- Flatbush Avenue (Brooklyn)
Flatbush Avenue is one of the major avenues in the
New York City borough ofBrooklyn . Flatbush Avenue runs from theManhattan Bridge southeastward toJamaica Bay , where it becomes Marine Parkway and the Marine Parkway Bridge which connects Brooklyn to the Rockaway Peninsula inQueens . The north end was extended to serve the Manhattan Bridge, the new roadway being named "Flatbush Avenue Extension". [Pollak, Michael. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/nyregion/thecity/18fyi.html "Twain's Magical Mystery Tour"] , "The New York Times ",June 18 ,2006 . AccessedDecember 9 ,2007 . "The Flatbush Avenue extension was built 100 years ago through the 1850's-era Vinegar Hill neighborhood to connect Flatbush Avenue with the anticipated Manhattan Bridge, which opened in 1909."]The diagonal path of Flatbush Avenue creates a unique street pattern in every neighborhood it touches. It is the central artery of the borough, carrying traffic to and from
Manhattan past landmarks such asJunior's ,Long Island University , theFulton Mall , theBrooklyn Academy of Music , theLong Island Rail Road 's Atlantic Terminal,Grand Army Plaza , theBrooklyn Public Library , theBrooklyn Botanic Garden , Prospect Park,Erasmus Hall High School andFloyd Bennett Field .Flatbush Avenue creates the borders of neighborhoods including, Prospect Heights / Park Slope, and Flatbush / East Flatbush. It also touches many other neighborhoods en route to Queens, including Flatlands and
East Flatlands .Flatbush Avenue also starts off a good majority of Brooklyn's other main throughfares. Ocean Avenue, Empire Boulevard,
Eastern Parkway , and Utica Avenue all have their western, northern or southern end at Flatbush Avenue.Flatbush Avenue is a four-lane street throughout the majority of its run, however, south of where Utica Avenue merges with Flatbush Avenue near
Kings Plaza , it becomes an eight-lane median divided street, making it one of the widest "avenues" in New York City.Flatbush Avenue is the main thoroughfare through the Borough of Brooklyn, and was originally an Indian trail taking advantage of a low point in the moraine forming the spine of Long Island that is now called Grand Army Plaza. Historic homes line the neighborhoods around the Avenue, and in the late 1920s it was straightened to its current form. Remnant streets such as Amersfort Place still remain in the city grid as an echo of the past.
Flatbush Avenue is served by the B41 bus line (formerly a trolley line running the length of the avenue), and the Q35 bus line, the latter of which goes to Rockaway Beach via the Marine Parkway Bridge. Many subway lines run under the avenue in
Downtown Brooklyn and theIRT Nostrand Avenue Line terminates at the Flatbush/Nostrand station.References
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