Harlem Week
"Harlem Week" began as "Harlem Day" in 1975. It became "Harlem Week" in 1977. The annual festival takes place in August. There was also a "Harlem Week" given…
River-to-River Festival
The River-to-River Festival began in 2002. Like the annual Tribeca Film Festival, it's another attempt to revitalize the downtown area after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. 13 May 2002, PR…
NYC Grand Prix (at Icahn Stadium)
The June 2005 Reebok Grand Prix at the new Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island is the stadium's first international track & field competition. It looks like the Grand Prix will be an…
Millrose Games & Wanamaker Mile
The Millrose Games is Madison Square Garden's longest-running sporting event, since 1908. The Millrose features the Wanamaker Mile, named after department store merchant Rodman Wanamaker.…
Heeler (Tammany Hall politics)
The ward "heeler" was a feature of corrupt Tammany Hall politics in New York City in the 19th century. The political boss had you under his heel. This is not to be confused with a…
Flatiron District (Flatiron Building)
The "Flatiron District" gets its name from a single building in its district the Flatiron Building (1902, formerly the Fuller Brush Building). The buiding is triangular in shape, like a…
Gold Coast
"Gold Coast" is used more often in Chicago than it is in New York. Here, it's the upper east side, along the Museum Mile. Or the "Gold Coast" can be the upper west side.…
Copperhead (Civil War nickname)
A "Copperhead" was a person from the North who sympathized with the South during the Civil War. The term appears to have started in April 1861, when copperhead snakes were sent by mail…
Perfect Manhattan (cocktail)
What's a "Perfect Manhattan"? That's whiskey with a splash of both dry and sweet vermouth. Of course. http://www.cocktail.com/recipes/p/PerfectManhattan.htm1 1/2 - 2 oz blended…
Waldorf of Harlem (Hotel Theresa, now Theresa Towers)
The Hotel Theresa opened in 1913 at Seventh Avenue, between 124th and 125th Streets. The Harlem hotel ended its racial segregation policy in 1940. The Theresa quickly became the most important…
Wall Dog
The "wall dog" is the person who painted that advertisement on the wall. There were many "wall dogs" in the 1920s, but their numbers have been dwindling with the new…
Acropolis of America (Morningside Heights)
The area of Columbia University in Morningside Heights is sometimes called the "Acropolis of America" or "New York's Acropolis." Part of that is old Columbia puffery,…
SRO (Single Room Occupancy)
"SRO" first meant "standing room only," in the 1890s. Later, in the 1930s and 1940s, "SRO" was used to mean "single room occupancy." Both meanings of…
SCRIE (pronounced “scree”) and SCHE (pronounced “she”); DRIE
SCRIE (pronounced "scree") is the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program. SCHE (pronounced "she") is the Senior Citizen Homeowners' Exemption program. DRIE is the…
“She’s a Latin From Manhattan” (1935)
"She a Latin From Manhattan" was written for the film Go Into Your Dance (1935). The song was from the great songwriting team of Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (words) and performed by…
Bouncer
The "bouncer" is American slang and appears to have originated in New York. In England, the same person might have been called a "chucker-out." (Oxford English…
Crossing Guard
The railroad "crossing guard" appears to date from the 1880s and 1890s. The school "crossing guard" appears to date from the 1920s and 1930s. The first school "crossing…
Bicycle “Dooring”
A cyclist gets "doored" when riding down the street and a vehicle (usually parked) suddenly opens a door and obstructs the bike path. The term appears to have been first used in San…
“Hooverville” (1930)
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, shacks across the country were called "Hoovervilles" after then-President Herbert Hoover. This appears to have begun in Chicago, not New York.…
Edifice Complex
"Edifice Complex" (a pun on "Oedipus Complex") has long been associated with New York City and State. Governor Nelson Rockefeller's complex of state office buildings in…