14th St Between 1st Ave and Ave A

This stretch of 14th street begins one's entry into alphabet city; the increase in residential buildings and reduction of "corporate" presence makes that quite clear. It also marks the southern-most edge of the Stuyvesant Town superblock. As a result the street layout has some oddities, such as the one-lane west-bound street on the north side, with a small cobblestone island separating it from the main thoroughfare. Avenue A turns into the 14th St Loop once it enters Stuyvesant Town (you end up on Ave B going south) - however it appears to be under construction as of this posting
Unlike StuyTown's neverending storefront on first avenue, there's only a handful of shopping options on the north side of the street, which include an Associated Supermarket. Besides the aforementioned cobblestone island, there aren't many visually unique elements- architecturally or otherwise- especially with one half of the block being dominated with the superblock's monolithic towers. There is a nice church on the south side next to McDonald's (one of the few corporate residents of the street). Not the most stunning church one can encounter, but it's pleasing to look at. On the 1st ave corner there's Brick Oven Pizza, a popular late night haunt for the drunk and confused-alike. The east end of the block is dotted with small stores offering everything from sushi to magazines (including two cleaners).
The block is ripe with mass transit, including four MTA bus lines and of course the 1st Ave L train stop. The M14 has two stops within the one block between A and 1st.
Monday, November 24, 2008 at 8:01AM | Neighborhoods:
Alphabet City,
Lower East Side,
Union Square |
1 Comment 
Reader Comments (1)
Comprehensive analysis, great photos!