Amsterdam Avenue & West 156th Street

Amsterdam Avenue and West 156th Street meet at a three-way junction in Washington Heights (South), Manhattan. The corner is also named William “Billy Bang” Thomas Way by local law. Between 2021 and 2025, nine police-reported crashes were recorded here, fewer than the median of ten crashes for a Manhattan corner. Wright Brothers Playground is 160 feet away. The nearest subway, 155 St, is about three minutes on foot, and four subway lines stop within a ten-minute walk. Within a five-minute walk are 41 public places, 14 of them religious buildings, and 21 places to eat.

Safety record
11 hurt
9 police-reported crashes, 2021–2025
Nearest subway
155 St
750 feet · 3 min on foot · C
Nearest bus stop
160 feet
Amsterdam Av/W 156 St · M100, M101
Within a walk
41 places
14 religious buildings, 5 day care or pre-K sites and 10 more kinds, within five minutes

Map

Layers
Amsterdam Avenue & West 156th Street Nearby corners, linked

Getting there

How walks are measured

Subway

The nearest subway station is 155 St, 750 feet from this corner, about three minutes on foot.

  • 4 lines within a ten-minute walk
  1. 155 St C
    750 feet
    C

Next trains at this station

Uptown
1 line
  1. C …
Downtown
1 line
  1. C …

Also within a walk

  1. 157 St 1
    1,060 feet
    1
  2. 163 St-Amsterdam Av C
    1,300 feet
    C

Bus

The nearest bus stop is Amsterdam Av/W 156 St, 160 feet away, for the M100 and M101.

  • 10 routes within a ten-minute walk
  1. Amsterdam Av/W 156 St M100, M101 · Shelter
    160 feet
    M100 M101
    Shelter

Next buses at this stop

  1. M100 …
  2. M101 …

Live arrivals

Cycling

  • 13 bicycle racks within 820 feet
  • 6 more bike-share stations within a five-minute walk

Nearest bike-share station

  1. Amsterdam Ave & W 156 St 27 docks in all
    70 feet

By car

The nearest highway entrance is the ramp to the Harlem River Drive northbound at Frederick Douglass Boulevard, 0.6 miles by car along the streets.

  1. 3740 Broadway Gas station
    0.3 miles
  2. 115 Fort Washington Avenue Charging for electric cars, two Level 2 chargers
    0.7 miles

Safety record

How crashes are counted

Between 2021 and 2025, police reported nine crashes at this corner, fewer than the median of ten crashes for a Manhattan corner.

  • 11 people injured
  • 0 people killed
  • 4 of those hurt, on a bike

The most recent crash recorded here was in August 2025.

What the city has done here

  • Leading pedestrian interval, July 2016

About this corner

Where facts come from
ZIP code
10032
Community board
Manhattan Community Board 12
City Council district
10
Police precinct
33
Neighborhood (City Planning area)
Washington Heights (South)
Elevation
144 feet above sea level

This corner is also named William “Billy Bang” Thomas Way, a co-naming enacted on August 13, 2025 (Local Law 121 of 2025).

The streets

  • Up to four travel lanes
  • A designated truck route
  • One of the streets is one-way

Homes

About 4,000 homes stand within 820 feet of this corner, most of them in buildings of ten homes or more. The buildings holding them mostly went up between 1907 and 1928.

Since 2014 at least 5 new affordable homes have been completed within 820 feet.

Trees

NYC Parks records 52 trees within 330 feet; the most common is the thornless honeylocust.

The Department of Records' Honorary Street Names dataset has its own note on William “Billy Bang” Thomas Way.

Parking on the streets meeting here

How signs are read
  • 17 signs on these blocks
  • 5 different rules

The sign wording is DOT's, as recorded between April 2013 and April 2022, and the sign on the street decides.

West side of Amsterdam Avenue

  • No parking 1 sign NO PARKING ANYTIME
  • No parking 1 sign NO PARKING MONDAY-FRIDAY 8AM-4PM
  • No parking 4 signs NO PARKING TUESDAY 9:30AM-11AM

North side of West 156th Street

  • No parking 6 signs NO PARKING MONDAY 9:30AM-11AM

South side of West 156th Street

  • No parking 5 signs NO PARKING TUESDAY 9:30AM-11AM

Landmarks and historic districts

Within 820 feet are three Individual Landmarks, and 42 buildings in all are designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, recorded most often as Beaux-Arts. They were mostly built between 1885 and 1900.

  1. William McKinley Masonic Temple (now Prince Hall Masonic Temple) Designated landmark
    550 feet
  2. Vicarage of the Chapel of the Intercession Designated landmark
    640 feet

Schools, parks and places within a walk

How places are listed

Within a five-minute walk there are 41 public places.

  • 14 religious buildings
  • 5 day care or pre-K sites
  • 4 listed historic places
  • 4 schools
  • 3 gardens
  • 11 other places

Schools and child care

  1. P.S. 028 Wright Brothers School
    340 feet
  2. Community Health Academy of the Heights School
    570 feet
  3. Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership Preschool, ages 2 to 5 · Pre-K
    580 feet
Show all 10
  1. The Jewel of Harlem Centers Preschool, ages 2 to 5 · Pre-K
    660 feet
  2. Kids-Centric, Inc Northern Manhattan School
    750 feet
  3. Broadway Housing Communities Preschool, ages 2 to 5 · Pre-K
    860 feet
  4. Boricua College
    1,050 feet
  5. United Federation of Black Community Organization Preschool · Pre-K
    1,120 feet
  6. P.S./I.S. 210 - Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership School
    1,130 feet
  7. Moreau LMSW Children and Family Services P.c Preschool
    1,170 feet

Parks, playgrounds and gardens

  1. Wright Brothers Playground
    160 feet
  2. Bushman Steps Park
    790 feet
  3. Dorothy K. McGowan Memorial Garden
    800 feet
Show all 9
  1. Highbridge Park
    920 feet
  2. John T Brush Stairway in Highbridge Park Park feature
    970 feet
  3. Coogan's Bluff Playground
    980 feet
  4. Carmansville Playground
    1,130 feet
  5. William A. Harris Garden
    1,190 feet
  6. Sugar Hill Hope Garden
    1,280 feet

Libraries, museums and history

  1. Mary McLeod Bethune Gardens Listed historic place
    210 feet
  2. John James Audubon Houses Listed historic place
    500 feet
  3. Ellington, Edward Kennedy Duke" Listed historic place
    590 feet
Show all 5
  1. 32nd Police Precinct Garage Listed historic place
    1,200 feet
  2. Hooper Fountain Monument or memorial
    1,260 feet

Houses of worship

  1. Greater File Chapel Baptist Church House of worship
    300 feet
  2. New Covenant Holiness Church House of worship
    360 feet
  3. North Presbyterian Church Listed historic place
    520 feet
Show all 10
  1. Congregational Church of God House of worship
    670 feet
  2. St Luke AME Church House of worship
    890 feet
  3. St Catherine Genoa Church House of worship
    900 feet
  4. AME Zion Church on the Hill House of worship
    920 feet
  5. Bethel Holy Church of Mount Sinai House of worship
    930 feet
  6. Church of the Intercession Landmark
    1,010 feet
  7. Russian Holy Fathers Church House of worship
    1,110 feet

Community centers and public services

  1. Older adult center at 1970 Amsterdam Avenue Older adult center
    480 feet
  2. Older adult center at 2005 Amsterdam Avenue Older adult center
    940 feet
  3. Fort Washington Post Office
    1,150 feet

Supermarkets

  1. Extra Jumbo by Associated Supermarket
    1,280 feet
  2. CTown Supermarket
    0.3 miles
  3. Foodtown Supermarket
    0.4 miles

Food stores and places to eat

Within a five-minute walk there are 21 places to eat and 20 food stores.

Nearby corners

The eight nearest of the 9 corners within a three-minute walk:

See every intersection along Amsterdam Avenue or West 156th Street.

Sources: NYC Technology and Innovation, NYPD, NYC DOT, MTA, New York City's bike-share system, NYS Environmental Conservation, NYC City Planning, US Department of Energy, NYC Records, NYC Housing Preservation and Development, Landmarks Preservation Commission, NYC Parks, NYC Health, NYS Agriculture and Markets and USDA, retrieved September 18 – October 6, 2026.