In the early history of New York City, 14th Street was an upscale location. However, it lost its glamour and status as the city grew northward and today it is primarily zoned as a commercial street.[2] In October 2019, abusway restriction was put in place between Third and Ninth Avenues, prohibiting most types of vehicles during the daytime.
The street was designated in theCommissioners' Plan of 1811 as the southernmost of 15 east–west streets that would be 100 feet (30 m) in width (while other streets were designated as 60 feet (18 m) wide).[3] Roughly at the midpoint of 14th Street wasUnion Square, which opened in 1839.[4] During the mid-19th century, residential and commercial development in Manhattan began tomigrate uptown alongBroadway, reaching 14th Street by the 1850s. In conjunction with this, several hotels, theaters, and stores were built along the central portion of 14th Street, includingSteinway Hall and theAcademy of Music.[5]: 2 By the late 19th century, there were numerous piano showrooms around 14th Street.[6] Many large retailers opened stores around the street, includingMacy's,Siegel-Cooper, andOhrbach's, while other retailers such asTiffany & Co.,Lord & Taylor,Arnold Constable & Company, andB. Altman and Company were located a few blocks away.[7]
In the early 20th century,Tammany Hall, the Academy of Music, and numerousvaudeville theaters were clustered around New York City.[8] One source referred to the center portion of 14th Street as "the Mecca of New York shoppers, and Sixth Avenue was the liveliest part of it".[9][5]: 2 As development continued to move further north, most of the major retailers on 14th Street relocated northward in the 1920s.[5]: 6 Lower-end stores began opening along the street,[7] including many stores that sold women's clothing.[5]: 6 TheWPA Guide to New York City described 14th Street in 1939 as "perhaps the city's largest outlet for low-priced women's merchandise".[10]
By the 1970s,J.W. Mays andS. Klein were the only major retailers remaining on 14th Street, and the street was lined with independent retailers and discount stores. There were only a few traces of 14th Street's heyday as a commercial center, includingLüchow's restaurant and Union Square Park.[7] TheNew York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) began to reconstruct the entirety of 14th Street in 1990, replacing the roadway, sidewalks, and water and sewer pipes. As part of the project, the NYCDOT planted trees, installed new "bishop's-crook" streetlights, and added new gray sidewalks that were intended to resemble old granite sidewalks.[11] By the 2000s, many residential buildings and shops were clustered around 14th Street, and technology companies had relocated to the street. The western end of the street, near theMeatpacking District, contained numerous nightclubs, restaurants, and art galleries.Dotcom companies, advertisers, designers, publishers, and photographers were clustered around 14th Street between Eighth and Fifth Avenue.[8]
In June 2025, the roadbed of 14th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues was narrowed to make way for a pedestrian plaza.[12][13] The width of the travel lanes was decreased to 18 feet (5.5 m), with curbs and planters being installed on either side.[14] The next month, the city government announced apublic–private partnership to study traffic flow and possible upgrades to the busway and pedestrian space, allocating $3 million to the study.[15][16] The partnership included the DOT, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority, local community boards andbusiness improvement districts, and various politicians.[14]
West 14th Street begins at an interchange withNew York State Route 9A northeast ofGreenwich Village.[17] At the end of the interchange, it intersects with10th Avenue. The street continues east, intersecting withWashington Street,Ninth Avenue/Hudson Street,Eighth Avenue,Seventh Avenue,Sixth Avenue, and Fifth Avenue.[17] After Fifth Avenue, West 14th Street becomes East 14th Street and goes on to form the southern border ofUnion Square betweenUniversity Place and Fourth Avenue. East of Fourth Avenue, 14th Street forms the southern end of Irving Place, a north–south road that terminates atGramercy Park. 14th Street then intersects with Third Avenue, which forms the border between the neighborhoods of theEast Village to the south andGramercy to the north. The street goes on to intersect with Second Avenue.[17] At First Avenue, 14th Street widens from a four-lane road to a six-lane dividedboulevard with a westbound service road. It then intersects with the main thoroughfares of Alphabet City: Avenue A, Avenue B, and Avenue C, where the street terminates. It formerly terminated atFDR Drive via an on-ramp to the southbound FDR before theSeptember 11 attacks, when theNew York Police Department vacated the portion between Avenue C and FDR due to the presence of the nearbyConEdisonEast River Generating Station along 14th and 15th Streets as a possible terrorist target.[17]
Since October 2019, vehicle restrictions are in place on 14th Street between Third and Ninth Avenues from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.[18][19] The only vehicles that can use the busway are buses, trucks making deliveries on 14th Street, emergency andAccess-A-Ride vehicles, and local traffic traveling for no more than one block.[20]: 63–64
TheM14A andM14D are the primary servers. The former only runs between Avenue A and Hudson Street, with eastbound service originating at 8th Avenue. The latter is extended to 10th Avenue westbound and Avenue C eastbound, originating at 9th Avenue. Both areSelect Bus Service routes.
Additional service is provided by theM12 westbound from 8th to 10th Avenues and is joined with theM11 at 9th Avenue.
The 14th Street busway was inspired byToronto's successfulKing Street Pilot Project, which sped up transit times for transit riders on the504 King streetcar route, theToronto Transit Commission's busiest surface route.[29] As part of the busway plan, the only motor vehicles that could use the busway, between 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, would be buses, trucks making deliveries on 14th Street, emergency andAccess-A-Ride vehicles. Local traffic would be required to turn off 14th Street at the next intersection.[20]: 63–64 Arthur Schwartz, a lawyer who lives on nearby12th Street, blocked the plan[30][28] by filing several injunctions to halt its implementation.[31][32][30] As a result, the busway was not implemented as scheduled in July 2019;[33][34] pushing its implementation back to August 2019.[29][31] The plan was blocked once again, pending an appeal.[32][30] The August ruling was later overturned by a panel of judges who approved the busway's implementation, which took effect on October 3, 2019.[35][36] The busway was so successful on its first day that M14 buses had to be slowed down in order to keep from running ahead of their posted schedules.[37]
^Garmey, Stephen (1984).Gramercy Park, an illustrated history of a New York neighborhood. New York: Balsam Press Distributed by Kampmann & Co.ISBN978-0-917439-00-1.OCLC10799569.
NY 9A (11th Avenue) inChelsea /Meatpacking
