Flatbush Avenue

Effect on street grid

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 as MetroTech Center, City Point, the Fulton Mall, Junior's, Long Island University Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Terminal, the Barclays Center, Grand Army Plaza, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Prospect Park, Erasmus Hall High School, Kings Theatre, Brooklyn College, Kings Plaza, and Floyd Bennett Field.

Flatbush Avenue is the border of Prospect Heights/Park Slope and many other neighborhoods. Other main Brooklyn thoroughfares start at Flatbush Avenue, including Ocean Avenue and Empire Boulevard (both at Willink Plaza), Linden Boulevard, Eastern Parkway, and Utica Avenue.

History

Prior to European settlement, several Native American trails crossed Brooklyn. These were later widened into "ferry roads" by 17th-century Dutch settlers, since they were used to provide transport to the waterfront. One was the Flatbush Road, running roughly north–south to the east of the path of present-day Flatbush Avenue. The road ran roughly along what is now the eastern edge of Prospect Park and taking advantage of a low point in the Heights of Guan that form the spine of Long Island. A monument beside the former Flatbush Road, now inside the park, commemorates an attempt to block the road at Battle Pass during the Battle of Long Island. For much of the 19th century, it had a plank road run by a turnpike company. Historic homes line the neighborhoods around the avenue, which in the late 1920s was straightened to its current form. Streets such as Amersfort Place that are remnants of old parts of the avenue remain in the city grid as an echo of the past.

Transportation

Flatbush Avenue is served by the following MTA Regional Bus Operations routes:

• The serves the majority of the avenue, between Livingston Street and either Avenue V, where Kings Plaza is located, or Avenue N, to serve Bergen Beach.
• The runs south of Avenue I (Brooklyn College), or Avenue H (Rockaway Park, Queens).
• From Kings Plaza heading north, where all three terminate, the and B46 SBS go to Utica Avenue, the goes to Avenue S, and buses that serve the full route go to Avenue L.
• The local runs on the avenue between Kings Highway and Flatlands Avenue. The B82 SBS does not serve any portion.
• Northbound B44 SBS buses run from Nostrand Avenue to Rogers Avenue. The local does not serve any portion.
• When serving the full route, the runs on two portions of Flatbush. One is between Avenue H and either terminates at Nostrand Avenue (Brooklyn College), or continues to Cortelyou Road (Downtown Brooklyn), where it’s accompanied by the express. The other portion is between Livingston Street and either Lafayette Avenue (Downtown Brooklyn), or 4th Avenue (Canarsie).
• The runs between Glenwood Road and Brooklyn College, where all buses terminate. The uses the avenue to continue along Glenwood, past East 29th Street.
• Prospect Park-bound buses run from Ocean Avenue to Lincoln Road.
• From 7th Avenue, the heads north to Livingston Street, while the heads south to Plaza Street East.
• The runs between 5th and Atlantic Avenues, west from Flatbush. The runs between Livingston Street and Atlantic, east from Flatbush.
• Ridgewood-bound buses run on the Extension part of the avenue from Tillary Street to Myrtle Avenue.

A dedicated bus lane corridor on Flatbush Avenue was proposed in 2022; at the time, the B41 route traveled at an average speed of 6.5 mph. Designs for the bus lanes were revealed in 2024, and the New York City Department of Transportation announced the next year that center-running bus lanes, with pedestrian islands, would be built on the northern part of the avenue from Livingston Street to Grand Army Plaza. The lanes are to be installed starting in late 2025.

Flatbush Avenue is served by the following New York City Subway stations:

• The IRT Nostrand Avenue Line () has a southern terminus at the Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College station.
• The BMT Brighton Line () and IRT Eastern Parkway Line () run under the avenue between Prospect Park and DeKalb Avenue, and Grand Army Plaza and Nevins Street, respectively.

References

References

1. {{google maps. link
2. Pollak, Michael. (June 18, 2006). "Twain's Magical Mystery Tour". [[The New York Times]].
3. Bolton, Reginald P.. (1922). "Indian Paths in the Great Metropolis". Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.
4. Armbruster, Eugene L.. (1919). "The Ferry Road on Long Island". G. Quattlander.
5. {{Cite NYC bus map. B
6. Paolicelli, Alyssa. (August 9, 2022). "Transit advocates rally for better bus service in Brooklyn".
7. Brachfeld, Ben. (August 9, 2022). "Flatbush Avenue bus lane proposal gains support of key electeds".
8. Liebman, Samantha. (December 11, 2023). "City behind on bus lane mandate for second year".
9. Khalifeh, Ramsey. (June 20, 2024). "Dramatic redesign of Flatbush Avenue would add bus lanes to gridlocked Brooklyn street".
10. Rahmanan, Anna. (June 21, 2024). "Here is what Flatbush Avenue might look like once a bus lane is added".
11. Khalifeh, Ramsey. (June 4, 2025). "Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue gets bus lanes, pedestrian islands under DOT plan".
12. Jack, Dominique. (September 5, 2025). "New bus lanes coming to busy Flatbush Avenue corridor in Brooklyn".
13. Daly, Adam. (September 5, 2025). "DOT to start installing center-running bus lanes on Brooklyn’s Flatbush Avenue".
14. {{NYCS const. map