Corlear Ave, Kingsbridge

Corlear Avenue, like Van Corlear Place, was named for the Van Corlear family, early Dutch settlers in the area. Van Corlear was the man chosen by Governor Peter Stuyvesant to travel to the mainland for reinforcements when New Amsterdam was threatened by the British. This incident was written about by Washington Irving in his famous book, "Father Knickerbocker's History of New York".

This having been said, modern day Corlear Avenue is probably not much more exciting than it was in the days when Anthony Van Corlear was running back and forth into Manhattan. It is just another one of the residential streets of the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx. The advantage, as Mr. Van Corlear and his family knew, is that you are very close to Manhattan. Modern day residents will find that the number 1 subway is a couple of blocks away, and the number 1, 10, and 7 buses stop on intersecting 231st street. You can also catch the number 9 bus on Broadway. The 7 will take you to the A train, so you can get almost anywhere pretty quickly by local standards.

There is also good shopping in the area, with services such as dry cleaners and nail salons, as well as a Stop n' Shop and a Target.