St Nicholas Avenue & West 161st Street

St Nicholas Avenue and West 161st Street meet at a three-way junction in Washington Heights (South), Manhattan. The corner lies on the edge of the Jumel Terrace Historic District. Between 2021 and 2025, four police-reported crashes were recorded here, fewer than the median of ten crashes for a Manhattan corner. Roger Morris Park is 410 feet away, and Whin Music Community Charter School is 810 feet away. The nearest subway, 163 St-Amsterdam Av, is about a minute on foot, for the C. Within a five-minute walk are 26 public places, five of them religious buildings, and 33 places to eat.

Safety record
1 hurt
4 police-reported crashes, 2021–2025
Nearest subway
163 St-Amsterdam Av
50 feet · 1 min on foot · C
Nearest bus stop
170 feet
Amsterdam Av/W 161 St · M3, M100, M101
Within a walk
26 places
5 religious buildings, 3 day care or pre-K sites and 9 more kinds, within five minutes

Map

Layers
St Nicholas Avenue & West 161st Street Nearby corners, linked

Getting there

How walks are measured

Subway

The nearest subway station is 163 St-Amsterdam Av, 50 feet from this corner, about a minute on foot.

  • 3 lines within a ten-minute walk
  1. 163 St-Amsterdam Av C
    50 feet
    C

Next trains at this station

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

Also within a walk

  1. 155 St C
    0.3 miles
    C
  2. 157 St 1
    0.4 miles
    1

The MTA's permanent art catalog lists “Ciguapa Antellana, me llamo sueño de la madrugada (who more sci-fi than us)” (2018) by Firelei Báez at the 163 St-Amsterdam Av station.

Bus

The nearest bus stop is Amsterdam Av/W 161 St, 170 feet away, for the M3, M100 and M101.

  • 10 routes within a ten-minute walk
  1. Amsterdam Av/W 161 St M3, M100, M101 · Shelter
    170 feet
    M3 M100 M101
    Shelter

Next buses at this stop

  1. M3 …
  2. M100 …
  3. M101 …

Live arrivals

Cycling

A marked bike lane runs on St Nicholas Avenue.

  • 9 bicycle racks within 820 feet
  • 5 more bike-share stations within a five-minute walk

Nearest bike-share station

  1. W 160 St & St Nicholas Ave 26 docks in all
    310 feet

By car

The nearest highway entrance is the ramp to the Harlem River Drive northbound at Frederick Douglass Boulevard, 0.8 miles by car along the streets.

  1. 2161 Amsterdam Avenue Gas station
    0.3 miles
  2. 115 Fort Washington Avenue Charging for electric cars, two Level 2 chargers
    0.5 miles

Safety record

How crashes are counted

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

  • 1 person injured
  • 0 people killed
  • 1 of those hurt, on foot

The most recent crash recorded here was in March 2026.

What the city has done here

  • Enhanced crossing, February 2015

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
166 feet above sea level

The streets

  • Up to two travel lanes
  • Two of the streets are one-way

Homes

About 3,300 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 1909 and 1923.

Since 2014 at least 94 new affordable homes have been completed within 820 feet.

Trees

NYC Parks records 69 trees within 330 feet; the most common are the Chinese elm and the thornless honeylocust.

Parking on the streets meeting here

How signs are read
  • 8 signs on these blocks
  • 5 different rules
  • 1 active meter
  • 1 pay-by-cell zone

The sign wording is DOT's, as recorded between October 2014 and April 2020, and the sign on the street decides.

Meters are posted as 2 hour passenger vehicles Monday to Saturday 8:30am to 7pm on St Nicholas Avenue (east side).

West side of St Nicholas Avenue

  • Back-in parking only 2 signs BACK IN ANGLE PARKING ONLY
  • No parking 2 signs NO PARKING MONDAY 9:30AM-11AM
  • No stopping 2 signs NO STOPPING ANYTIME

North side of West 161st Street

  • No standing 1 sign NO STANDING ANYTIME

South side of West 161st Street

  • No standing 1 sign NO STANDING ANYTIME

ParkNYC pay-by-cell zone: 112158.

Landmarks and historic districts

The corner stands at the edge of the Jumel Terrace Historic District.

Within 820 feet are two Individual Landmarks, and 58 buildings in all are designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, recorded most often as Romanesque Revival. They were mostly built between 1882 and 1896.

  1. 555 Edgecombe Avenue Apartments Designated landmark
    520 feet

Schools, parks and places within a walk

How places are listed

Within a five-minute walk there are 26 public places.

  • 5 religious buildings
  • 3 day care or pre-K sites
  • 3 listed historic places
  • 3 parks
  • 3 schools
  • 9 other places

Schools and child care

  1. Moreau LMSW Children and Family Services P.c Preschool
    550 feet
  2. United Federation of Black Community Organization Preschool · Pre-K
    630 feet
  3. P.S. 004 Duke Ellington School
    730 feet
Show all 6
  1. The Jewel of Harlem Centers Preschool, ages 2 to 5 · Pre-K
    790 feet
  2. Whin Music Community Charter School
    810 feet
  3. Community Health Academy of the Heights School
    1,270 feet

Parks, playgrounds and gardens

  1. Morris Jumel Community Garden
    300 feet
  2. Roger Morris Park
    410 feet
  3. Highbridge Park
    800 feet
Show all 7
  1. Dorothy K. McGowan Memorial Garden
    1,050 feet
  2. Edgecome Rock Face in Highbridge Park Park feature
    1,200 feet
  3. John T Brush Stairway in Highbridge Park Park feature
    1,200 feet
  4. Bushman Steps Park
    1,230 feet

Libraries, museums and history

  1. Washington Heights Library
    310 feet
  2. Jumel Terrace Historic District Listed historic place
    470 feet
  3. Morris Jumel Mansion Museum · listed historic place
    490 feet
Show all 5
  1. Paul Robeson Home Listed historic place
    650 feet
  2. Ellington, Edward Kennedy Duke" Listed historic place
    1,200 feet

Houses of worship

  1. Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church House of worship
    250 feet
  2. AME Zion Church on the Hill House of worship
    420 feet
  3. St Rose of Lima Church House of worship
    1,180 feet

Community centers and public services

  1. Older adult center at 2005 Amsterdam Avenue Older adult center
    510 feet
  2. Older adult center at 1970 Amsterdam Avenue Older adult center
    1,120 feet

Fire and police

  1. Engine 84/Ladder 34 Fire station · landmark
    510 feet

Supermarkets

  1. CTown Supermarket
    50 feet
  2. Shop Fair Supermarket
    1,210 feet
  3. Foodtown Supermarket
    0.3 miles

Food stores and places to eat

Within a five-minute walk there are 33 places to eat and 30 food stores.

Nearby corners

The eight nearest of the 16 corners within a three-minute walk:

See every intersection along St Nicholas Avenue or West 161st Street.

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