Merrick Road is an east–west urban arterial in

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 ...

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

, and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

counties in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is known as Merrick Boulevard or Floyd H. Flake Boulevard in Queens, within

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 ...

. Merrick Road runs east from the Queens neighborhood of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

through Merrick past the county line between Nassau and

into

Amityville Amityville () is a village near the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 9,523 at the 2010 census. History Huntington settlers first visited the Amityville area in 1653 due ...

, where it becomes

Montauk Highway Montauk Highway is an east–west road extending for across the southern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It extends from the Nassau County line in Amityville, where it connects to Merrick Road, to Montauk ...

at the

–

Copiague Copiague ( ) is a hamlet on Long Island (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 23,429 at the 2020 census. Copiague is an unincorporated place within Babylon. Geography Copiague is located ...

village/hamlet line. The easternmost portion of Merrick Road, from Carman Mill Road to its eastern terminus, signed as part of

New York State Route 27A New York State Route 27A (NY 27A) is a state highway extending from Massapequa in Nassau County to Oakdale in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. Its two most prominent components are Merrick Road and Mon ...

(NY 27A). At one time, the entire length of Merrick Road was signed as NY 27A; currently, the entire portion within Nassau County is currently designated as the

unsigned Unsigned can refer to: * An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label ** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists ** Unsigned band web, online community * Similarly, the c ...

County Route 27 (CR 27). Merrick Road travels along an old right-of-way that was one of the original paths across southern

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, stretching from Queens to

Montauk Point Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

. Merrick Road's name comes from the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

word ''"Meroke"'', meaning "oyster bed". The section of Merrick Boulevard in Queens was renamed Floyd H. Flake Boulevard in October 2020, in honor of

Floyd Flake Floyd Harold Flake (born January 30, 1945) is an American businessman and former politician who is the senior pastor of the 23,000 member Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and former president of W ...

, senior pastor of the Greater Allen A. M. E. Cathedral of New York in Jamaica.

Route description

Merrick Boulevard, also known as Floyd H. Flake Boulevard, begins at NY 25 (Hillside Avenue) as a two-lane, one-way street heading eastbound (compass south at this point), which continues north of Hillside Avenue as 166th Street. Two blocks to the south of Hillside Avenue, Merric Boulevard passes by the Central Branch of the

Queens Library The Queens Public Library (QPL), also known as the Queens Borough Public Library and Queens Library (QL), is the public library for the borough of Queens, and one of three public library systems serving New York City. It is one of the largest li ...

and the 165th Street Bus Terminal. A block to its east, 168th Street provides for westbound traffic. Just south of Liberty Avenue, the two directions join together to form a four-lane,

divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. At an elementary level the division of two natural numb ...

Merrick Boulevard. Among the parks that the road passes are

Proctor-Hopson Circle Proctor-Hopson Circle is a semicircular traffic mall in the neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens acquired by the city for park purposes in 1924 following the widening of Merrick Boulevard. After this road was straightened in 1924, its former route ...

, St. Albans Park, and

Roy Wilkins Park Roy Wilkins Park, originally known as Southern Queens Park, is a park in the St. Albans neighborhood of southeastern Queens in New York City. It is located on an irregular plot of land bounded by 115th and 116th Avenues to the north, 175th Stre ...

. Merrick Boulevard gradually turns southeast and east, passing through

Springfield Gardens Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the New York City borough of Queens, bounded to the north by St. Albans, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the w ...

, Laurelton and crossing 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 ...

before leaving

into Nassau County, where it becomes Merrick Road. The section of Merrick Boulevard in Queens was renamed Floyd H. Flake Boulevard in October 2020, in honor of

, senior pastor of the Greater Allen A. M. E. Cathedral of New York in Jamaica. Merrick Road is one of the old roads along the southern side of

; it has since been replaced by

Sunrise Highway New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a long state highway that runs east–west from Interstate 278 (I-278) in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Montauk Point State Park on Long Island, New York. Its two most prominent com ...

( NY 27) for most through traffic. At

Rockville Centre Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census. Histo ...

, bridges take it over NY 27, with four directional ramps forming a partial interchange. Farther east, it serves as the southern end for state roads such as NY 107, NY 110, and the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway ( NY 135). NY 27A begins as a split from NY 27 in

East Massapequa East Massapequa (formerly known as West Amityville) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,069 ...

, where NY 27 leaves the original Sunrise Gold Circle, which is now Old Sunrise Highway (unsigned NY 900D) east of the split. NY 27A quickly turns south off Old Sunrise Highway onto Carman Mill Road, which ends at Merrick Road. Merrick Road from that point east continues through Massapequa over the Nassau/Suffolk border into Amityville, Suffolk County, where it becomes

at the Amityville/Copiague village/hamlet line.

is the only town in Suffolk County where southernmost major road is known as Merrick Road (it is known as

in every other settlement along the South Shore of Suffolk County. Both the

Meadowbrook State Parkway The Meadowbrook State Parkway (also known as the Meadowbrook, the Meadowbrook Parkway or the MSP) is a parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at a full cloverleaf interchange with the Bay and Ocean ...

and the

Wantagh State Parkway The Wantagh State Parkway is a long state parkway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It links the Ocean Parkway in Jones Beach State Park with the Northern State Parkway in Westbury. The parkway is located approximately east of ...

have interchanges with Merrick Road. A truck needing to make a delivery to the barrier beaches along Ocean Parkway may enter either parkway southbound at this road and at no point farther north.

Transportation

The Q5 is the main option for public transportation in

, running on Merrick Boulevard between Archer Avenue and Hook Creek Boulevard. The Q84 and the Q85 both serve Merrick Boulevard between Archer Avenue and Baisley Boulevard. The Q4 serves it between Archer Avenue and

Linden Boulevard Linden Boulevard is a boulevard in New York City. It starts off at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn as a one-way street to Caton Avenue, where it becomes a two-way boulevard, and stretches through both Brooklyn and Queens. This boulevard, esp ...

. The n4/n4x is the main mode of public transportation on Merrick Road in Nassau County, serving it between 165th Street Bus Terminal and Freeport LIRR, running closed door service in Queens, with the n19 serving Merrick Road between Freeport LIRR and Unqua Road.The 165th Street Bus Terminal is located on Merrick Boulevard and 89th Avenue, serving multiple MTA bus routes and 4

Nassau Inter-County Express The Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) is the local bus system serving Nassau County, New York. It also serves parts of western Suffolk County, New York as well as eastern portions of the New York City borough of Queens. It was formerly operated ...

bus routes.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Queens Streets Streets in Queens, New York Transportation in Nassau County, New York

Route description

Transportation

Major intersections

See also

References

External links