This is the second article in the series Streets & Squares. This time it is about New York City - the place that never sleeps.

For those of you who have visited the city, it is no news that its five boroughs, especially Manhattan, are filled with numbered avenues and streets, i.e. with no credit to any historical persons. But there are a few addresses with names too, and here are a few of them. These may be streets, squares, parks, bridges etc. This article may expand somewhat later on, and check here if you want to see Wikipedia’s long list of New York City’s eponymous (named-after-someone) streets.

As always, clicking on the addresses will open Google Maps for you, and clicking on the names will (usually) lead to the person’s Wikipedia page.

This page will later on be divided into the five boroughs that New York City consists of. 

Bleecker St (Manhattan) Anthony Lispenard Bleecker (1741-1816) was a prominent banker, shipping merchant and real estate auctioneer who eventually became one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in 18th century New York. - StreetView

**Cadman Plaza Park **(Brooklyn) S. Parkes Cadman (1864-1936) was an English-born American clergyman, newspaper writer and pioneer Christian radio broadcaster. You might pass this park on your way to a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge over to Manhattan.

Columbus Circle (Manhattan) Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer who for a long time was said to have found America.

Fulton St (Manhattan) Robert Fulton (1765-1815), was an engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing a commercially successful steamboat which took passengers from New York City to Albany and back. - StreetView

Hunter’s Point (Queens) George Hunter (17xx-1825), a British sea captain who had a farm with his wife Ann on the banks of Newtown Creek.

Madison Ave  (Manhattan) James Madison (1751-1836), the 4th president of the United States (1809-1817) and hailed as the “Father of the Constitution”. - StreetView

Marcus Garvey Park (Manhattan) Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was a Jamaican-born proponent of Black nationalism in the United States, and also promoted the return of the African diaspora to their ancestral lands. - StreetView

McCarren Park (Brooklyn) Patrick H. McCarren (1849-1909) New York State Senator who eventually became the Democratic boss of Brooklyn.

Rockefeller Center (Manhattan) John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874-1960) was the main figure behind the construction of this complex. The only son among the five children of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller, he was the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers.

Stuyvesant Park (Manhattan) Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672) was the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664. After which it was renamed New York. - StreetView

Tompkinsville Park (Staten Island) Daniel D. Tompkins (1774-1825) served as Governor of New York and as Vice President of the United States. In 1814 he built a dock at the north end of Staten Island and began offering steam ferry service to Manhattan.

Van Cortland Park (The Bronx) Van Cortland Family (1637-) was an influential political dynasty from the 17th century Dutch origins of New York well into the 19th century.

Varick Street -  Richard Varick (1753-1831) was a lawyer, military officer and the 45th Mayor of New York City. He owned property on what we now refer to as his street. Born in Hackensack, Province of New Jersey, British America.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (Staten Island/Brooklyn) Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485-1528) was an Italian explorer of North America, renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick. - StreetView

Washington Square Park  (Manhattan) George Washington (1732-1799), the 1st president of the United States (1789-1797). Lots of places bearing his name of course, but this is the major one in New York City. - StreetView

A to Z FROM NEW YORK CITY
i.e. a list of people born in New York City. Just another fun way to know something more of the city. As there have been so many people born in this city, we’ll just pick a few for each alphabet.

A - Steve Allen (1921) - Woody Allen (1935) - Rosanna Arquette (1959) - J. J. Abrams (1966) - Darren Aronofsky (1969)
B - Lyman & Joseph B. Bloomingdale (1841, 1842) - Joseph Barbera (1911) - Steven Bochco (1943) - Angela Bassett (1958)
C - Al Capone (1899) - Tony Curtis (1925) - George Carlin (1937) - Chevy Chase (1943) - Nick Cassavetes (1959) - Timothée Chalamet (1995)
D  Jimmy Durante (1893) - Robert De Niro (1943) - Richard Dreyfuss (1947) - Vincent D’Onofrio (1959)
E - Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein (1909) - Chris Elliott (1960) - Emilio Estevez (1962) - Omar Epps (1973)
F - Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (1909) - Milton Friedman (1912) - Peter Falk (1927)  - Jimmy Fallon (1974)
G - Victor Hugo Green (1892) - George Gerschwin (1898) - Lou Gehrig (1903) - Whoopi Goldberg (1955) - Lady Gaga (1986)
H - Rita Hayworth (1918) - Joseph Heller (1923) - Anne Hathaway (1982) - Sarah Hyland (1990)
I - Washington Irving (1783)
J - Henry James (1843) - Michael Jordan (1963) - Boris Johnson (1964) - Scarlett Johansson (1984)
K - Danny Kaye (1911) - Stanley Kubrick (1928) - Larry King (1933) - Jimmy Kimmel (1967)
L - Stan Lee (1922) - Martin Landau (1928) - Mimi Leder (1952) - Sean Lennon (1975)
M - Harpo Marx (1888) - Henry Miller (1891) - Linda McCartney (1941) - Bill Maher (1956) - Eddie Murphy (1961)
N - Jack Nicholson (1937) - Nicholas Negroponte (1943)
O - Carroll O’Connor (1924) - Bill O’Reilly (1949) - Jerry O’Connell (1974)
P - Mario Puzo (1920) - Al Pacino (1940) - Priscilla Presley (1945)
Q - Colin Quinn (1959)
R - Theodore Roosevelt (1858) - David Rockefeller (1915) - Mickey Rooney (1920) - Joan Rivers (1933)
S - Jonas Salk (1914) - Carl Sagan (1934) - Barbra Streisand (1942)  - Jerry Seinfeld (1954) - Amy Schumer (1981)
T - Gene Tierney (1920) - John Turturro (1957) - Mike Tyson (1966)
U - Charles J. Urstadt (1928)
V - Grace Vanderbilt (1870) - William Van Alen (1883) - Abe Vigoda (1921) - Brenda Vaccaro (1939)
W - Mae West (1893) - Eli Wallach (1915) - Sigourney Weaver (1949)
Y - Peter Yarrow (1938)
Z - Stephanie Zimbalist (1956)

Let’s have some music to round this off: Leonard Cohen’s First We Take Manhattan

Sources

A Brief History of the Bronx,  Forgotten New York, Queens West Villager, Wikipedia

Updated 31.8.2022