Downtown Second Avenue in the Lower East Side was the home to many Yiddish theatre productions during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as the "Yiddish Theater District", "Yiddish Broadway", or the "Jewish Rialto". Although the theaters are gone, many traces of Jewish immigrant culture remain, such as kosher delicatessens and bakeries, and the famous Second Avenue Deli. The Second Avenue Elevated train line ran above Second Avenue the full length of the avenue north of 23rd Street, and stood from 1880 until service was ended on June 13, 1942. South of Second Avenue, it ran on First Avenue and then Allen and Division Street. The elevated trains were noisy and often dirty. This depressed land values along Second Avenue during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Partially because of the presence of the El, most buildings constructed during this era were working class tenements. The line was finally torn down in 1942 because it was deteriorated and obsolete, and the cost of World War II made upkeep impossible. Second Avenue maintains its modest architectural character today, despite running through a number of high income areas. Second Avenue has carried one-way traffic since June 4, 1951, before which it carried traffic in both the northbound and southbound directions.
On March 26, 2015, a gas explosion and resulting fire in the East Village destroyed three buildings at 119, 121 and 123 Second Avenue, between East 7th Street and St. Mark's Place. At least twenty-two people were injured, four critically, and two people were initially listed as missing. Later, two men were found dead in the debris of the explosion and were confirmed to be the ones listed as missing. There had previously been an illegal tap installed into the gas line feeding 121 Second Avenue. In the days before the explosion, work was ongoing in the building for the installation of a new 4-inch gas line to service the apartments in 121, and some of the tenants had smelled gas an hour before the explosion. Eleven other buildings were evacuated as a result of the explosion, and Con Ed turned off the gas to the area. Several days later, some residents were allowed to return to some of the vacated buildings.
The serves Second Avenue from 96th Street to 72nd Street before turning onto 63rd Street with a stop at Lexington Avenue, which has an exit at Third Avenue. A Second Avenue Subway line has been planned since 1919, with provisions to construct it as early as 1929. Two short sections of the line have been completed over the years, serving other subway services, and others simply sitting vacant underground. Portions have been leased from time to time by New York Telephone to house equipment serving the company's principal north-south communication lines which run under the Avenue. Isolated 1970s-era segments of the line, built without any infrastructure, exist between Pell and Canal Streets, and between 99th–105th and 110th–120th Streets. Construction on Phase 1, which will eventually extend from 125th Street to the Financial District via the service, began on April 12, 2007. Phase 1 connects the BMT 63rd Street Line with the new line north to stations at 72nd, 86th, and 96th Streets, serving the. Phase 1 opened on January 1, 2017. Phase 2, which would extend the line to East Harlem at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue, is expected to be completed between 2027 and 2029. When the whole Second Avenue subway line is completed, it is projected to serve about 560,000 daily riders.
Bike lane
There are bike lanes along the avenue south of 125th Street.
