Dutch term and was used in New Amsterdam, then New York City. (Oxford English Dictionary)boss, n.[ad. Du. baas master (older sense 'uncle'), supposed to be…
“It’s not fitness. It’s life” (Equinox)
Equinox fitness clubs have the slogan "It's not fitness. It's life." Equinox has many clubs in the metro area, but also can be found in Chicago, California, and Florida.…
Bedpan Alley (Hospital Row or Hospital Land)
The East Side and the West Side of Manhattan have rows of hospital buildings. They are called "Bedpan Alley" (similar-sounding to "Tin Pan Alley") or "Hospital Row" or…
“(I Love to Play Piano) Let Me Bang Your Box” (1954)
"(I Love to Play Piano) Let Me Bang Your Box" is a 1954 novelty song by The Toppers. Robin Byrd (www.robinbyrd.com) plays the song at the end of her Manhattan cable tv sex show, "The…
“I seen my opportunities and I took ‘em” & “Honest graft” (George Washington Plunkitt)
George Washington Plunkitt, a corrupt politician of Tammany Hall days, is known today for the term "honest graft" and the saying "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em."…
“Welcome to New York. Now get out/Now go home” & “New York. It Ain’t Kansas”
T-shirts have helped spread New York slogans. "Welcome to New York. Now go home" appeared on T-shirts in the 1980s. "Welcome to New York. Now get out" was popularized in the…
“If you’re not at the New Yorker, you’re not in New York” (New Yorker hotel)
"If you're not at the New Yorker, you're not in New York" is the recent slogan of the old New Yorker hotel at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue. The New Yorker hotel is now owned by…
“Uptown, not uptight and decidedly New York” (Le Parker Meridien)
Le Parker Meredien hotel at 118 West 57th Street has served New York City with a French touch since 1981. Slogans have included "Traditionally French, decidedly New York" and…
Poetry in Motion
The MTA's "Poetry in Motion" program began in 1992. Poems were placed in the buses and subways, just as ads would be. The poems are either short or cut down to just a few lines. Some…
Amen Corner
The "Amen Corner" was a place in the old Fifth Avenue Hotel, at Madison Square, where people would meet, agree on issues and all say "Amen." It was named in 1897 in honor of…
Unbought and Unbossed
"Unbought and Unbossed" was the title of the late Shirley Chisholm's 1970 autobiography. Chisholm was the first black woman to become a member of Congress. However, former New York…
Sixth Borough (Yonkers, Scarsdale, Fort Lee, Jersey City, Hoboken, Nassau County, Rockland County)
New York City has five boroughs. The consolidation into the borough system took effect on January 1, 1898. Yonkers (in Westchester County) was soon proposed to be New York's sixth borough.…
Yappian Way (Broadway)
"O. Henry" called Broadway the "Yappian Way." It's a pun on Rome's "Appian Way" for the New Yorkers who "yap" (talk excessively). The term has…
Skyscraper
"Skyscraper" was the name of a horse in the late 1700s. "Skyscraper" also meant a large, triangular sky-sail in the late 1700s. In the 1880s, in both Chicago and New York, the…
Cantors’ Carnegie Hall (First Roumanian-American Congregation)
The First Roumanian-American Congregation (Shaarey Shamoyim) at 89 Rivington Street has been called the "Cantors' Carnegie Hall" because of its many famous congregants (mostly in…