Broadway is an avenue in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

that extends from the East River in the neighborhood of

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

in a southeasterly direction to East New York for a length of . It was named for the Broadway in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. The East New York terminus is a complicated intersection with East New York Avenue, Fulton Street,

Jamaica Avenue Jamaica Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York, in the United States. Jamaica Avenue's western end is at Broadway and Fulton Street, as a continuation of East New York Avenue, in Brookly ...

, and Alabama Avenue. The BMT Jamaica Line () of the New York City Subway runs on elevated tracks over Broadway from the

Williamsburg Bridge The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressw ...

to East New York on its way to Queens. Broadway forms the boundary between the neighborhoods of Bushwick, which lies above Broadway to the northeast, and Bedford–Stuyvesant, which is to the southwest.

History

When Williamsburg was an independent city, the length of Broadway from the East River to South 6th St was known as South 7th St. From that point to Division Ave, it took over the path of South 6th St. Both of these segments opened in the 1830s. From that intersection to its terminus in East New York it was named Division Ave,Bernardo, L. & Weiss, J. (2006). ''Brooklyn by name''. New York: NYU Press which was laid on the municipal boundaries separating the city of Brooklyn from the town of Bushwick (and village of Williamsburg, which was then part of the town). At each of the roadbed changes in Williamsburg, Broadway bends a little more to the south until it runs straight southeast to East New York. The Broadway Ferry provided service (from the early 19th century) from the foot of Broadway to several points in Manhattan and by the mid-1860s was carrying over 200,000 passengers per day. The ferry terminal was linked first to

streetcars A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

and then elevated rapid transit in 1889.Cudahy, B.J.(1990). ''Over and back: The history of ferryboats in New York harbor''. New York: Fordham University Press With these connections, the central commercial area of Williamsburg began to migrate to Broadway from Grand Street. This was further spurred by the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge although the section of Broadway from the new bridge plaza to the ferry landing river declined since it was now effectively bypassed.''New York Times'', Traffic Changes in Williamsburg, June 25, 1911 Prominent extant buildings in Williamsburg located on Broadway include the

Williamsburgh Savings Bank The Williamsburgh Savings Bank was a financial institution in Brooklyn, New York from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. The bank was incorporated in 1851 under legislation passed by the New York State Assembly. The bank continued to ope ...

(at #175, built in 1875), Nassau Trust Company (at #134-136, built in 1888), Kings County Savings Bank (#135, built in 1868), Peter Luger Steak House (at 178, built in 1876), and several cast iron buildings such as the Sparrow Shoe Factory (#195, across Driggs Avenue from Williamsburgh Savings, built in 1882).White, N. & Willensky, E. (2000). ''AIA Guide to New York City (4th Ed.)''. New York: Three Rivers Press During the New York City blackout of 1977, Broadway was the epicenter and worst hit of the looting, rioting, and violence that hit the city. Thirty-five blocks of Broadway from Williamsburg to Bedford-Stuyvesant were destroyed, 134 stores looted, 45 of them set ablaze. The riots accelerated white flight from the area, as many of the destroyed properties were never rebuilt and remained empty lots well until the 1980s. Broadway remained a high-crime, destitute area until gentrification in the 2000s which has initiated a resurgence of new businesses, construction of luxury condominiums, and a return of chain stores to the area. In 2019, the New York City Department of City Planning released a Bushwick rezoning plan, which would allow for high-density development on Broadway and Myrtle and Wyckoff Avenues.

Transportation

The BMT Jamaica Line () runs above Broadway between

Marcy Avenue Marcy or Marcie may refer to: People Surname *Alfred Marcy (1900–1977), U.S. Army colonel *Elizabeth Eunice Marcy (1821–1911), American author, activist, and social reformer; wife of Oliver March *Florent Marcie, French documentary filmmaker, ...

and Broadway Junction stations, with the diverging at Myrtle Avenue to join the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line. The B46 runs on Broadway between Malcolm X Boulevard and Williamsburg Bridge Plaza, the Q24 runs south of Lafayette Avenue. The B20, B47 and B60 serve the street for shorter segments. The Broadway station at Union Avenue is served by the .

References

{{Brooklyn Streets Streets in Brooklyn Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bushwick, Brooklyn