The Block Beautiful (East 19th Street, Gramercy Park)
"The Block Beautiful" is the name for East 19th Street, between Third Avenue and Irving Place. A few old homes were saved from demolition and refurbished, and the nickname "The Block…
The Caledonian Tragedy (name used to avoid the “Macbeth” curse)
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth includes witches, and theater tradition has it that the play is cursed. Saying the play's name or its lines (outside of an actual performance) is said…
The Championship Track (Belmont Park nickname)
The Belmont Stakes is the last race of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown. Belmont Park advertised in June 1987 that it was "The Championship Track." "The Championship…
The Clays (Barclays Center nickname)
The Barclays Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Brooklyn, and the home of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA's New York Liberty in professional basketball. Barclays Center has…
The Company (Central Intelligence Agency or CIA nickname)
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to World War II's Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The CIA has been nicknamed "The Company" since at least 1972, when that…
The Corner (23 Wall Street, at Broad Street)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: 23 Wall Street23 Wall Street or "The Corner" is an office building formerly owned by J.P. Morgan & Co. (later the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company)…
The Deuce (42nd Street)
"Forty Deuce," or "Deuce" for short, is (or was) West 42nd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue. The term dates from the seedy 1960s and 1970s, when the block…
The Dinosaur (English Elm in Washington Heights)
"The Dinosaur" is tha name of an English Elm tree at St. Nicholas Avenue and 163rd Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan. George Washington is said to have walked by the tree around the…
The Dollhouse (Barbizon Hotel for Women nickname)
The Barbizon Hotel for Women, at 140 East 63rd Street in Manhattan, was built in 1927. In 2005, the hotel closed and was rebuilt for condominiums, and was given the new name of Barbizon 63. The…
The Failing New York Times (New York Times nickname)
The New York Times newspaper is frequently nicknamed The Failing New York Times in the tweets of Donald Trump (who was elected U.S. president in 2016). There are a few earlier, non-Trump tweets.…
The Fashion Projects (London Terrace)
London Terrace is a series of residential buildings between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth streets and Ninth and Tenth avenues in West Chelsea, Manhattan. There are many designer, photographer and…
The Flying Kangaroo (Qantas nickname)
Qantasis the flag carrier airline of Australia. Qantas has used the flying kangaroo in promotional materials since at least the 1940s. By at least 1954, Qantas was dubbed the "flying kangaroo…
The Friendly Firehouse (Ladder Co. 159, Brooklyn)
Ladder Co. 159 on East 48th Street near Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn has been called the "Friendly Firehouse" since at least the late 1990s, when a yellow smiley face was painted on the…
The Fumble or Miracle at the Meadowlands (1978 Giants fumble)
The New York Giants were leading the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-12, and all Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik had to do was down the ball one last time to end the game. He tried to hand the ball off to…
The Glamis Comedy (name used to avoid the “Macbeth” cruse)
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth includes witches, and theater tradition has it that the play is cursed. Saying the play's name or its lines (outside of an actual performance) is said…
The Great Mentioner
The media always comes up with a handful of familiar names as potential candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations. Who decides on this small group of names? Russell…
The Greatest City in the World
New York City has long been called by many "the greatest city in the world." The television show "The Late Show with David Letterman" broadcasts from the Ed Sullivan Theater, at…
The House that Herring Built (Russ & Daughters nickname)
Russ & Daughters is an appetizing store located at 179 East Houston Street, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, that opened in 1914. The Russ & Daughters nickname of "The House that…
The International Magazine of Events (TIME backronym)
Time magazine was founded in 1923 in New York City. It has sometimes been claimed (since at least 2007) that the name Time stands for "The International Magazine of Events." A search of…
The Jews’ Highway (Williamsburg Bridge)
The Williamsburg Bridge connects the Lower East Side of Manhattan with Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The bridge opened in December 1903; an article in the New York Tribune in April 1904 commented on the…