Miss Subways
"Miss Subways" was a beauty contest (actually, talent agencies ran the show and it wasn't much of a "contest") that was featured in the New York subways from 1941-1976. The…
Bed-Stuy (Do or Die); Bed-Stuy and Proud of It
The Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn (Bed-Stuy) is sometimes called "De(a)d-Stuy." It's a tough place. A documentary Bed Stuy (Do or Die), about the ambulance corps, was released…
“Does Macy’s tell Gimbels?”
Macy's is the World's Largest Store, at 34th Street and Herald Square. in New York City. Across the street on 34th Street was once a rival store called Gimbels. "Does Macy's…
Dead End Kids
The wonderful New York play Dead End (1935) started it all. It was made into a film in 1937, and the "Dead End Kids" were on their way to many films and national recognition. Depending on…
Who played for Yankees, Knicks and Rangers in the same year?
Eddie Layton, an organist. This trick question became famous when it was crafted into a Trivial Pursuit question. 3 October 1990, New York Times, pg. B1:His name answers a Trivial Pursuit question:…
Bowery Boy
The "Bowery Boy" is a famous New York street tough. (Oxford English Dictionary)bowery, n.b. attrib., in sense 'of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Bowery'; Bowery boy, a…
Fort Apache (41st Police Precinct in the Bronx nickname)
The movie Fort Apache (1948) was a western directed by John Ford and starred John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Shirley Temple. The movie Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981), based on the book Fort Apache…
A New Yorker’s View of the World
The famous Saul Steinberg 1976 New Yorker cartoon was called "A View of the World from Ninth Avenue," not "A New Yorker's View of the World." The "view of the…
Pistol (Carnegie Deli); LEO (Stage Deli)
Carnegie Deli, 854 Seventh AvenueStage Deli - 834 Seventh Avenue These two famous New York delis each have their own traditions. "Pistol" is the term for "pastrami" at the…
Greenmarket
The simple food experiment of "Greenmarkets" (farmers' markets) -- begun in 1976 -- has blossomed into a great addition to city life. They are many different Greenmarket days and…
Restaurant Row (West 46th Street)
"Restaurant Row" is near by the "Broadway" theater district, on West 46th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Ask for the pre-theatre specials. "Harlem's…
Iraq (LeFrak City); Kuwait (Queensbridge)
More hip-hop, from a rap by Capone and Noreaga. "Iraq" and "Kuwait" are in very limited use - possibly deservedly so. (Google Groups)From: Dee Phunk (deephunk@aol.com)Subject:…
Brooklyn chewing gum (from Italy)
"Brooklyn" chewing gum - from Italy? Didn't chewing gum come from Staten Island? 16 January 2001, New York Times, pg. C4:Italian Confectioner Buying Remainder of Dutch CompetitorBy…
Little Old New York
"Little Old New York" is an affectionate term for the city. I couldn't find the term before the song (circa 1898). 22 August 1898, New York Times, pg. 6:And, just incidentally,…
Museum Mile
"Museum Mile" along Fifth Avenue contains the following: El Museo del Barrio at 104th Street Museum of the City of New York at 103rd Street International Center of Photography at 94th…
“Wise Men Fish Here” (Gotham Book Mart)
The Gotham Book Mart opened in 1920 at 128 West 45th Street and moved in 1923 to 41 West 47th Street. It has recently moved again, to 16 East 46th Street. "Wise Men Fish Here" is its…
Sugar Hill
Most people know this from the "Sugar Hill Gang." "Sugar Hill" is the African-American area around Harlem where life is sweet. Wikipedia: Sugar Hill, ManhattanSugar Hill is a…
Pizzeria
Lombardi's on Spring Street claims to be the first pizzeria (1905) in the western hemisphere. The problem here is the the telephone directories that I checked list Lombardi's as a…
“Brooklyn is the bedroom of New York”
"Brooklyn is the bedroom of New York" means that people may work in Manhattan, but they live in Brooklyn. Perhaps Walt Whitman coined this. Brooklyn has also been called the…
Little Syria
"Little Syria" was located on Washington Street in lower Manhattan. That neighborhood was destroyed in the 1960s to build the World Trade Center. There was also a "Little Syria"…