15th St Between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

This street, just south of Stuyvesant Square, has a lot going for it in terms of architectural and natural beauty. It lacks any commercial presence, save for the two bustling avenues which flank it (and 14th St to the south), so don't come here looking for anything other than a brief stroll through the park (or worse, a visit to the hospital). 

Stuyvesant Square has the amusing characteristic of being split down the center by 2nd Avenue- a feature shared only by a handful of other Manhattan parks (Trinity Park, and Sara D Roosevelt Park come to mind)- obviously for the purposes of this blog and post, I can only speak to the eastern side.

When I approached the park today, I initially thought it was closed as no one seemed to be within it's gates. I was wrong, as all the entrances were open, I assume it was just too damn cold for most folks. The park itself features your standard array of wrought iron fencing and plastic signage. Overall it's very pleasant and lends an otherwise dead street some "visitability". 

The buildings on the south side have some great pre-war detailing, which I always appreciate. About 1/3 of the way down the street (walking east) is Nathan D Perlman Place, which creates the eastern most boarder of the park (Beth Israel has buildings across the way). There's a bus shelter right after that, which I can't for the life of me find on any map. I assume it's for some private hospital bus. As one approaches 1st avenue there's Stuyvesant High School, which despite it's years of paint, has some really cool iron work and building design elements. At the very end of the block there's a Chase bank and Ruby's Japanese & Thai Cuisine (though both of their entrances are basically on 1st ave.)

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Irving Pl Between 15th St and 16th St

When I first moved to New York City, I found Irving Place to be incredibly interesting. It seems to be one of the quietest, most-exclusive stretches of road in the city, despite being only a block away from one of the busiest areas of town. Snugly fit between Gammercy Park on the north and 14th Street on the south, walking down Irving on a Sunday morning will make one feel like they've entered a different era.

Now, why I picked the stretch between 15th and 16th for this post, I will never know. It's easily one of the least enchanting sections of the neighborhood. But I must do what I can!  

Perhaps the standout feature of the block is Irving Plaza, which at some point in the past year or two, unbeknownst to me, was picked to revive the old Fillmore (East?) name. The old theater is certainly showing it's age, but that's perhaps the charm.  I've seen several great shows there in the past, so I can't complain. What I can complain about is the hideous new marquee which now graces the front. While the previous design wasn't going to win any awards, at least it had character and classic design going for it. This new one looks like something a committee thought was a "great idea". Pity.  

The sole food option here is Galaxy Global Eatery. I know nothing about it, but one could probably assume it's expensive (if only because of it's location in the city, and proximity to Irving Plaza). Also categorically alone on the block is the one bank- Flushing Savings Bank.

For a typography junkie like me, the two high points have to be John's Shoe Repair and Marburger Surgical Corp. I don't believe I've ever seen Marbuger open, so it's safe to assume they no longer occupy that corner, but at least the great sign remains. John's Shoe Repair is another example of great, classic signage.  

Next time I'm in the area, I will be sure to cover a more interesting segment (either the great Con Ed building to the south, or some of the beautiful cafés and residences to the north).

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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.  

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