Where Have All the Alleys Gone?

Over the course of my lifetime, I have unconsciously developed a sense of what being in the great city of New York must be like. I constructed much of this from watching television shows and movies set there. And one of the recurring features that I looked forward to investigating (from a safe distance) on my recent trip was the back alley.

In shows and movies, characters are always stepping in and out of alleys. Alleys are where many great fights and chase scenes take place. I’m thinking about that great original Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever, where Kirk and Spock chase down McCoy through the streets and alleys of thirties New York. And about The Matrix, where alleyways abound and are integral to the plot. So as I walked down Manhattan streets throughout my four-day visit, I kept asking myself, “Where are the alleys?”

The rule there (without exception) seems to be that you cross a street, come to the corner of the first building you walk up to, and that building runs right into the next without any gaps. And then that building is right next to the following one, all the way to the next street. No gaps, no alleys, just seemingly fused buildings.

Not that the others in my visiting party were objecting. After all, aren’t alleys where all the criminals hang out? Well, if there aren’t any alleys, then maybe we’re somehow safer. Right?

Truth be told, I felt very safe no matter where I walked in the city. One reason for this was that I always seemed to be around other people, often in large numbers. Another was the large presence of police and security.

I really don’t think I would have ducked into a back alley had I seen one. Maybe the parts of the city I walked through just didn’t have them, while others did. I bet Brooklyn is loaded with them!