Chrystie Street

Route map: Bing

Chrystie Street is a street on Manhattan's Lower East Side, running from Second Avenue and Houston Street, seven blocks south to Canal Street. It is bounded on the east for its entirety by Sara Delano Roosevelt Park, for the creation of which the formerly built-up east side of Chrystie Street (the even numbers) was razed, eliminating among other structures three small synagogues.^[1] Originally called First Street, it was renamed for Col. John Chrystie, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a member of the Philolexian Society of Columbia University, and a new First Street was laid out above Houston Street.

In 1967, the Chrystie Street Connection, a major connecting line of the New York City Subway opened; it is one of the few connections between lines of the (former) BMT and IND divisions. The B D trains of the New York City Subway can be reached at Grand Street.

Notable locations

The second African Burying Ground was located on the west side of First (Chrystie) Street, between Stanton and Rivington Streets, extending to the Bowery, after the African Burial Ground near Collect Pond was declared closed in 1794. In the 1820s St Philip's assumed ownership from the City Council, and when the cemetery was closed in 1853, remains were disinterred and removed to Cypress Hills Cemetery.^[2]

From 1847 through 1854, New York's Temple Emanu-El was located at 56 Chrystie Street, the site now part of the Park.^[3]

In popular culture

Chrystie Streets appears in "59 Chrystie Street", the first section of the 15th track on the album Paul's Boutique by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989. The address in the title refers to an early residence of Beastie Boys group members.^[4]

References

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