York Avenue is a short north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It runs from 59th Street north to 91st Street on the Upper East Side. It is known for its upscale apartments, much like the rest of the Upper East Side. York Avenue runs through eastern Yorkville.
In 1928, a one-block section of Sutton Place north of 59th Street, and all of Avenue A north of that point, was renamed York Avenue in honor of World War I US Army Sergeant Alvin York, who won the Medal of Honor for an attack in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on October 8, 1918.[1][2] He received The Medal for attacking a German machinegun nest and capturing 4 German officers and 128 men and several guns. [3]
York Avenue was proposed as an addition to the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 for Manhattan, which designated 12 broad north-south Avenues running the length of the island. The geography of Manhattan left a large area on the Upper East Side east of First Avenue without a major north-south thoroughfare, so Avenue A, later called York Avenue and Pleasant Avenue, was added to compensate.
At its south end, York Avenue becomes Sutton Place (for two blocks), then Sutton Place South (for four blocks), before ending. Other street that lie east of First Avenue include Beekman Place between 49th and 51st Streets, and Asser Levy Place between 23rd Street and 25th Street. Between 1st Street and 14th Street, Alphabet City, consisting of Avenue A through Avenue D, lies east of First Avenue.
From 79th to 90th streets, East End Avenue lies east of York Avenue. FDR Drive runs along the East River shore, east of both York and East End Avenues.
References
- ^ Gray, Christopher. " Streetscapes/Sutton Place, Sutton Place South and One Sutton Place North; A Prestigious Enclave With a Name in Question", The New York Times, September 21, 2003. Accessed December 27, 2007.
- ^ Pollak, Michael. "F. Y. I.", The New York Times, August 7, 2005. Accessed October 16, 2007. "In 1928, Sutton Place from 59th to 60th Street, and Avenue A north of 60th, were renamed York Avenue in honor of Sgt. Alvin C. York (1887-1964), a World War I hero from Tennessee and a recipient of the Medal of Honor."
- ^ Medal of Honor Recipients - World War I
See also
- 2006 October 11 New York City plane crash, a crash just off York Avenue
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
