Scullers’ Row
"Scullers' Row" (or "Sculler's Row") is in the Sherman Creek area of Washington Heights/Inwood. Scullers' Row used to have many rowing clubs, but that disappeared…
Shadyville (Queens Village, Queens)
"Shadyville" is a rap nickname for Mid-Eastern Queens, usually Queens Village but sometimes Hollis. "Shadyville" has been cited in print since at least 1995. Wikipedia: Queens…
Shao-Lin (Staten Island)
"Shaolin" or "Shao-Lin" is "Staten Island" in hip-hop slang. It's no "boogie down Bronx" in my opinion--not that rappers ask for my opinion. A Google…
Shoe District
Around 1900, the "shoe district" was on Duane Street, near West Broadway. Major shoe companies such as Endicott-Johnson were located there. Recently, the area of West 8th Street near…
Silk Stocking District
I live in the "Silk Stocking District" on the upper east side of Manhattan. The term is an old one, meaning wealthy people who dress expensively. 8 September 1895, New York Times, pg.…
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.…
Skyville (Schuylerville, Bronx)
Schuylerville is a middle-class neighborhood in the East Bronx. The Wikipedia entry states that Schuylerville has been nicknamed "Skyville," but this nickname appears only infrequently in…
Slime Square (slime + Times Square)
The Times Square area of New York City began deteriorating in the 1950s; in the 1970s, the area was a center for pornography and crime. The nickname "Slime Square" (slime + Times Square)…
SoBro (South Bronx)
"SoBro" is the "South Bronx." The nickname "SoBro" had been in various uses since at least the 1970s and 1980s, but became a trendy nickname in 2005. SoBROAbout…
SoCo (South of Columbia University)
"SoCo" is "south of Columbia" University. (GOOGLE)Columbia College Today... at 107th and Broadway. Now the real estate folks are calling the area SOCO (SOuth of COlumbia). Can…
Sodom by the Sea (Coney Island)
Coney Island has sometimes been called "Sodom by the Sea," in reference to the vices of the Biblical city of Sodom. The headline for the New York (NY) Times on October 15, 1893 was:…
Sodom South (Greenwich Street between Carlisle and Rector Streets)
Greenwich Street between Carlisle and Rector Streets was called "a kind of Sodom South" in the New York (NY) Times on March 9, 2007. A topless bar (Pussycat Lounge), Thunder Lingerie and…
SoFi (South of Fifth Avenue or South of Flatiron)
"SoFi" can mean either "South of Fifth Avenue" (this doesn't exactly make sense because Fifth Avenue runs north and south!) or "South of Flatiron" (this…
SoFo (South of Fourth Street)
"SoFo" is "South of Fourth Street" in Brooklyn. The term - a new one - is also the name of a bar there. http://www.papermag.com/guide/bars/brooklyn.htmlSOFO 550 Court St.,…
SoHa (South of Harlem)
"SoHa" is "SOuth of HArlem." Morningside Heights is the traditional name. Yes, it's another derivative from "SoHo." Attention Brooklyn real estate developers!…
SoHell (South of Hell’s Kitchen)
SoHell (south of Hell's Kitchen is a neighborhood name that was coined by New York magazine in August 2006. (The Gothamist citation below is from August 8th, but New York magazine dates its…
SoHo (South of Houston Street)
"SoHo" means SOuth of HOuston Street. The Oxford English Dictionary has no mention of New York's Soho, but has this for London: The name of a district in the West End of London,…
Solita (South of Little Italy)
"Solita" (or "SoLita") means "South of Little Italy." It's a spinoff from NoLita (North of little Italy). The name started with the "SoLita Building" at…
SoMa (South of Macy’s)
SoMa (South of Macy's) is a nickname for the area south of Herald Square in Manhattan. The "SoMa" nickname is taken from the well-established SoMa (South of Market) in San Francisco.…
SoPo (south of power)
Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in the evening of October 29, 2012. The Con Ed power company experienced many problems and power went out over lower Manhattan for several days. Manhattan below…