Allen Street
Allen Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan which runs north-south through the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of Chinatown and the Lower East Side. It is continued north of Houston Street as First Avenue. South of Division Street, it is known as Pike Street to its southern terminus at South Street. The northbound and southbound roadways are separated by a meridian mall, which has two bike lanes located outside the meridian mall; each bike lane is unidirectional. The street's namesake was Master Commandant William Henry Allen, the youngest person to command a Navy ship in the War of 1812. He was killed in action at the age of 28. His exploits included the capture of the British ship HMS Macedonian.[1]
Former name(s)
Chester Street
10002
40.43639 N, 73.592674 W
Eldridge Street
Transportation[edit]
A portion of the elevated IRT Second Avenue Line, commonly known as the Second Avenue El, was constructed over Allen Street's current southbound roadway (then the entire street) from Houston Street to Division Street in 1878, blocking out most of the light from the then-narrow street. The elevated railway was taken down in 1942. Currently, the nearest subway stations are Grand Street station, three blocks west at Chrystie Street (B and D trains) and Delancey Street – Essex Street station, three blocks east at Essex Street (F, <F>, J, M, and Z trains). Also, at the corner of East Houston Street and Allen Street, there are multiple entrances to the Second Avenue station (F and <F> train). There is also an intercity bus station at 84-86 Allen Street.
Allen Street is served in its entirety by the M15/M15 SBS bus routes. Part of Pike Street, down to Madison Street, is also serviced by the M15.