Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in theNew York CityBorough ofBrooklyn. It runs from theManhattan Bridge south-southeastward toJamaica Bay, where it joins theMarine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to theRockaway Peninsula inQueens. The north end was extended fromFulton Street to the Manhattan Bridge as "Flatbush Avenue Extension".^[2]

Flatbush Avenue

Flatbush Avenue Extension
Flatbush Avenue sign nearBrooklyn Botanic Garden
Namesake	Flatbush (Dutch)
Owner	City of New York
Maintained by	NYCDOT
Length	9.9 mi (15.9 km)[1]
Location	Brooklyn,New York City
South end	Marine Parkway Bridge atFloyd Bennett Field
Major junctions	Belt Parkway at Floyd Bennett Field NY 27 inFlatbush
North end	I-278 /Manhattan Bridge inDowntown Brooklyn

Flatbush Avenue, including the extension, is 9.9 miles (15.9 km) long. The avenue is a four-lane street throughout the majority of its run. North ofAtlantic Avenue and south ofUtica Avenue, it is a six-lane-wide median-divided street.

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 fromManhattan past landmarks such asMetroTech Center,City Point, theFulton Mall,Junior's,Long Island UniversityBrooklyn, theBrooklyn Academy of Music, theLong Island Rail Road'sAtlantic Terminal, theBarclays Center,Grand Army Plaza, theBrooklyn Public Library, theBrooklyn Botanic Garden,Prospect Park,Erasmus Hall High School,Kings Theatre,Brooklyn College,Kings Plaza, andFloyd Bennett Field.

Flatbush Avenue is the border ofProspect Heights/Park Slope and many other neighborhoods. Other main Brooklyn thoroughfares start at Flatbush Avenue, includingOcean Avenue and Empire Boulevard (both atWillink Plaza),Linden Boulevard,Eastern Parkway, and Utica Avenue.

Prior to European settlement, severalNative American trails crossed Brooklyn.^[3] 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.^[4] The road ran roughly along what is now the eastern edge of Prospect Park and taking advantage of a low point in theHeights of Guan that form the spine ofLong Island. A monument beside the former Flatbush Road, now inside the park, commemorates an attempt to block the road atBattle Pass during theBattle of Long Island. For much of the 19th century, it had aplank road run by aturnpike 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.

Flatbush Avenue is served by the followingMTA Regional Bus Operations routes:^[5]

• TheB41 serves the majority of the avenue, between Livingston Street and either Avenue V, whereKings Plaza is located, or Avenue N, to serveBergen Beach.
• TheQ35 runs south of Avenue I (Brooklyn College), or Avenue H (Rockaway Park, Queens).
• From Kings Plaza heading north, where all three terminate, theB46 andB46 SBS go toUtica Avenue, theB2 goes to Avenue S, andB9 buses that serve the full route go to Avenue L.
• TheB82 local runs on the avenue between Kings Highway and Flatlands Avenue. TheB82 SBS does not serve any portion.
• NorthboundB44 SBS buses run fromNostrand Avenue to Rogers Avenue. TheB44 local does not serve any portion.
• When serving the full route, theB103 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 theBM2 express. The other portion is between Livingston Street and either Lafayette Avenue (Downtown Brooklyn), or 4th Avenue (Canarsie).
• TheB11 runs between Glenwood Road and Brooklyn College, where all buses terminate. TheB6 uses the avenue to continue along Glenwood, past East 29th Street.
• Prospect Park-boundB16 buses run from Ocean Avenue to Lincoln Road.
• From 7th Avenue, theB67 heads north to Livingston Street, while theB69 heads south to Plaza Street East.
• TheB63 runs between 5th andAtlantic Avenues, west from Flatbush. TheB45 runs between Livingston Street and Atlantic, east from Flatbush.
• Ridgewood-boundB54 buses run on the Extension part of the avenue from Tillary Street toMyrtle Avenue.

A dedicatedbus lane corridor on Flatbush Avenue was proposed in 2022;^[6][7] at the time, the B41 route traveled at an average speed of 6.5 miles per hour (10.5 km/h).^[8] Work on the bus lanes began in 2024.^[9]

Flatbush Avenue is served by the followingNew York City Subway stations:

• TheIRT Nostrand Avenue Line (2 and ​5 trains) has a southern terminus at theFlatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College station.
• TheBMT Brighton Line (B and ​Q trains) andIRT Eastern Parkway Line (2, ​3, ​4, and ​5 trains) run under the avenue betweenProspect Park andDeKalb Avenue, andGrand Army Plaza andNevins Street, respectively.^[10]

• Smith & Gray Company Building