New York State Route 23 (NY 23) is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion of New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus in Cortland County to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains, where it continues east as that state's Route 23. Along the way, it passes through many communities, including the cities of Norwich and Oneonta. Outside of the communities, the route serves largely rural areas of the state and traverses the Catskill Mountains in the state's Central New York Region. NY 23 crosses the Hudson River at Catskill via the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.
Sections of what is now NY 23 were part of unsigned legislative routes as early as 1908; however, NY 23 itself was not assigned until 1924. At the time, the route extended from Oneonta to Massachusetts and followed a slightly different alignment from Cairo to Claverack via Hudson that took the route along modern County Route 23B (CR 23B) in eastern Greene County. NY 23 was extended west to Norwich in the mid-1920s and to NY 26 in northwestern Chenango County in 1930. The route was gradually moved onto its current alignment between Cairo and Claverack in the 1950s and 1960s, and realigned on its western end in 1984 to serve Cortland County.
Route description
NY 23 has three distinct sections: its western third in Central New York and the Central New York Region (formerly Leatherstocking), the middle in the Catskills, and east of the Hudson River. Most of the route is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT); however, some sections are either locally maintained or owned by other agencies. In the city of Norwich, NY 23 is entirely city-owned and maintained. Farther east in the city of Oneonta, the route is city-maintained from the western city line to James F. Lettis Highway. Finally, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and its approaches are maintained by the New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA).
Central New York
The highway begins at a junction with NY 26 in Cincinnatus, a town in eastern Cortland County. It heads east across the Otselic River and through the hamlet of Lower Cincinnatus before curving to the northeast and crossing into Chenango County very soon afterward. Across the county line, it continues northeast through a lightly developed valley surrounding Brakel Creek to the Pharsalia State Wildlife Management Area, where it connects with CR 42, a highway that was once part of NY 23. From here, the route heads southeastward along another valley, this one surrounding Canasawacta Creek, to the city of Norwich, the county seat of Chenango County. It heads east–west across the city on Pleasant and Rexford streets, passing through mostly residential areas and intersecting with NY 12 at Broad Street.
On the eastern fringe of Norwich, NY 23 passes over the Chenango River and leaves the valley holding the river and the city, utilizing a gap in the valley wall formed by Ransford Creek. The waterway ends shortly afterward; however, the route continues on, winding its way eastward into the town of New Berlin and the small hamlet of South New Berlin, situated in another valley surrounding the Unadilla River. Here, it connects to NY 8, another major north–south route. The route crosses the river just east of South New Berlin, putting it into the equally hilly and rural Otsego County. After of isolated areas, NY 23 encounters the village of Morris, the first of several villages along the route. In the village center, it briefly joins NY 51 along Morris' main street.
Beyond Morris, the route continues in an easterly direction with a generally southern trend through rolling farmland until its turns south again at the Laurens hamlet of West Laurens. A brief easterly turn later at West Oneonta takes it across Otego Creek to a junction with NY 205 on the eastern side of the creek's valley. NY 23 joins NY 205 here, and the two highways enter the western outskirts of the nearby city of Oneonta. At Chestnut Street, the first intersection that the route has in the city's vicinity, NY 23 leaves NY 205 to follow Chestnut Street. While NY 205 continues south toward the National Soccer Hall of Fame, NY 23 heads east toward downtown Oneonta. Just one block later, however, it meets NY 7, which comes in from the southwest on Oneida Street. NY 7 turns east at this point to follow NY 23 into the city limits.