Vito Marcantonio Lucky Corner (Manhattan)
Present name:None
Location:Northeast corner of 116th Street and Lexington Avenue
Honoree: The Lucky Corner is at the intersection of East 116th Street and Lexington Avenue, a site that represented both a crossroads and a borderline. Here was a stop for East Harlem’s sole subway line, and for crosstown as well as north-south buses. In the early 20th century Lexington Avenue was the informal border between Italian Harlem--America’s largest Little Italy—and Jewish East Harlem, which was gradually replaced by El Barrio, the largest Puerto Rican community in the United States. Also, East 116th Street is East Harlem’s major shopping street. Closer to the East River it served as Italian Harlem’s corso, the street where the doctors, dentists, and political leaders lived. From 1924 until the 1960’s, the Lucky Corner was the site of Election Eve rallies. The first took place in 1924 when Vito Marcantonio introduced Fiorello La Guardia, who was running for his second Congressional term from the East Harlem district. (Ayala)
LL:2018/139