I’ve done some Googling to confirm my observation, and apparently New York City has never really had many alleyways, due to the manner in which they designed it.
One of the only remaining alleyways in Manhattan is Cortlandt Alley, which may explain why it’s such a popular filming location.
I Googled as to where the famous Mary Jane/Spider Man upside down kiss took place, and it turns out that was just a set on a studio lot.
I suppose a lack of alleyways is also beneficial because it allows less opportunity for crimes, which is exactly why so many crime and thriller and superhero films have portrayed NYC as having lots of alleyways in the first place.
Now some of you locals/people familiar with NYC can tell me which borough or neighborhood defies my observation.
I’m not going to argue with any NYC locals, and I agree about movies lying to us (see below)…
but looking at a satellite view of Manhattan, I see more than a few “alley-like” items that I probably wouldn’t want to walk down, not knowing the area. Maybe it’s how one defines an alley?
On the other coast, imagine a Terminator on a motorcycle chasing you through a loong tunnel. That tunnel looks like it goes on forever! It’s about a block long. The magic of movies! Yeah, but when I found said tunnel, I was a bit…disappointed.
More likely because alleys would fill up with trash, and real estate is at such a premium that a large alley would probably be converted into building space or an adjacent building expanded out into it.
Alleys (and long hallways) are liminal spaces that are a kind of “no man’s land”, and they also make a visually and physically defined framing reference for images or film that constrain the character’s movement and escape routes, so they make a good place for an attack or chase.
Here in Cleveland, there’s a space downtown that used to be an 8-foot wide alleyway between two buildings, that got turned into a condo. I can only imagine that it’s much worse, in New York.
Actually, the absence of alleys in New York is one of the reasons that trash collects on sidewalks prior to pickup (and results in the numerous rats), as described in this long New York Times article (gift link). The article describes how the street grid laid out for Manhattan north of Houston Street way back in 1811 omitted alleys.
There was a 99% Invisible podcast episode about this. Here’s a transcript:
So, the result is that today, Manhattan has, at best, a dozen things you might call alleys, but they’re all south of Canal Street in the oldest part of the city that was built before the grid.
That’s definitely part of it. Alleys like Cortlandt Alley , with multiple buildings facing each side of the alley that are wide enough for a vehicle to drive through are not common in NYC , not even in the other four boroughs. Something like this is often called an “alley” but unlike Cortlandt Alley this is private property , owned by the people own the abutting houses. There are alleys that are entirely on a single property, from the front to the back. These are often gated. Individual driveways to a backyard garage are often called “alleys” as are driveways shared by two adjacent houses and really any narrow space between two buildings.
But alleys like Cortlandt Alley, that are wide enough to be used to collect trash or make deliveries ( as alleys are used in other cities) , that aren’t gated , that don’t just end, that can be used as a midblock shortcut between two streets ( rather than having to walk all the way around) ? Not many of them at all.
Born and raised in NYC, I always thought all those movie allyways were the alleys between the tenements and that maybe some were thruways. All the ones I ever saw were gated, many (a majority?) were below street level and didn’t go all the way through. People did NOT walk through them. They were filled with garbage and feral cats. Also, the super’s rat infested, free apartment entrances where down there and, in my eyes, the reason they were always filled with trash was because of lazy supers.
TIFO from this very thread that those things aren’t ‘officially’ alleyway at all but another slumlord property feature. I should point out that I did learn those poor supers were just more people the slumlords took advantage of-- offering free ‘apartments’ to marginal men in exchange for maintenance work. At least that’s how it worked in the South Bronx in the '70s.
My daughter was living in Brooklyn on 5th St. Between 5th and 6th Aves. I was alone in her apt and there was a knock on the door. It was a man from Con Ed (the electric company). He showed me his ID and explained that he needed access to the alley behind (there were overhead wires there) and there was no way to get there except through one of the apartments. I let him through; he went through the back door, did his thing and then came back and left. I found this totally bizarre that there was no public access. I assume the telephone company and cable and internet people would have the same problem. But there is an alley and a small backyard.
I’ve seen news coverage of one hidden neighborhood. Residents have a key to a locked door. An alley leads to the resident’s street. I think it’s Sixth 1/2 Avenue, Midtown?
No, 6 1/2 Ave is a pedestrian walkway between 6th & 7th Ave. it’s open to the public and is a good way to walk north or south while bypassing the crowds of the major Aves.
I’d hardly call this an “alley” though.
Washington Mews is a private street near Washington Square Park that is only open to residents. That may be what you are thinking of. Or may it’s now open for people to view. I know when I went to NYU it was locked.
If there is no way to access it except through the building , I don’t think it would be an alley under any definition. Not even if there was a couple of feet of space between the back fences of the adjacent houses. There was probably an easement allowing the poles to be placed in the backyard, which could only be reached by going through the building, either one of the apartments or sometimes through the basement. (which is pretty common with NYC attached buildings)
In contrast, Back Bay Boston is filled with alleyways that run parallel to the streets:
Just as it is claimed above that midtown Manhattan was designed without alleys, Back Bay was designed with them, to provide access to the backs of buildings.
