The portion of the street southwest of the White House was to give the President of the United States an uninterrupted view of the Potomac River.

[2] New York Avenue's consolidation with Triangle Park and three other parklets into a small mall in 1937 consumed another block between 20th and 21st Streets NW.

[5] Construction of the Theodore Roosevelt Building (which now houses the United States Office of Personnel Management) in 1963 eliminated another block between 19th and 20th Streets NW.

[14] The fate of New York Avenue NE was sealed with the cancellation of the Northeast Freeway in 1977, which was intended to provide a more direct route for traffic between downtown Washington and Baltimore along the Interstate 95 corridor.

The main advantage of New York Avenue NE is that drivers need only put up with about two-and-a-half miles (4 km) of traffic lights between downtown Washington and the last traffic light at Bladensburg Road, while the distance between downtown Washington and the closest controlled-access freeway is more than twice as far for the two next best alternative routes, MD 650 and MD 500/MD 410.

New York Avenue NW and NE within the boundary of the old Federal City has generally remained in good to excellent condition.

[17] In 1995, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) estimated that New York Avenue Extended carried 107,000 vehicles each day.

[21] For reasons which remain unclear, the bridge over the railroad tracks near South Dakota Avenue NE was not replaced, and the two-lane bottleneck continued.

[22] According to a study released in 2005 by the government of the District of Columbia, five of the ten most crash-prone intersections in the city are along New York Avenue.

[24] Delays in other New York Avenue projects allowed the 9th Street NE bridge to begin replacement sooner than expected, and to proceed faster toward completion.

The job was a complex one, as the bridge also carried electricity, telecommunication cables, and mechanical equipment critical for railroad operations.

[25] Originally, New York Avenue Extended passed through relatively rural areas, where farms and small, isolated developments were common.

In 1980, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry announced a major effort to redevelop the New York Avenue Extended industrial and retail corridor.

A more thorough analysis of the corridor found several problems: The roadway was poorly maintained and traffic was far too heavy; the intersection of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road was a confusing mass of exit and on ramps, medians, and underpasses; poor zoning laws had allowed businesses to erect bright, visually distracting signs; and an excessive number of curb cuts permitted too many motorists to access the road and slow traffic.

DDOT officials said they were ready to replace the bridge over the railroad tracks near South Dakota Avenue NE but that the city lacked the $16 million ($31,993,012 in 2023 dollars) for the project because federal highway funding had not been forthcoming.

DDOT also said it planned to widen the street to four lanes between Bladensburg Road and the District line, and reduce the steepness of the approaches to the overpass over the railroad tracks near Florida Avenue.

Transportation and economic development officials announced that they were studying plans to reduced congestion on New York Avenue by adding more public transit, such as light rail.

The city hired six consulting firms, and paid them $900,000 ($1,524,588 in 2023 dollars) to identify additional problems, survey residents, and propose solutions.

The most significant issue immediately identifiable facing the street was the anticipated rise in heavy trucks using the road, due to the presence of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms headquarters, and several anticipated big-box stores on the street.

[citation needed] The northern terminus of Interstate 395 is at a signaled intersection with New York Avenue and 4th Street NW.

[citation needed] At its eastern end, New York Avenue NE becomes the John Hanson Highway (U.S. Route 50 in Maryland).

[citation needed] On the east side of Mount Vernon Square, New York Avenue crosses 7th Street NW.

[citation needed] East of Mount Vernon Square, New York Avenue is part of the National Highway System.