Fourth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
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 Ag ...
of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. It stretches for south from
Times Plaza
Times Plaza is the historical name for the intersection of Flatbush Avenue, Fourth Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. The area came to be called Times Plaza for the nearby offices of the Brooklyn Daily Times.' ...
, which is the triangle intersection created by
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Flatbush Avenues in
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and ...
, to Shore Road and the
Belt Parkway
The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as t ...
in
Bay Ridge
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...
.
While southwestern Brooklyn is well served by expressways, Fourth Avenue provides an alternate for local traffic as it directly links the neighborhoods of
Park Slope
Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Aven ...
,
Sunset Park and
Bay Ridge
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...
with Downtown Brooklyn. Traffic signals along the avenue are coordinated for
green wave
A green wave occurs when a series of traffic lights (usually three or more) are coordinated to allow continuous traffic flow over several intersections in one main direction.
Any vehicle traveling along with the green wave (at an approximate spe ...
in the peak direction.
Description
Fourth Avenue begins at
Times Plaza
Times Plaza is the historical name for the intersection of Flatbush Avenue, Fourth Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. The area came to be called Times Plaza for the nearby offices of the Brooklyn Daily Times.' ...
, the triangle intersection it forms with Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues at the foot of the
Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, also known as One Hanson Place, is a skyscraper in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Located at the northeast corner of Ashland Place and Hanson Place near Downtown Brooklyn, the t ...
and
Atlantic Terminal
Atlantic Terminal (formerly Flatbush Avenue) is the westernmost stop on the Long Island Rail Road's (LIRR) Atlantic Branch, located at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It is the primary terminal for the F ...
in Downtown Brooklyn. The avenue extends south with three traffic lanes in each direction and a one-lane-wide concrete divider that provides a left-turn lane. The concrete divider is actually part of the ventilation system for the
BMT Fourth Avenue Line
The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. The line is served by the D, N, and R at all times; the R typically runs local, while the D and N run express duri ...
, which lies directly underneath. While six lanes are provided, only four lanes get full use, since the outer two are used by double-parked vehicles and as a right-turn lane.
[Cartography from ]Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
On its course through
Park Slope
Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Aven ...
, Fourth Avenue is home to several condominiums and homes but is dominated by service stations and automotive repair centers.
Upon entering
Sunset Park, Fourth Avenue passes under the
Prospect Expressway (
NY 27) and offers indirect access to it through local side streets. The avenue continues to serve the automotive trade as far as the street numbered in the low 40s, where it becomes flanked by large wall-to-wall apartment buildings.
After crossing under the
Gowanus Expressway
Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York ...
viaduct into
Bay Ridge
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...
, the arterial boulevard gives way to a four-lane street bordered by four- to five- story apartment buildings until it reaches Shore Road and the Belt Parkway under the
Verrazano Narrows Bridge
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay an ...
.
History
The avenue was paved in the 1890s as a grand
parkway
A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
resembling
Manhattan's Fourth Avenue, which was later rebuilt and renamed to Park Avenue. The Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn was rebuilt after 1910 to accommodate more traffic.
On October 25, 1962, Mayor
Robert F. Wagner Jr.
Robert Ferdinand Wagner II (April 20, 1910 – February 12, 1991) was an American politician who served three terms as the mayor of New York City from 1954 through 1965. When running for his third term, he broke with the Tammany Hall leadership ...
requested that the
New York City Board of Estimate
The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...
approve an expenditure of $724,572 for the reconstruction of subway structures and entrances along the
Fourth Avenue subway line in order to accommodate the widening of Fourth Avenue between 60th Street and Atlantic Avenue, which was to be accomplished by narrowing the street's sidewalks. At the time of the request, 80% of the work on the project was completed. Work had started on the project, which cost $1 million, several months earlier. The contract that the Mayor had requested approval for would have relocated vault lights, gratings, entrances and exits at 56th Street and 49th Street, and at the 45th Street, 53rd Street and 59th Street stations.
Protected
bike lanes
Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor v ...
, separated from vehicular traffic by a lane of parking, were proposed for Fourth Avenue in 2017 in an attempt to improve
cycling infrastructure in New York City. The first bike lanes were added between 60th and 64th Streets within Sunset Park in 2018, followed by the section between 1st and 15th Streets in Park Slope in early 2019. Due to ongoing reconstruction work on the Fourth Avenue subway tunnel, the section between 60th and 38th Streets could not receive bike lanes until the reconstruction was completed. In August 2019, following several cyclist deaths citywide, the
NYCDOT
The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Departm ...
announced that the remainder of Fourth Avenue between 38th and 60th Streets would receive protected bike lanes by late 2020.
Churches
![4th Av UMeth 47 jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/4th_Av_UMeth_47_jeh.JPG)
The borough has a thoroughfare named
Church Avenue (named for an
18th-century church), which, contrary to its name, does not rival the large number of later churches located along Fourth Avenue. At Fourth Avenue's intersection with 54th Street in Sunset Park, there are four houses of worship either directly at the corner of the intersection or within a building of it. Two of the churches stand side by side.
Public transportation
The
BMT Fourth Avenue Line
The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. The line is served by the D, N, and R at all times; the R typically runs local, while the D and N run express duri ...
() of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
runs the length of Fourth Avenue. Stations are located at
Atlantic Avenue,
Union Street,
Ninth Street,
Prospect Avenue,
25th Street,
36th Street,
45th Street,
53rd Street
53rd Street is a Midtown Manhattan, midtown cross street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, that runs adjacent to buildings such as the Citigroup Center, Citigroup building. It is 1.83 miles (2.94 km) ...
,
59th Street,
Bay Ridge Avenue,
77th Street,
86th Street, and
95th Street, with express stations at Atlantic Avenue, 36th Street, and 59th Street.
MTA Regional Bus Operations
MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...
operates several routes, none of which serve the avenue significantly. The Limited route has the longest stretch, traveling southbound on 4th Avenue from Atlantic Avenue to Prospect Expressway. The also use the avenue for short stretches. The also stop at the south end of the avenue.
References
{{coord, 40, 39, 00, N, 74, 00, 32, W, region:US_scale:15000, display=title
*04