On 17th Street (40°44′08″N 73°59′12″W﻿ / ﻿40.735532°N 73.986575°W﻿ / 40.735532; -73.986575), traffic runs one way along the street, from east to west excepting the stretch between Broadway and Park Avenue South, where traffic runs in both directions. It forms the northern borders of both Union Square (between Broadway and Park Avenue South) and Stuyvesant Square. Composer Antonín Dvořák's New York home was located at 327 East 17th Street, near Perlman Place. The house was razed by Beth Israel Medical Center after it received approval of a 1991 application to demolish the house and replace it with an AIDS hospice. Time Magazine was started at 141 East 17th Street.

What is unusual about the traffic between Broadway and Park Avenue South on 17th Street?