Flushing Avenue
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Flushing Avenue is a street running through northern
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and western
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, beginning at Nassau Street in
Fort Greene, Brooklyn Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Dow ...
, and ending at Grand Avenue in Maspeth. It divides the neighborhood of Williamsburg from Clinton Hill and East Williamsburg from Bushwick. After crossing the Queens border, the avenue serves as the dividing line between Ridgewood, Queens and West Maspeth. Flushing Avenue then terminates in Maspeth. Despite its name, however, the avenue does not extend to Flushing.


Route description

The avenue is primarily an industrial thoroughfare. On its extreme western end, it serves the
Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...
, a former naval shipyard turned industrial park. Part of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway bike path runs alongside Flushing Avenue in this area. In this district, the south side of Flushing Avenue contains many abandoned business that were supported by sailors and ship workers before the government closed the yard. Continuing eastward, Flushing Avenue crosses the
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New Yor ...
. This section of Flushing Avenue, between the expressway and Broadway, has seen considerable redevelopment over recent years by Williamsburg's
Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...
population, as young urban professionals have moved into the northern end of Williamsburg. The north side of Flushing Avenue in this section is a primarily
residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...
area, whereas the south side is primarily industrial, the most notable exception being the Marcy Houses housing project. The Flushing Avenue subway station is at Flushing and Marcy Avenues. Flushing Avenue forms the south side of the so-called "Broadway Triangle", bounded on the northeast by Broadway and on the west by Union Avenue, whose factories were largely abandoned shortly after the turn of the 21st century. The Triangle was rezoned as "residential" in December 2009. The commercial heart of Flushing Avenue is the intersection with Broadway and Graham Avenue, in the extreme southern end of Williamsburg. This
business improvement district A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...
is serviced by the trains' Flushing Avenue stop. In this area are cheap retail shopping, food shops and fast-food chains. This primarily Puerto Rican and Hasidic area is becoming increasingly populated with students and young professionals. Near the intersection with Bushwick Avenue, residential Bushwick borders Flushing Avenue to the south, and the massive Bushwick Houses to the north. At Morgan and at Wyckoff Avenue, a community of artists and young professionals have moved into the low-rise lofts that were once abandoned. An effect of this
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
was the opening of two bar-restaurants, Life Cafe and the Wreck Room, on an adjacent section of Flushing Avenue. Continuing past Wyckoff Avenue, the avenue crosses into Queens, passes the historic Vander Ende-Onderdonk House Site (formerly in Brooklyn, now Queens), and becomes actively industrial on both sides. Upon entering Maspeth, it is a residential street.


History

In 1951, eighteen traffic signals at the western end of Flushing Avenue, as well as along Park Avenue in Fort Greene, were re-timed to increase the flow of traffic heading west to the Manhattan Bridge.; Flushing Avenue has seen considerable decline since its heyday in the early and mid-20th century. Some sections began to gentrify, to varying degrees, at the turn of the 21st century. In 2004, the city began a project to upgrade the water and sewer infrastructure on the western part of the road, and to repave it; the project was completed in 2008.


Transportation

Flushing Avenue is served by the following bus routes: * The B57 serves the entire length of the avenue, except between 61st Street and Grand Avenue. Westbound buses run out of service from 64th Street to 61st Street before changing its destination from Maspeth to Red Hook. * The runs on the avenue between its western end and Vanderbilt Avenue. * From Throop Avenue, southbound buses head west to Tompkins Avenue, while northbound buses head east to Broadway. * The runs between the avenue’s eastern end and Fresh Pond Road. * All northbound buses that terminate at Flushing Avenue run east on it from Bedford Avenue to Nostrand Avenue, changing its destination to Sheepshead Bay. The following subway stations are located at or near the corridor: * The
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
’s
IND Crosstown Line The IND Crosstown Line or Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division (New York City Subway), B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City. It provides crosstown service between wes ...
has a station on Union Avenue served by the . * The BMT Jamaica Line has a station on Broadway served by the . * The
BMT Canarsie Line The BMT Canarsie Line (sometimes referred to as the 14th Street–Eastern Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division (New York City Subway), B Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie, Brooklyn, ...
has a nearby stop at the Jefferson Street station served by the .


References


Further reading


MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES EXPANSION PLAN FOR THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD AND REJUVENATION PLANS FOR THE FLUSHING AVENUE CORRIDOR


* "Brooklyn, NY." Map. Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York. Maspeth, NY: Hagstrom Map Company, Inc. 2004 {{Queens Streets Streets in Brooklyn Streets in Queens, New York Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bushwick, Brooklyn Maspeth, Queens Fort Greene, Brooklyn Clinton Hill, Brooklyn