Fulton Street is a long east–west street in northern
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 ...
,
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 Un ...
. This street begins at the intersection of Adams Street and Joralemon Street in
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...
, and runs eastward to
East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...
and
Cypress Hills. At the border with
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, Fulton Street becomes 91st Avenue, which ends at 84th Street in
Woodhaven.
The street is
named after
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboa ...
; a
street of the same name in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
was linked to this street by Fulton with his steam ferries. For a hundred years before the Fulton Ferry monopoly, Fulton Street was the Ferry Road through
Jamaica Pass
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...
and, in the centuries before any ferry service, Indian path to the
Hempstead Plains
The Hempstead Plains is a region of central Long Island, in what is now Nassau County, in New York State. It was once an open expanse of native grassland estimated to once extend to about . It was separated from the North Shore of Long Island by ...
. It began at the
Fulton Ferry Landing and climbed south through Brooklyn Heights past
Brooklyn Borough Hall
Brooklyn Borough Hall is a building in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It was designed by architects Calvin Pollard and Gamaliel King in the Greek Revival style, and constructed of Tuckahoe marble under the supervision of superintendent St ...
to where it now begins at Adams Street. Part of the original Fulton Street survives as Old Fulton Street in Brooklyn Heights and
Dumbo
''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, ...
, and as
Cadman Plaza West in Downtown Brooklyn. The segment of Fulton Street that traveled past Borough Hall has been turned into a pedestrian esplanade.
Route
The initial segment of Fulton Street as it exists today is the Fulton Mall between Adams Street and
Flatbush Avenue
Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the R ...
. East of Flatbush Avenue, Fulton Street becomes a major artery of
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 r ...
,
Fort Greene
Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...
and
Clinton Hill. At Franklin Avenue, Fulton Street then becomes the signature street of
Bedford–Stuyvesant. At Broadway Junction in
East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...
, the street is interrupted by the intersection of
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and
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 Brooklyn's ...
, but continues on the other side as a one-way residential street through East New York and
Cypress Hills until Norwood Avenue, once again as a two-way street reaching the Queens border at Elderts Lane in
Woodhaven,
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
. There it becomes 91st Avenue, which continues until 84th Street in Queens.
The
elevated
An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...
BMT Fulton Street Line
The Fulton Street Line, also called the Fulton Street Elevated or Kings County Line, was an elevated rail line mostly in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It ran above Fulton Street from Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn in Downtown Brooklyn east ...
used to run over Fulton Street. The
New York City Subway's
IND Fulton Street subway line () has replaced it east of Washington Avenue. The
BMT Jamaica Line
The BMT Jamaica Line, also known as the Broadway - Brooklyn Line is an elevated rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It runs from the Williamsburg Bridge southeas ...
() runs above Fulton Street between
Broadway Junction and
Crescent Street
Crescent Street (officially in french: rue Crescent) is a southbound street in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Running perpendicular to Saint Catherine Street, Crescent Street descends from Sherbrooke Street south to René Lévesque Boulevard.
...
.
On March 10, 2005, Fulton Street was co-named
Harriet Ross Tubman Avenue along most of its length from Rockaway Avenue in
Bedford-Stuyvesant to Elm Place 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 r ...
, on the anniversary of the death of the ex-slave and abolitionist, which has been designated "
Harriet Tubman Day
Harriet Tubman Day is an American holiday in honor of the anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman, observed on March 10, and in the U.S. state of New York. Observances also occur locally around the U.S. state of Maryland. After Juneteenth became ...
of Commemoration" in New York State.
Fulton Mall
Fulton Mall is a
pedestrian street
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
and
transit mall
A transit mall is a street, or set of streets, in a city or town along which automobile traffic is prohibited or greatly restricted and only public transit vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians are permitted.
Transit malls are instituted by communi ...
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 r ...
that runs on Fulton Street between
Flatbush Avenue
Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the R ...
and Adams Street. It contains 230 stores and
dedicated bus lanes. For the mall's length, only buses, commercial vehicles, local truck deliveries, and emergency vehicles are allowed to use the street. The center of the mall is an open public space known as
Albee Square
Albee Square is a public plaza in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. The plaza is located at the intersection of Fulton Street, DeKalb Avenue, and Albee Square West. It is named after Edward Franklin Albee II who was the owner of several area t ...
.
History
Architect
Lee Harris Pomeroy redesigned the mall in the early 1980s: he designed street furniture and equipment for the project including large, free-standing canopies, vendors’ kiosks, directory and telephone kiosks, and high mast lighting. The graphics program he also designed for the project consists of informational, directional and street signage. Pomeroy's renovation was completed in 1984 and received an
Albert S. Bard Award from the
City Club of New York
The City Club of New York is a New York City–based independent, not-for-profit organization.
In 1950, ''The New York Times'' called the City Club of New York "a social club with a civic purpose"[Herald Square
Herald Square is a major commercial intersection in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas), and 34th Street. Named for the now-defunct ''New ...]
and a stretch of
Madison Avenue. The mall has attracted major investments from prominent Brooklyn retail real estate developers such as
Stanley Chera
Stanley Isaac Chera (October 22, 1942 – April 11, 2020) was an American businessman and investor. He was the founder of Crown Acquisitions. Born in Brooklyn to a Syrian Jewish family, Chera started purchasing real estate in New York City in th ...
,
Albert Laboz
Albert "Al" Laboz is a New York real estate developer, landlord, and the founder of United American Land.
Biography
Laboz was born to a Syrian Jewish family, the son of real estate investor Jack Laboz. He has two brothers: Jody and Jason. , Joseph Jemal, Raymond M. Chera, and
Eli Gindi.
Developments
Fulton Mall includes major retailers such as
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
,
H&M,
Gap,
GameStop,
Foot Locker
Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries.
Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in 1988, Foo ...
,
Modell's Sporting Goods
Modell's Sporting Goods is an American online sporting goods retailer that had locations in the Northeastern United States. Modell's carries both sporting goods and related apparel. Modell's had more than 150 retail locations in ten states and ...
, and
Finish Line. The Fulton Mall Improvement Association is the local
business improvement district. According to the Improvement Association, in 2003 the Fulton Mall area saw between 100,000 and 125,000 visitors a day. The mall has spurred additional commercial development in its immediate vicinity, such as the
City Point development, and has become the most expensive place to do business in downtown Brooklyn. Fulton Street's retail space was $301 per square foot in 2016 and $326 per square foot in 2017.
The Macy's store at 422 Fulton Street was originally
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company ...
's flagship store. The building was designed in
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style by Starrett & Van Vleck and built in 1933. It was formerly the showroom for the W.C. Vosburgh Mfg. Co. As of 2017, the building is undergoing a $194 million renovation by
Tishman Speyer
Tishman Speyer Properties is an American company that invests in real estate.
History
The firm was founded in 1978 by Robert Tishman and Jerry Speyer.
In March 1988, the company announced its first project in Europe, the construction of a 70-s ...
. Its new portion will have 10 floors dedicated to Class A office space. Macy's is also renovating its part of the building.
The
Offerman Building on Fulton Mall was built in 1893 by
Henry Offerman, a businessman in the sugar industry. It was designed in the
Romanesque Revival architectural style
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
and originally hosted retail on the ground floor.
The Offerman Building was designated a
New York City Historic Landmark in 2005,
[Postal, Matthew. ]
Offerman Building
” Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
, 2005. and by 2017 had been converted into a 121-unit residential complex.
References
External links
Map of Fulton MallMetroTech BID* Co-naming:
*
*
City Comptroller William Thompson's speech of dedication*
An argument for full renaming and context on other Brooklyn street name changes
{{New York City Malls
Downtown Brooklyn
Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Fort Greene, Brooklyn
East New York, Brooklyn
Streets in Brooklyn