Essex Street is a north–south street on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. North of

Houston Street Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson ...

, the street becomes Avenue A, which goes north to 14th Street. South of

Canal Street Canal Street may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Canal Street (Manchester), Manchester, England * Canal Street, Oxford, Jericho, Oxford, England United States * Canal Street (Buffalo), a street and district at the western terminus of the Er ...

it becomes Rutgers Street, the southern end of which is at

South Street South Street may refer to: Streets by that name * South Street (Durham), England * South Street, Mayfair, England *South Street (Manhattan), United States *South Street (Perth, Western Australia) * South Street (Perth, Scotland) *South Street (Ph ...

. Essex Street was laid out by

James Delancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) was an American politician from the colonial period who served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and educatio ...

just before the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

as the east side of a "Delancey Square" intended for a genteel ownership. Delancey named the street after the county of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in England. Delancey returned to England as a Loyalist in 1775, and the square was developed as building lots. Long a part of the Lower East Side

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

enclave, many Jewish-owned stores still operate on the street, including a pickle shop and many Judaica shops. During the late 19th and early 20th century it was sometimes referred to colloquially as 'Pickle Alley'. It is also home to the Essex Street Market. South of Hester Street, Essex Street is bordered on the east by Seward Park.

Transportation

The Sixth Avenue/Rutgers Street Line of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

runs under Essex Street and has stations at

Delancey Street Delancey Street is one of the main thoroughfares of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City. It runs from the street's western terminus at the Bowery to its eastern end at FDR Drive, connecting to the Williamsburg Bridge and Brookly ...

() and East Broadway (). The M9 serves Essex Street for its entire length while the M14A+ Select Bus runs on Essex Street north of Grand Street. No bus runs on Rutgers Street but the crosses it on Madison Street.

Essex Street Market and Essex Crossing

The

Essex Street Market Essex Market (formerly known as Essex Street Market) is a food market with independent vendors at the intersection of Essex Street and Delancey Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The market is known for its many local s ...

, constructed in the 1940s, is an indoor retail

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

that was one of a number of such facilities built in the 1930s under the administration of Mayor

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Yo ...

at 120 Essex Street, at Delancey Street. The Essex Street Market is operated and managed by the

New York City Economic Development Corporation New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a public-benefit corporation that serves as the official economic development organization for New York City. NYCEDC gives its mission as strengthening business confidence in New York C ...

(NYCEDC). In September 2013 it was announced that the market would be integrated into

Essex Crossing Essex Crossing is a mixed-use development in New York City's Lower East Side, at the intersection of Delancey Street and Essex Street just north of Seward Park. Essex Crossing will comprise nearly of space on and will cost an estimated . Par ...

, a $1.1 billion development which began construction in 2015, and which will feature 1,000 low-, moderate- and middle-income apartments, a movie theater, a bowling alley and cultural space. It is expected to be completed in 2024. The old market closed May 5, 2019, and the new location was open by May 13.

References

Notes

External links

New York Songlines: Avenue A with Essex Street
a virtual walking tour.

- photographs of storefronts on Essex St.
Essex Street Market
{{Streets of Manhattan Streets in Manhattan Lower East Side