Avenue C (Manhattan)

Avenue C is a street in the Alphabet City neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street is also known as Loisaida Avenue, and it bears that official designation. It is located between Avenue B and Avenue D. It starts at East Houston Street and ends at 23rd Street, running nearly underneath the FDR Drive from 18th Street. Avenue C is still a transitional area, but rents are rising quickly and many long-time residents and businesses are being priced out of the market. This is typical of many parts of Manhattan since 1990.

Avenue C was designated Loisaida Avenue in recognition of Puerto Rican heritage of the neighborhood. Loisaida is Spanglish and is pronounced /ˌloʊ.iːˈsaɪdə/LOH-ee-SY-də (Lower East Sider). The history of the neighborhood was described in the book Selling The Lower East Side. Although the East Village designation of this area has received near-universal acceptance, many longtime Loisaida residents still consider it part of the Lower East Side, as evidenced by the public art found on the buildings along Avenue C.

At the corner of Loisaida and 9th Street, there are two sizable (by Manhattan standards) community gardens that are maintained by the surrounding community. Their hours vary with the season and ability of their volunteers, but they are open to everyone and there is no admission fee. Alcohol may be permitted on special occasions, unlike most other city run parks and public spaces. The famous punk house C-Squat sits on the corner of 9th Street. The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, which opened in 2012, is located at C-Squat.

Avenue C is served by the M9 and M14D MTA New York City Transit bus routes. The closest bridge is the Williamsburg Bridge, which crosses from Brooklyn and empties into Delancey Street, a few blocks south of East Houston. The closest tunnel is the Queens Midtown Tunnel, which crosses from Queens onto East 34th Street in Midtown. Access to the East River Park is available via foot bridges at 10th Street, 6th Street and Houston Street.

A bicycle lane has existed on the Avenue since as early as 1999, and was recently repainted after Avenue C was repaved. It is now a buffered lane for the majority of its route and has been continued to nearly the full length of the Avenue.