Getting around the western Bronx by foot means encountering hilly streets, lots of hilly streets.
The pitched terrain comes from ridges of bedrock formed millions of years ago extending into Northern Manhattan.
Back in the early 1900s when the Bronx was undergoing urbanization, all these hills posed a challenge to transit engineers, since some roads would be too steep for vehicular traffic.
The solution? Build a “step street,” basically an open-air masonry staircase not accessible to cars but that pedestrians could use to get up and down regular streets at different elevations.
If you’ve ever seen Joker, then you likely remember the step street scene.
It was filmed on what’s now known as the Joker Stairs on West 167th Street and Shakespeare Avenue in the Bronx, turning this grimy step street into a popular hashtag and tourist mecca.
More than 100 step streets exist in New York City. But if you’re looking for the longest (and the one that might leave you seriously huffing and puffing), head to 230th Street between Netherland and Riverdale Avenues in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood.
These step stairs are actually three staircases, with a landing on each of the four streets it connects.
On a recent visit I rarely encountered another stair walker in either direction, and the surprisingly rustic backyards on either side of the step street made me feel like I was hiking a trail.
If you’re walking up, you’ll begin your step street journey at Riverdale Avenue. The steps cross Johnson Avenue, then Edgehill Avenue, and finally Netherland Avenue—a quiet stretch of lovely suburbia in the Bronx.
The borough has other step streets; one connecting Broadway to Naples Terrace is this colorful shorter staircase (fourth photo).
Another step street is blocks south on 215th Street in Inwood just past Spuyten Duyvil Creek (fifth photo). Built in 1911 to connect Broadway to Park Terrace East, the stairs and their cast-iron lampposts were recently renovated.
These days, motivational quotes from famous figures are carved into some of the 110 steps, which connect a bustling commercial and transit stretch of Broadway to the quiet residential streets above.
The Bronx and Upper Manhattan have more step streets; even Brooklyn and Staten Island have them.
Designed for function, they’ve become iconic parts of those late-to-development neighborhoods that didn’t have their hills flattened and graded by developers. And one of the best things about them is going back down.
Tags: 215th Street Step Street, Bronx Step Streets, Joker Staircase Step Street, Purpose of step street, Step Street 230th Street, Upper Manhattan Step Streets, Walking the 230th Street Step Street Bronx
This entry was posted on June 15, 2026 at 4:18 am and is filed under Bronx and City Island. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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