Originally, it began at the northern approach to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge and followed Eastern Boulevard (now the path of the Bruckner Expressway) north to Baychester Avenue.

The southern terminus was shifted north to the Bruckner Expressway's interchange with Gun Hill Road c. 1962, resulting in a partial realignment of NY 164, and to the junction of US 1 and Baychester Avenue by 1964.

By 1970, the New York State Department of Transportation had completely removed the NY 164 designation, allowing it to be reassigned to another highway in Putnam County.

[1][4] Past the Thruway, NY 164 followed a more pronounced southeasterly alignment and entered the New York City borough of the Bronx, where it became known as Nereid Avenue.

[1][4] NY 164 was assigned c. 1940[2][3] to provide a signed route to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge and the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair in Queens from Westchester County and the Bronx.

[12] In the mid-1960s, the Regional Plan Association (RPA) and the Tri-State Transportation Commission proposed that an expressway be built along East 223rd Street through the Woodlawn and Wakefield neighborhoods of the Bronx.

The idea did not advance past the planning stages and was shelved in the late 1960s when Robert Moses was removed from his post as New York City's arterial coordinator.