Flushing Avenue is an approximately five mile street running through northern Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 and west central Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

 beginning at the termination of Nassau Street, on the northern fringe of Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Part of Brooklyn Community Board 2, Fort Greene is listed on the New York State Registry and on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a New York City-designated Historic District...

, and ending where it merges with Grand Avenue

Grand Street (Brooklyn)

Grand Street and Grand Avenue are the respective names of a street which runs through the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States...

, in Maspeth. It divides the neighborhood of Southside Williamsburg from Clinton Hill

Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...

 and East Williamsburg from Bushwick. After crossing the Queens border, the avenue serves as the dividing line between Ridgewood, Queens

Ridgewood, Queens

Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Historically, the neighborhood straddled the Queens-Brooklyn boundary. The neighborhood is part of Queens...

 and West Maspeth, and terminates in Maspeth. Despite its name, the avenue does not extend to Flushing

Flushing, Queens

Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...

.

Flushing Avenue has seen considerable decline since its heyday in the early and mid-20th century. Some sections began to regrow, to varying degrees, at the turn of the 21st century. In 2004, the city began a project to upgrade the water and sewer infrastructure on the western part of the road, and to repave it. The project was completed in 2008. Perhaps this rebuilding will help to speed renewal in those parts that have already been affected, and to bring it about in those that have not.

The B57 bus runs the entire length of the Avenue. There are two New York City Subway

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

 stations along Flushing Avenue. The G

G (New York City Subway service)

The G Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is the only full-time non-shuttle service that does not enter Manhattan...

 train stops at Flushing Avenue and Union Avenue

Flushing Avenue (IND Crosstown Line)

Flushing Avenue is a station on the IND Crosstown Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Flushing and Union/Marcy Avenues in the boundary of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it is served at all times by the G train....

. The J and M

M (New York City Subway service)

The M Sixth Avenue Local is a rapid transit service of the B Division of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs on the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan....

 trains stop at Flushing Avenue and Broadway

Flushing Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)

Flushing Avenue is a local station on the BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Flushing Avenue and Broadway in Brooklyn, it is served by the J train at all times except rush hours and middays in the peak direction and the M at all times except weekends and...

. The L

L (New York City Subway service)

The L 14th Street – Canarsie Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway, providing service along the entire length of the two-tracked BMT Canarsie Line...

 train also stops nearby at the Jefferson Street station

Jefferson Street (BMT Canarsie Line)

Jefferson Street is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located in Bushwick, Brooklyn at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Wyckoff Avenue, it is served by the L train at all times....

.

Overview

The avenue is primarily an industrial

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

 thoroughfare, especially on its extreme western end, where, on its northside, it serves the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn Navy Yard

The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...

 Industrial Park. The industrial park rents to over 200 tenants, primarily distributorships and light manufacturing concerns, though they also rent to a few artists. Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...

 proposed a redevelopment of the yard that would put retail space in the yard's west side and television and film studios the yard's east side. In this district, the south side of Flushing Avenue contains many abandoned business that were supported by sailors and ship workers before the government closed the yard.

Continuing eastward, Flushing Avenue crosses the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). Here, many motorists hoping to avoid congestion exit the BQE and continue westward to the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. This section of Flushing Avenue, between the BQE and Brooklyn's Broadway, has seen considerable redevelopment over recent years by Williamsburg's Hasidic

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

 population, as young urban professionals displace them in the northern end of Williamsburg. The north side of Flushing Avenue in this section is primarily newly constructed residential, whereas the south side is primarily industrial, the most notable exception being the Marcy Houses

Marcy Houses

Marcy Houses, or Marcy Projects, is a public housing complex built and operated by the New York City Housing Authority and located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, at . The complex was named after William L. Marcy , a lawyer, soldier, and statesman...

 project. The Flushing Avenue (IND Crosstown Line)

Flushing Avenue (IND Crosstown Line)

Flushing Avenue is a station on the IND Crosstown Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Flushing and Union/Marcy Avenues in the boundary of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it is served at all times by the G train....

 subway station is here, at Flushing and Marcy Avenues.

Flushing Avenue forms the south side of the so-called "Broadway Triangle", bounded on the northeast by Broadway

Broadway (Brooklyn)

Broadway is an avenue in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that extends from the East River in the neighborhood of Williamsburg in a southeasterly direction to East New York for a length of 4.32 miles . It was named for Broadway in Manhattan. The East New York terminus is a complicated...

 and on the west by Union Avenue, whose factories were largely abandoned shortly after the turn of the 21st century. The Triangle was rezoned as "residential" in December, 2009.

The commercial heart of Flushing Avenue is the intersection with Broadway and Graham Avenue, in the extreme southern end of East Williamsburg. This business improvement district

Business improvement district

A business improvement district is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries. Grant funds acquired by the city for special programs and/or incentives such as tax abatements can be made available to assist...

 is serviced by the JMZ line's Flushing Avenue stop. Here, one can find cheap retail shopping, branches of fast-food chains, and authentic Boricua food. This primarily Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 and Hasidic area is becoming increasingly populated with students and young professionals looking for cheap rent, cheap shopping, and proximity to lower Manhattan and Northside Williamsburg's nightlife.

Near the intersection with Bushwick Avenue, Flushing Avenue becomes somewhat grittier. To the south is residential Bushwick, and on the north are the massive Bushwick Houses. Where the L Train approaches Flushing Avenue, at Morgan and at Wyckoff Avenue, a community of artists and young professionals has moved into the low-rise lofts that were once abandoned. An effect of this gentrification

Gentrification

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

 was the opening of two bar-restaurants, Life Cafe and the Wreck Room, on an adjacent section of Flushing Avenue.

Continuing past Wyckoff Avenue, the avenue crosses into Queens, passes the historic Vander Ende-Onderdonk House Site

Vander Ende-Onderdonk House Site

Vander Ende--Onderdonk House is a historic house at 1820 Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens. It is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City....

(formerly in Brooklyn, now Queens), and becomes actively industrial on both sides. Upon entering Maspeth, it is a residential street.

Sources

• http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/flushingave/flushingave.html
• http://www.brooklynnavyyard.org/
• http://www.brooklynnavyyard.org/news/out/04_07_14.pdf
• http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3601/is_13_52/ai_n15926075
• http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/html/hwk472.html
• http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/busbkln.pdf
• "Brooklyn, NY." Map. Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York. Maspeth, NY: Hagstrom Map Company, Inc. 2004