I can't find confirmation of this, but looking at the atlas, the widest part of Manhattan appears to run through the middle of Central Park.
Jun 01 2000, 12:55 PM
zbeckabee
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zbeckabee Moderator 19 year member
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Maybe someone from New York confirm this.
"Fire companies dreaded a call to Grand Street, which ran east-west at Manhattan's widest part."
The widest part of Manhattan lies in the area between cobble-stoned Canal Street and Fourteenth Streets. Today this section of city blocks: Canal, Houston and Delancey streets is crowded and raucous but still the most ethnically diverse area of the city.
Grand Street is a street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from Little Italy to the East River.
The area from the Chelsea Piers to the East River just South of Stuyvesant Town is quite possibly Manhattan at its widest, but there is one spot, 88th Street, that I believe, no, I am quite certain, is a few hundred feet wider.
If one includes the length of the piers, 14th Street may be wider.
But, one can not traverse Manhattan in a straight line above 59th Street until one reaches 97 Street. Central Park does a great job of dividing the City.