Dutch Broadway (Courtlandt Avenue in the Bronx)
German immigration to New York City was high in the years before World War I. The term "Dutch" was often used for Germans (for "Deutsch"). Courtlandt Avenue in the Bronx had so…
Easy Street
The Historical Dictionary of American Slang defines "easy street" as " a condition of easy and comfort, especially financial success. Also cap." There is no indication if…
English Terrace Row or Renwick Row (West 10th Street, Manhattan)
"English Terrace Row" (or "Renwick Row") in Manhattan is located on West 10th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). The row of houses was…
Forty 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…
Fraudway; Queerialto; Double-Crossroads of the World
Fraudway (for Broadway) and Queerialto (for Rialto) and Double-Crossroads of the World (for Crossroads of the World) are some of the cynical Broadway nicknames from the 1920s that didn't…
Frozen Zone
A "frozen zone" is a high security area that is off limits ("frozen") to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. A "frozen zone" can be declared after a disaster (such as…
Fukushima Freeway (transport road for nuclear waste)
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011. The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) began a protest of the transportation of nuclear waste, declaring on…
Gapers’ Block
Patrolman Irving Francis ("Irv") Hayden provided rush hour traffic reports on Chicago's WGN radio in the 1960s. He coined the term "gapers' block" (cited in print…
Gateway to Queens (Queens Plaza)
Queens Plaza has been called "the Gateway to Queens." A transportation redesign of Queens Plaza was approved in 2002-2003.…
Gay Boulevard
"Gay Boulevard" is the main street in any city area frequented by gays. At a Manhattan community board meeting in July 2008, board member Allen Roskoff said: "I refer to Eighth Ave.…
Gay Street (Greenwich Village)
The term "Gay Greenwich Village" and the name "Gay Street" have both contributed to the understanding -- or misunderstanding -- of the word "gay." GAY GREENWICH…
Gay White Way (Broadway)
Broadway has been called "The Great White Way" since 1902. On October 7, 1907 -- after performances in Philadelphia -- the musical The Gay White Way opened at the Casino Theatre. The term…
Genius Row (Washington Square South)
Entry in progress -- B.P. The New York Preservation Archive ProjectHouse of GeniusAlso known as Red Row and Genius RowGreenwich Village’s House of Genius was the iconic home of many writers and…
German Broadway or German Boulevard (East 86th Street in Yorkville)
"Little Germany" (Kleindeutschland) was originally located on Manhattan's lower east side. The German community there was devasted by the 1904 Slocum ship tragedy; gradually,…
Gland Canyon (Broadway at Times Square)
Broadway -- New York City's theatrical center -- was briefly called the "Gland Canyon" (gland + Grand Canyon) in the late 1920s and early 1930s. "Gland Canyon" was printed…
Glory Road (Eighth Avenue, between 42nd and 44th Streets)
Syndicated newspaper columnist Walter Winchell (1897-1972) wrote in a column in March 1949: "Sights You Never See on the New York Map: 'Glory Road' (8th Avenue between 42nd and 44th)…
God’s Row (White Plains Road, Wakefield)
"God's Row" was the title of a March 2, 2008 New York Times story about the many churches in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. On White Plains Road, between 240th Street and East…
Golden Edge (110th Street); Hollywood Heights (St. Nicholas Place)
"The Golden Edge" is 110th Street, the northern border of Central Park. The name is historical, from the 1930s. The following 1934 article also explains "Hollywood Heights" (St.…
Goulash Alley or Goulash Avenue (Second Avenue, between 79th and 86th Streets)
"Goulash Avenue" in the 1890 and early 1900s was located in Manhattan's East Village, around East Houston Street and Second Avenue. “Goulash avenue, a name under which the lower…
Goulash Avenue (Houston Street)
Manhattan's East Village had a large Hungarian population by 1900. "Goulasch Avenue, by the way, is the local title for the Hungarian part of East Houston Street," wrote the New York…