New York State Route 89 (NY 89) is a north–south state highway in central New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 13, NY 34, and NY 96 in the Tompkins County city of Ithaca to an interchange with NY 104 in the Wayne County town of Wolcott. The route spans a total of three counties, connecting the heart of the Finger Lakes Region to a point south of Lake Ontario. Along the way, NY 89 intersects two regionally important highways: the conjoined routes of U.S. Route 20 (US 20) and NY 5 in Seneca Falls and NY 31 in Savannah. NY 89 runs along the western edge of Cayuga Lake from Ithaca to Seneca Falls.
NY 89 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York to a significantly different alignment than it follows today. At the time, the route began in Varick and passed through Seneca Falls and Clyde before ending near North Rose. It was extended south to Ithaca and rerouted north of Seneca Falls on April 30, 1959 to serve Savannah and Wolcott instead. The latter change supplanted part of NY 414, which was subsequently moved onto NY 89's original routing from Seneca Falls to North Rose. NY 89 originally extended into the village of Wolcott; however, it was cut back to its current northern terminus after the NY 104 super two was constructed in the early 1970s.
Route description
Maintenance of NY 89 is split between the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the city of Ithaca. Most of NY 89 is state-maintained; however, it is locally maintained in Ithaca from the Cayuga Lake inlet crossing to the northern city line. The portion of NY 89 along the west shore of Cayuga Lake from Ithaca to the intersection with US 20 and NY 5 near the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway, a loop route passing through Ithaca, Seneca Falls, and Union Springs.
Tompkins County
NY 89 begins at the intersection of North Meadow and West Buffalo Streets (the former carrying northbound NY 13 and NY 34) in the West End of the city of Ithaca. Here, NY 96 exits North Meadow Street and overlaps NY 89 westward along Buffalo Street. The two routes intersect North Fulton Street (NY 13 and NY 34 southbound) and cross over a branch of the Cayuga Lake inlet before separating at Taughannock Boulevard. While NY 96 continues west on Buffalo Street, NY 89 heads north on Taughannock Boulevard, crossing over the inlet and running along the western shore of Cayuga Lake as it exits the city and enters the town of the same name.
Outside of Ithaca, NY 89 heads generally northwestward along the western side of a valley surrounding Cayuga Lake. Due to the steep terrain of the surrounding area, this portion of the route passes through sparsely populated and mostly forested areas. In Ulysses, the northernmost town that NY 89 passes through in Tompkins County, the highway serves Taughannock Falls State Park, a mostly linear park that follows Taughannock Creek west to the village of Trumansburg. NY 89 crosses the northernmost portion of the park on its way into Seneca County.
Seneca County
In Seneca County, NY 89 remains relatively isolated in relation to other state routes, even though it leaves the lake valley at the southern county line for an alignment that takes it along the western lip of the gully. For its first in the county, NY 89 closely parallels NY 96, the latter of which is located on slightly higher ground a short distance to the west. While NY 96 serves several hamlets and the village of Interlaken, NY 89 heads across largely unpopulated areas of the towns of Covert and Ovid and traverses little more than farmland. The routes diverge at the Romulus town line, where NY 96 turns west toward the village of Ovid.
NY 89, meanwhile, continues northward into Romulus, where it gradually moves closer to the western lake shore as it descends back into the lake valley. It reaches the shoreline near the hamlet of Elm Beach, from where the route continues along Cayuga Lake for into the town of Varick. Along the way, NY 89 serves dozens of lakeside homes and several small communities, including East Varick. The 7-mile stretch ends at the Fayette town line, where the route leaves the lake to take a slightly more inland routing through the town. As a result, the lakeside homes give way to farmland once again, and the rolling terrain follows NY 89 northward into the town of Seneca Falls.