Flatlands Avenue is a major street in theNew York City borough ofBrooklyn. It runs approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east to west; from Avenue N and East 35th Street inMarine Park in the west, to Forbell Street, east ofFountain Avenue inEast New York, near theBrooklyn-Queens border. The right-of-way continues in the southwesternQueens neighborhoods ofLindenwood andHoward Beach as 156th Avenue, separated by the remnants of Spring Creek. The portion of Flatlands Avenue east of Louisiana Avenue in East New York was previously mapped asFairfield Avenue.[1][2]
The avenue runs a diagonal path and intersects with several other major streets in Brooklyn, includingFlatbush Avenue,Utica Avenue, Ralph Avenue,Rockaway Parkway, and Pennsylvania Avenue. For the most part, the avenue has four lanes, and there is a central median east of Ralph Avenue throughCanarsie andEast New York.
Flatlands Avenue's western end is at an intersection with East 35th Street inMarine Park, forming a small triangle with Avenue N. After about seven blocks, it intersects withFlatbush Avenue, one block south ofKings Highway, and crosses into the neighborhood ofFlatlands. At about Ralph Avenue where the street crosses intoCanarsie, the avenue is adjacent to the north end of thePaerdegat Basin. Crossing intoSpring Creek andStarrett City between East 108th Street and Louisiana Avenue, Flatlands Avenue marks the northern ends of Fresh Creek and Hendrix Creek. East ofFountain Avenue, the continuous Flatlands Avenue ends at an entrance to the large Brooklyn Postal Facility. One block east, Flatlands Avenue forms the southern boundary of a small two-block community between Grant Avenue, Cozine Avenue, and Forbell Street. This portion of the avenue is only accessible from Forbell Street.[3][4]
Notable points of interest include:
South Shore Educational Campus (formerly South Shore High School) is located on this avenue at its intersection with Ralph Avenue in Canarsie.Canarsie Educational Campus (formerly Canarsie High School) is located at Rockaway Parkway one block south of Flatlands Avenue.Spring Creek Educational Campus is located on the south side of the street between Elton Street and Linwood Street.[6][7]
Flatlands Avenue is served by the following bus routes:
NoNew York City Subway lines directly serve Flatlands Avenue. TheBMT Canarsie Line, currently served byL train, formerly had a surface station at Flatlands Avenue which was closed around 1920 and replaced by trolley service (now theB42 bus). The line's current terminal atRockaway Parkway and Glenwood Road in Canarsie is two blocks north of Flatlands Avenue. In 1968, plans were made to extend theIRT New Lots Line (2, 3, 4, and 5 trains) from its current terminal atNew Lots Avenue and Livonia Avenue south to Flatlands Avenue in Spring Creek at around Elton Street. The plans were never realized due to lack of funding, though there is talk of reviving the proposal.[8][9]