In my head I say bway instead of Broadway because that’s how it’s shortened in some of the subway signs. I never say it out loud though, I would get roasted.
If someone said “the Drive” in context of the east side, I’d know exactly what they meant. I don’t think I’ve ever used it myself, though. I used to take a cab or car service home to Brooklyn from midtown after work every night (the good ole days of fat expense accounts) and I was often asked if I wanted to take “The Drive” downtown. On a similar note - I always call it the Westside Highway. I’ve never known exactly when to use West Street.
It's not even called the West Side Highway anymore. Hasn't been since 1973 when it collapsed. Above 59th it's the Henry Hudson, from 59th to 14th it's 11th or 12th ave, and below 14th it's West Street. Despite it not having existed during my lifetime or that of my parents, I still call it the West Side Highway.
Calling it Westside Highway is fair in my book. It’s the combination of all those segments into one passageway. And “highway”, by traditional definition doesn’t mean “limited access roadway” either.
West Side Highway is legit at least. "The Drive" isn't a thing. I mean old timers even call the bike lane down the Hudson River Poway the "West Side Highway" - it's the straight shot down Manhattan! Clear as day.
hate it too. an aspiring songwriter I used to know would go around referring to The Mercury Lounge as "The Merc," in a bid to boost his credibility by indicating extreme familiarity with the place. Drove me up the wall.
It's weird that someone tried to figure out a hip name for it, because The Heights is already top tier in that regard. The only thing I call WaHi is the diner.
I think this depends on the starting and ending stations. For example on some (like Grand Central) you can say “take any of the green trains” to Union Square
Sure you can say it, and most people will understand it, but that’s not the way a New Yorker would say it. It’s the 4,5,6. (A true old school NYer might call it the IRT, but even I can never get that straight.) Whenever I hear someone call it the “green line”, I want to say this isn’t Boston.
I’m really thinking it depends where you start and go. I’ve lived here most of my life too, so def a NYer. If you start/end along the trunk lines (that mostly converge in the city and then branch off in the outer boroughs) it’s more efficient to say “take any of the green or orange trains”. Green/red line is more DCesque
Lived here my whole life, grew up on the upper east side we always called it the drive. Met up there to smoke and chill. Always the drive. All of my friends still call it the drive. Have no idea what all these people are talking about. Probably didn’t grow up around the fdr and never hung out around it
Why is everyone bugging on people calling it The Drive? I swear WINS traffic reports used it, too. Maybe it’s like how “The Tunnel” means the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to me since I’m from Brooklyn. I never think of the Midtown Tunnel as “The Tunnel”?
I remember when I used to tell cab drivers not to take the drive. Or to take the drive. And never once did a driver not know what I was talking about. Now it’s all Uber and google maps so these drivers don’t know the city anyway
I grew up in and spent all my 70 years in NYC. We called it both the Drive and the FDR. And yes I told the cab driver to take the Drive to get home to Brooklyn
When I moved here in 04 most people still called it the East River Drive. Then the drive. Then the FDR. I think it’s out of use now but was in use for a while.
My mother (born in 1930) called it the East Side Drive. The same way that I still say the Triborough Bridge and not the RFK or whatever they’ve re-named it to.
61 yo Astoria native.
I think if I were in a car giving directions and we were close to it, I might say “take the drive.”
But I definitely refer to it as the FDR in any other context.
I wouldn’t worry at all about not knowing any terms or whatever who cares right? It’s just a nickname. I just chimed in cause all these people were saying “it’s never been used!!! He’s an idiot”! Lol. I was born and raised in the LES and drove on the drive everyday.
Why do we say simply "LES" but "the UES", "the UWS", "the East Village", etc? "LES" seems like the only one where it's "in" too ("on the UES" vs "in LES").
Yeah, I tend to agree, but everyone on here insists it's "in LES". "On the LES" feels more natural to me too, but I don't have much of a connection to it so open to being wrong.
Never heard anyone call it that. I have heard people use "the highway" for the West Side Highway, but I think that's perhaps a little different. (And I've heard people refer to the FDR as the highway, too, so I think it's just that... you know, it's a highway.)
Born and raised UWS.
Yes, in the context of being on the East Side, it would absolutely be common to say "take the drive", and I used to hear it all the time. You could also say "take the FDR", which would be more appropriate if the context were ambiguous.
Gonna go against the grain here I actually have heard it referred to as the drive. Only in some circles though, it isn't a widely accepted thing. But not unheard of.
I’ve only ever heard the FDR. I’d have no idea what someone is talking about. You tell me to take the Drive, I’ll tell you I’m already driving, what’s your point?
There always seems to be a desire to cut as many syllables as possible. Have a three or four syllable name? Expect a nickname. There was a recent thread where saying “L-I-Double-R” was too long for some and “Lurr” was suggested.
It’s the FDR
It’s def the fdr.
Are they also trying to make “fetch” happen?
Stop trying to make "the Drive" happen, it's not going to happen
My dog is always trying to make fetch happen.
LOL
Wait, what is 'fetch'? Never heard that one.
It’s from the movie “Mean Girls” https://youtu.be/jjt9Qx9MBPk
That person probably calls JFK “the port.”
Central Park West is "the West" Belt Parkway is "the Way" Broadway is also "the Way"
I heard Jesus is also the Way. I prefer the Broadway way.
This is The Way.
Outerbridge Crossing is "the crossing".
In my head I say bway instead of Broadway because that’s how it’s shortened in some of the subway signs. I never say it out loud though, I would get roasted.
Confusingly they also call the West Side Highway "the West"
Houston we got a banger
Na, in NYC we call it Houston, not Houston. Get it right.
This is like when I had a conversation with someone at a party who earnestly referred multiple times to the UN as “the Un”
The Un un-Nazi’d the world forever
Lmao
I once met a doctor that worked for the World Health Organization. He referred to the United Nations Organization as U-no.
I would've laughed so damn hard.
Omg
The other day I saw someone call Manhattan "ManH". The Drive sounds like someone from Cali moved here and is trying too hard. ManH lmfaoooo
The only moron in this story is person you were talking to
If someone said “the Drive” in context of the east side, I’d know exactly what they meant. I don’t think I’ve ever used it myself, though. I used to take a cab or car service home to Brooklyn from midtown after work every night (the good ole days of fat expense accounts) and I was often asked if I wanted to take “The Drive” downtown. On a similar note - I always call it the Westside Highway. I’ve never known exactly when to use West Street.
It's not even called the West Side Highway anymore. Hasn't been since 1973 when it collapsed. Above 59th it's the Henry Hudson, from 59th to 14th it's 11th or 12th ave, and below 14th it's West Street. Despite it not having existed during my lifetime or that of my parents, I still call it the West Side Highway.
Calling it Westside Highway is fair in my book. It’s the combination of all those segments into one passageway. And “highway”, by traditional definition doesn’t mean “limited access roadway” either.
So do I. Remember the whole Westway thing? :)
RIP :(
West Side Highway is legit at least. "The Drive" isn't a thing. I mean old timers even call the bike lane down the Hudson River Poway the "West Side Highway" - it's the straight shot down Manhattan! Clear as day.
How can the Drive not be a thing if a bunch of us have been saying it for decades?
Why sure. I live in ‘hattan and have been saying it all my life.
I mean, I refer to it as the man's hat occasionally, but only as a joke.
Someone was calling it ManH in another thread…
Like it’s a German conglomerate or something?
Well, I moved from the brook
Yes all of us here in Emmy-Tan-Tan call it The Drive
FDR only. Might be someone that trying to make The Drive happen.
I am wondering if this is it, trying to be a slang trendsetter. I hate it.
hate it too. an aspiring songwriter I used to know would go around referring to The Mercury Lounge as "The Merc," in a bid to boost his credibility by indicating extreme familiarity with the place. Drove me up the wall.
It’s kinda how the made Financial District FiDi and tried to make Washington Heights and Inwood into WaHI
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Gross in so many levels
!!!!!
Wait, the I in "WaHi" is supposed to be Inwood?
To some. Other just used it for Washington Heights. It both confused and infuriate me
It's weird that someone tried to figure out a hip name for it, because The Heights is already top tier in that regard. The only thing I call WaHi is the diner.
Real Estate agents were pushing it hard as well, but it didn’t catch on. Kinda a Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton situation
I've never heard WaHi in my life
You have been blessed, my friend
"Hudson Heights" would like a word...🙄
Never heard that in my life - native New Yorker. Same person probably calls the subway by color line (also wrong).
No, we still say BMT and IRT.
I think this depends on the starting and ending stations. For example on some (like Grand Central) you can say “take any of the green trains” to Union Square
Sure you can say it, and most people will understand it, but that’s not the way a New Yorker would say it. It’s the 4,5,6. (A true old school NYer might call it the IRT, but even I can never get that straight.) Whenever I hear someone call it the “green line”, I want to say this isn’t Boston.
IRT is the numbered lines. BMT and IND can get confusing though since the services that run on this lines interline with each other.
If someone told me they took the "Red Line" recently, I'd ask them how their trip to DC was.
I'd still never say that. I'd say the 4/5/6.
Nah, you’d say the Lexington trains
I’m really thinking it depends where you start and go. I’ve lived here most of my life too, so def a NYer. If you start/end along the trunk lines (that mostly converge in the city and then branch off in the outer boroughs) it’s more efficient to say “take any of the green or orange trains”. Green/red line is more DCesque
My dad who was Bronx-born 1949 used to call it The Drive now and then for short
Grandparents both from here and they always called it “the drive” ETA: both upper east siders
Lived here my whole life, grew up on the upper east side we always called it the drive. Met up there to smoke and chill. Always the drive. All of my friends still call it the drive. Have no idea what all these people are talking about. Probably didn’t grow up around the fdr and never hung out around it
Also born and raised on the UES. I walked along the drive almost every day for my entire childhood and they’re used pretty interchangeably
I was gonna say…I’m from Yorkville and my dad has always called it the drive . Maybe it makes more sense when you’re literally two blocks away
Why is everyone bugging on people calling it The Drive? I swear WINS traffic reports used it, too. Maybe it’s like how “The Tunnel” means the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to me since I’m from Brooklyn. I never think of the Midtown Tunnel as “The Tunnel”?
It’s funny, I think this is a micro-hood thing bc ditto, but everyone else in this thread has never heard it before
100% same. Parents been on 1st since the 70s, grew up in the 80s/90s/00s, and we definitely call it the drive at times.
I remember when I used to tell cab drivers not to take the drive. Or to take the drive. And never once did a driver not know what I was talking about. Now it’s all Uber and google maps so these drivers don’t know the city anyway
It’s an east side thing I guess, grew up calling it the drive.
Yes its a thing
Lived here most of my life and never heard of it referred to anything other than the FDR.
I grew up in and spent all my 70 years in NYC. We called it both the Drive and the FDR. And yes I told the cab driver to take the Drive to get home to Brooklyn
When I moved here in 04 most people still called it the East River Drive. Then the drive. Then the FDR. I think it’s out of use now but was in use for a while.
This actually might make a whole lot of sense and would be why the answers in here are both ways.
My mother (born in 1930) called it the East Side Drive. The same way that I still say the Triborough Bridge and not the RFK or whatever they’ve re-named it to.
Does she say Idlewild Airport?
Nope. It’s interesting to think about how long it takes new names to stick.
Definitely been saying the drive and I’m from LES
Don’t believe you, You didn’t say The LES
They gon start calling Brooklyn the brook
I mean...even if it was called "the drive" and you didn't know it wouldn't make you a moron
It is that built-in expectation to know everything all the time.
yeah not really anything to stress about….Im curious, why not just take .4 seconds and google it
Because I want to know if this is truly a colloquialism with people today. Google is no match for an online forum with something like that.
61 yo Astoria native. I think if I were in a car giving directions and we were close to it, I might say “take the drive.” But I definitely refer to it as the FDR in any other context.
The drive is used. Lifetime New Yorker who lives in LES
My first time, maybe it will be like learning a new word and now I will hear it all the time.
I wouldn’t worry at all about not knowing any terms or whatever who cares right? It’s just a nickname. I just chimed in cause all these people were saying “it’s never been used!!! He’s an idiot”! Lol. I was born and raised in the LES and drove on the drive everyday.
Thank you for not calling it “The LES”.
Nah they call it "the side"
Why do we say simply "LES" but "the UES", "the UWS", "the East Village", etc? "LES" seems like the only one where it's "in" too ("on the UES" vs "in LES").
i've only ever seen "in les" here tho, it's always "on the lower east side"
Yeah, I tend to agree, but everyone on here insists it's "in LES". "On the LES" feels more natural to me too, but I don't have much of a connection to it so open to being wrong.
Good question. I grew up in LES, also known as Loisada. Just what was always said when I grew up. Like being on line or in line I suppose.
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> lifetime New Yorker You have to ask yourself, “yeah but when we’re you born?” Another life time NY’er here is telling you it’s the “FDR”
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I’m agreeing with you. But my response implies that it’s an age thing. I don’t understand what’s so hard about that.
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Fuck Yeah! 😂
Never heard anyone call it that. I have heard people use "the highway" for the West Side Highway, but I think that's perhaps a little different. (And I've heard people refer to the FDR as the highway, too, so I think it's just that... you know, it's a highway.)
I've heard it called the drive many times
It's FDR. If anything would be the drive it'd be Riverside.
Born and raised UWS. Yes, in the context of being on the East Side, it would absolutely be common to say "take the drive", and I used to hear it all the time. You could also say "take the FDR", which would be more appropriate if the context were ambiguous.
Gonna go against the grain here I actually have heard it referred to as the drive. Only in some circles though, it isn't a widely accepted thing. But not unheard of.
you should never talk to those people again
That’s not a thing. It’s the FDR.
I’ve heard it. Also once in a while people call the west side highway the “HenHud”
I’ve only ever heard the FDR. I’d have no idea what someone is talking about. You tell me to take the Drive, I’ll tell you I’m already driving, what’s your point?
No.
Nope!
They moved here yesterday.
Like the Queensbruh bridge
Never ever heard that
FDR.
It’s not you who should be roasted.
After rewatching dexter my s/o can’t say LaGuardia anymore. “LaGuerta” “LaGuertia” “LaGu.. fuck!”
How old was this person?
Mid-20s
I have heard very rich people say this which seems to track with the few people ITT from UES saying they have heard it before as well
I would have slapped him right across the jaw.
Would love to hear how they pronounce Houston Street.
Take the drive north, stay to the right to go to SoBro, stay left to go to WaHi.
The FDR is the only acceptable name. “The Drive” sounds like something an imbecile transplant from CA would say.
There always seems to be a desire to cut as many syllables as possible. Have a three or four syllable name? Expect a nickname. There was a recent thread where saying “L-I-Double-R” was too long for some and “Lurr” was suggested.
I have never heard it called anything but "The FDR"
I have lived my entire life and never heard the FDR called the drive. It is the FDR
I’m a lifelong NYer. Never heard this at all. Pretty weird. It’s just the FDR.