Main Street (Queens)

Route description

Main Street runs relatively north to south with two to three lanes in either direction, and serves as the major road for Flushing, Queens. From the north, it begins at Northern Boulevard in Downtown Flushing, also known as Flushing Chinatown, one of New York City's largest Asian enclaves. Just south of Roosevelt Avenue and the Long Island Rail Road overpass, Kissena Boulevard (formerly Jamaica Road) branches off from Main Street at a triangle, before traveling on a parallel course. After passing through Kissena Park, Main Street intersects with the Long Island Expressway north of Queens College.

South of Queens College, it intersects with Jewel Avenue near the neighborhood of Pomonok. At the south end of Kew Gardens Hills near Jamaica, Main Street intersects with Union Turnpike and the Grand Central Parkway service road. Westbound Union Turnpike feeds into the Kew Gardens Interchange, connecting to the Grand Central, the Van Wyck Expressway, the Jackie Robinson Parkway, and Queens Boulevard. Near its southern end, two entrance ramps branch off from the center of Main Street, feeding into the southbound Van Wyck. The two one-way spurs of Main Street run for three more blocks before ending in Briarwood, at adjacent intersections with Queens Boulevard.

The most congested area of Main Street is at its northern end in Downtown Flushing, between Sanford Avenue and Northern Boulevard. Other congestion points include the intersections with the Long Island Expressway; the Union Turnpike/Grand Central Parkway (GCP) interchange, from 73rd Avenue south to the GCP; and its southern terminus, at Queens Boulevard. The growth of the business activity at the core of Downtown Flushing, dominated by the Flushing Chinatown, has continued to flourish despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

For much of its early history Main Street was a quiet, small-town street. In the beginning, it did not extend south of the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road.

The street was extended to Cedar Grove Cemetery in 1920. By 1932, Main Street's south end was Reeves Avenue, at the former Spring Hill Golf Club. By 1940, the areas around Main Street's northern end, near Flushing, were largely developed. Kew Gardens Hills was built around Main Street after World War II.

In the 1970s, in the wake of the 1976 fiscal crisis, more real estate became available. The area was quickly settled by Chinese and Koreans.

Transportation

Bus service

Main article: Q20 and Q44 buses

The primary public transportation on Main Street is the Q44 bus route, running from the Jamaica Center area through the entire length of Main Street before continuing to the Bronx. Prior to 2010, the now-defunct Q74 bus served the southern portion of the street between 73rd and Reeves Avenues. The route, which ran between Kew Gardens – Union Turnpike station and Queens College, was eliminated in 2010 due to budget cuts within the MTA. The X51 express bus served a portion of the street between Elder Avenue near Kissena Park and Horace Harding Expressway, before being discontinued in the 2010 cuts due to low ridership.

Many buses travel through or terminate on the section of Main Street located in Flushing. These buses travel through:

• The and serve the corridor between Kissena Boulevard and Northern Boulevard. Only the Q26 heads west on Northern Boulevard. Southbound, they are joined by the N20G and N20X starting at Roosevelt Avenue.

These buses terminate on Main Street:

• The Q50 goes north to Northern Boulevard and heads east. It then continues to Pelham Bay Park, with rush hour service to Co-op City, Bronx.
• The terminates on the opposite side of Main Street, also heading east on Northern Boulevard towards Beechhurst.
• The and also go north to the boulevard, but head west to serve Astoria, Court Square, and Queens Plaza, respectively.
• The , and head south to Kissena Boulevard, then continue towards Jamaica or Cambria Heights (Q27 only).
• In the Flushing direction:
  • The head north from Roosevelt Avenue to 39th Avenue.
  • The heads south from Northern Boulevard to 38th Avenue, before deadheading to Roosevelt Avenue for Little Neck service.
  • The diverts from Roosevelt Avenue to terminate, then deadheads to 39th Avenue for LaGuardia Airport service.

Several other buses intersect with the street at other major streets along the route.

Bus lanes

In October 2016, the New York City Department of Transportation announced that southbound traffic on Main Street between 37th Avenue and 40th Road would be converted to a busway restricted to buses and local delivery vehicles. This would allow bus speeds to be maintained during the construction of widened sidewalks. The busway was implemented in 2017, resulted in a 23 percent increase in bus speeds. The southbound traffic restriction was made permanent in 2018.

In June 2020, mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would test out a northbound busway on Main Street in Downtown Flushing. Almost all Main Street business owners expressed opposition to the busway in a survey, leading a New York Supreme Court judge to place an injunction in November 2020. In January 2021, the busway was introduced on the northbound lanes of Main Street and Kissena Boulevard between Sanford Avenue and Northern Boulevard.

Subway and rail

On the New York City Subway, the of the IND Queens Boulevard Line serve the street at the Briarwood station, where the street intersects with Queens Boulevard and the Van Wyck Expressway.

The Downtown Flushing section of the route contains its busiest transit hub, revolving around the Flushing–Main Street terminal for the New York City Subway's at Roosevelt Avenue. The Long Island Rail Road serves the area at its elevated station one block south.

Education

Schools

Flushing High School is located a few blocks away from the northern terminus.

Libraries

Several branches of Queens Library are located on Main Street, including the large Flushing branch at Kissena Boulevard which was rebuilt in the 1990s. The Kew Gardens Hills branch is near the south end of Main Street.

Points of interest

Notable points of interest include:

• St. George's Church near Roosevelt Avenue
• Flushing Main Post Office, between Sanford and Maple Avenues
• Queens Botanical Garden and Kissena Corridor Park between Dahlia and 56th Avenues
• NewYork–Presbyterian/Queens (formerly Booth Memorial Hospital and New York Hospital Queens), part of the NewYork–Presbyterian Healthcare System, at Booth Memorial Avenue. Several additional buildings are located farther south.
• Cedar Grove Cemetery, between Reeves Avenue and 68th Drive, north of Jewel Avenue

Other Main Streets in New York City

There are four other Main Streets in the four other boroughs of New York City:

• Bronx In Edgewater Park, the Bronx, Main Street is so obscure that it is not notated on street signs. It is a short road in a 675-unit co-op. This Main Street is rarely referred to by its name.
• Brooklyn In Dumbo, Brooklyn, Main Street is a two-block cobblestone street that still has old pieces of railroad track embedded into the cobblestones.
• Manhattan On Roosevelt Island in Manhattan, Main Street is the sole north–south artery on the island, and is lined mainly with apartment buildings, hospitals, and a small town center consisting of several businesses.
• Staten Island In Tottenville, Staten Island, Main Street is a six-block artery that runs north to south at the western end of the neighborhood. Of the five Main Streets in New York City, Queens's is the busiest and most notable.

References

References

1. {{google maps. link
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4. (July 13, 2010). "A Jewish Magnet In Central Queens: The increasingly popular Flushing-Kew Gardens area is in the midst of a property crunch.". [[The Jewish Week]].
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8. In 1999, the Q44 was converted into a limited-stop service, supplemented by [[Q20 (New York City bus). Q20]] local bus running from Jamaica to [[College Point, Queens. Q44
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20. (May 31, 2018). "Flushing Traffic Management Prioritizing Buses & Local Deliveries on Main Street 5/31/2018". New York City Department of Transportation.
21. Gartland, Michael. (June 8, 2020). "De Blasio announces 20 miles of new express MTA busways as NYC begins to reopen".
22. (June 8, 2020). "Better Buses Restart: Mayor de Blasio Announces Major Projects to Speed Buses During City's Phased R".
23. Rivoli, Dan. (June 18, 2020). "Main Street Busway Opponents Fear Even Greater Loss of Customers".
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26. WABC. (February 8, 2021). "60-day warning period begins for Main Street Busway violations in Flushing".
27. {{Cite NYCS map. neighborhood. Kew Gardens
28. (April 12, 1999). "MOVING UP ON MAIN ST. ESCALATORS READY AT SUBWAY STATION". [[Daily News (New York)]].
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30. (October 25, 2008). "Familiar and Foreign, It's Main Street, New York City". [[The New York Times]].
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