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From p. 7 of "The New York and Brooklyn Bridge. Illustrated", 1883.

Pedestrian Walkways, Alleyways, & Step Streets
in New York City

Every walkway designed for (mostly) foot traffic.

Click here for a guide on magical places, unusual things to do, rooftops, and more.

If you want to see New York City from every angle possible, here’s your cheat list for urban exploration. Most pedestrian walkways and alleyways are found in Manhattan while most step streets are in the Bronx. 

Pedestrian Walkways

 

Pedestrian walkways can mean footbridges, which are used to walk across highways or bodies of water in the city. It can also mean a passageway used by commuters as a shortcut free of vehicle traffic. There aren't always exact addresses for each one, so use Apple Maps Street View or Google Earth if needed. You can also drag the yellow pegman onto any location on the map below.

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Manhattan

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  1. West Thames Pedestrian Bridge

  2. Tudor City Bridge

  3. Wards Island Bridge

  4. Roosevelt Island Bridge

  5. Peter Detmold 

  6. High Bridge 

  7. Riverbank State Park Bridge 

  8. Corlears Hook Park to East River Bandshell

  9. Delancey St South and FDR (beneath Williamsburg Bridge)

  10. E 6th St and FDR Drive

  11. E 25th St and FDR Drive

  12. E 63rd St and FDR Drive

  13. E 71st St and FDR Drive

  14. E 78th St and FDR Drive

  15. E 81st St and FDR Drive

  16. E 102nd St connecting to Wards Island Bridge

  17. E 111th St and FDR Drive

  18. E 120th St and FDR Drive

  19. W 148th St and Riverside Drive (pedestrian underpass through Palisades Playground that goes beneath the Henry Hudson Parkway and to Riverside Park)

  20. W 158th St to Riverside Drive

  21. W 181st St and Riverside Drive (beneath the stone wall of Castle Village)

  22. On the Brooklyn Bridge entrance (Manhattan side), there's a light blue staircase leading to Chinatown. This leads to Park Row where you can turn right and walk a few blocks to Chinatown.

  23. Pedestrian tunnel between Times Square and Bryant Park, newly opened in 2022

  24. Secret passageway between the Barclays building (49th St and 7th Ave) and 630 5th Ave (beside The Lego Store). This runs through the Rockefeller Center indoor shops.

  25. The "secret" 6 1/2 Avenue which runs from W 51st and W 57th St between 6th and 7th Ave

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Brooklyn

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  1. Ocean Avenue Pedestrian Bridge

  2. Sheepshead Bay footbridge — one of my favorites. Enter near 1509 Voorhies Ave and go up the stairs to walk beside the subway tracks of the B/Q trains.

  3. Squibb Bridge

  4. Hook Creek Bridge 

  5. Scott Ave and Meserole St (connecting Honey's and Avant Gardner)

  6. Footbridge connecting Avenue H and Avenue I to E 15th St

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Queens

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  1. To Hunters Point station: Enter at 50th Ave & 21st St. It's just past the Starbucks at 21-02 49th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101. At daytime, look for the rainbow stairs. At night, look for the neon light art installation.

  2.  The Pat Dolan Trail: located at 73rd St and Grand Central Parkway (in the southern area of Flushing Meadows Corona Park). Once you walk over the highway, keep following the trail to go over the Willow Lake Bridge at the south tip of the lake!

  3. Meadowmere footbridge: Located near Jz Fish & Wings at 252-18 Rockaway Blvd, Rosedale, NY 11422. Facing the store, follow Meyer Ave to the end (intersecting with First St) until you reach the bridge in between houses. 

  4. Hawtree Basin Bridge: 163rd Ave and 99th St

  5. 78th Ave and Woodhaven Blvd (across Bowe Industries on Apple Maps)

  6. Hidden walkway between a marsh and the Rockaway Beach train tracks (as seen here in the header picture) located at the corner of First St and 104th St (before it turns the corner and becomes Russell St)

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The Bronx

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  1. Spuyten Duyvil Metro-North entrance: Walk over a teal bridge for riverside views of the Henry Hudson Bridge. The bridge is found on Edsall Ave before you turn the corner heading down. There are no sidewalks, so walk carefully along the road.

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Staten Island

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  1. Silver Lake Park Bridge

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Alleyways

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All alleys listed are open to the public and differ depending on if they allow cars, just pedestrians, or are dead ends. Some don't appear when you search for them on Apple Maps, but you can view them through the Apple Map Street View, Google Maps, or by dragging the yellow pegman onto any location on the map below.

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Manhattan

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1. Extra Pl: A Bowery alleyway containing nothing but string lights.

2. Freeman Alley: Home to the coolest graffiti, Freemans restaurant, and a speakeasy upstairs.

3. Cortlandt Alley: Visit Sawada Coffee tucked behind Au Cheval, plus Mmuseum behind a garage door.

4. Coenties Alley: A cute, cobblestone corner of the Stone Street Historic District with outdoor restaurant seating.

5. Liberty Pl: Very narrow alleyway hiding an entrance to Xi'an Famous Foods downtown.

6. Exchange Alley: Just as big as a sidewalk, this alley is found to the right of 55 Broadway/One Exchange Plaza.

7. Mosco St: An alley-like street in Chinatown with lampposts and a view of Columbus park.

8. Ryder's Alley: An L-shaped alley beside Midtown Comics Downtown.

9. Theatre Alley: Connects Ann St and Bleecker St. Found across the Moxy Downtown.

10. Mechanics Alley: Found at Henry Street beneath the Manhattan Bridge.

11. Charles Ln: A cobblestone alley with West Village homes. Found between Charles St and Perry St along Washington St.

12. Collister St: Not really an alley, but just another narrow cobblestone street tucked away in Tribeca.

13. Cannon St: A narrow, L-shaped street behind PS 110 Florence Nightingale.

14. Shubert Alley: Holds a side entrance to the Shubert Theatre.

15. MacDougal Alley: You know this best as the Washington Mews.

16. Entrance to the Electric Room: Neon-lit alleyway lined with graffiti leading to an underground bar.

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Brooklyn 

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1. Grace Ct Alley: A picturesque alley in Brooklyn Heights lined with carriage houses.

2. Hunts Ln: Found right behind Grace Ct Alley on Henry St!

3. Howard Alley: Located beside Miso restaurant in DUMBO.

4. Stabber Alley: An extremely narrow alleyway that commuters actually use, according to Foursquare. It's found across the street from Barber on Pearl in between the Manhattan Bridge wall and a much shorter building.

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Queens

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1. Astoria-Ditmars Alley: A true alleyway beside the Santander Bank off of 31st St. This leads to a parking lot which commuters use as a shortcut going down 23rd Ave.

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The Bronx

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1. Alexander's Alley: This alley is actually a park! Named after the park developer's son, it's a tranquil space full of benches and chess tables between residential buildings. 

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Step Streets

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Step streets are staircases used by pedestrians as a shortcut between avenues so you don't have to walk all the way around. They are normally found in the middle of each block. Except for notable step streets like the Joker Stairs, there aren't exact addresses for each one, so use Apple Maps Street View or Google Earth if needed. You can also drag the yellow pegman onto any location on the map below.

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Manhattan

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  1. Bushman Steps at the end of W 157th St and Edgecombe Ave

  2. John T. Brush Stairway across the street from W 158th St and along Edgecombe Ave (going into Coogan’s Bluff)

  3. W 181st St and Pinehurst Ave (heading up to continue Pinehurst Ave)

  4. W 187th St and Overlook Terrace (heading up to Fort Washington Ave)

  5. To the left of Medalliance Medical Center at 5041 Broadway & W 125th St: A newly renovated with historic lampposts, heading up to Park Terrace E.

  6. Not exactly a step street, but there is a staircase behind the British International School of New York that is open to the public and faces the East River. Cross over the pedestrian walkway at E 25th St and make a right when you’re facing FDR. Take the next right possible, going past the security point (for cars) and keep walking to the very end (if the Google Earth guy can do it, so can you). When you hit the cul-de-sac, make a left and keep walking until you hit the staircase.

  7. There’s also a semi-step street connecting Elevated Acre to FDR and South St below and another semi-step street at Ralph Bunche Park, which is across from the UN.

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Brooklyn

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  1. Beside 130 74th St (heading down to Colonial Rd)

  2. Beside 131 76th St between two mansions (heading down to Colonial Rd)

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Queens

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  1. Ditmars Blvd and 25th Ave (heading upwards and facing away from LGA towards Butler St)

  2. On 32nd St right beside the Staples at 24-41 31st, Astoria, NY 11102

  3. Directly beside 80-4 Austin St is what looks like a subway entrance, but it’s not! It’s actually a pedestrian underpass that leads to the other side of Union Tpke. It exits out to an apartment complex called The Bristol, at 7814 Austin St.

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The Bronx

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  1. Joker Stairs (also called the Shakespeare Steps or Guason Stairs on Google Maps): found at 1161 Shakespeare Ave

  2. Beside the Rite Aid at 21B Knolls Crescent

  3. Clifford Place Step Street at 100 E Clifford Pl

  4. Longest step street in the city is West 230th Step Street at 3015 Irwin Ave. It heads up two blocks to Netherland Ave.

  5. E 168th St Step Street intersection at either Clay Ave or Teller Ave

  6. West Tremont Step Street found at 263 W Tremont connecting Cedar Ave and Sedgwick Ave

  7. Down the street from #6 is 1702 Undercliff Ave, heading up and connecting Undercliff Ave and Popham Ave.

  8. Down the street from #7 is 1627 Undercliff Ave. To its right is the step street heading up and connecting to Popham Ave.

  9. 1752 Davidson Ave connecting to W 176th St and Jerome Ave

  10. 1693 Jerome Ave connecting Clifford Place West and Jerome Ave

  11. Jerome Slope: Steep stairs at E 165th St and Jerome Ave that pass through PS 73

  12. 3798 Irwin Ave connecting Irwin Ave and Waldo Ave

  13. Marble Hill Lane (on Google Maps) at 58 Marble Hill Ave or near the C-Town at 5249 Broadway

  14. Naples Terrace: At the corner of Naples Terrace and Godwin Terrace. Found at 3100 Godwin Terrace and is a block away from the 231st St 1 train station.

  15. 3885 Orloff Ave: To the right and heading down, leading to Bailey Ave.

  16. Manhattan College Steps: 3801 Irwin Ave connecting Irwin Ave and Waldo Ave. Look for two dead end signs. 

  17. 1665 Davidson Ave (heading down to Featherbed Ln)

  18. To the right of Alan’s Deli and Grocery at 1246 Shakespeare Ave (heading down to the Edward Grant Hwy)

  19. W 176th St and Popham Ave (heading down to Undercliff Ave)

  20. W 238th St and Cannon Pl (heading down to Orloff Ave in Kingsbridge Heights)

  21. To the right of an old gas station (maybe now a parking lot) at 1133 Jerome Ave. Heading up to Anderson Ave.

  22. W 229th St and Kingsbridge St (heading down to Heath Ave)

  23. To the left of Jacobo Grocery & Deli at 1098 Anderson Ave (heading down to Jerome Ave)

  24. To the left of a bodega at 1150 Anderson Ave (heading down to Jerome Ave)

  25. 115 Henwood Pl (heading up to Morris Ave)

  26. To the left of C & A Deli at 920 Woodmansten Pl (heading up a colorful, X-shaped step street to the Morris Park Station on the 6 train.

  27. 2580 Heath Ave (heading up to Sedgwick Ave)

  28. To the left of Bailey Ave Laundromat at 3114 Bailey Ave (heading up to Heath Ave)

  29. To the right of 3900 Bailey Ave (heading up to Orloff Ave)

  30. E 165th St and Carroll Pl (beside Super Laundromat) leading up to the Bronx Museum of the Arts

  31. W 174th St and Undercliff Ave (heading up to Popham Ave)

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Staten Island

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  1. There’s a step street on either side of St. Peter’s Church. They connect Carroll Pl to St Marks Pl and head up after exiting the ferry terminal. 

  2. To the left of Euro NYC Autoworks at 250 Victory Blvd, heading up to Avon Pl beneath a little gazebo!

© Once Upon a Time in New York

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