Prospect Avenue is a major street in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

Route description

Prospect Avenue generally runs northwest-southeast, from Hamilton and Third Avenues in Gowanus and

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 ...

; southeast of Eleventh Avenue it turns nearly due south and runs through Windsor Terrace, terminating at Ocean Parkway. In this southern section, Prospect Avenue occupies the position of East 6th Street in the Brooklyn street grid, with East 5th Street to its west and East 7th Street to its east. Prospect Avenue intersects every numbered avenue from Third to Eleventh. Due to steep slopes, Seeley Street crosses Prospect Avenue on a masonry bridge. Originally two-way throughout its length, Prospect Avenue is now one-way northbound in two sections as a result of the construction of the

Prospect Expressway 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 co ...

through the area. It runs one way for one block between Ocean Parkway and Greenwood Avenue, with an on ramp leading to the Prospect Expressway westbound. Between Sixth and Third Avenues, it is one-way for the remainder of its length. Exit 2 from the westbound Prospect Expressway merges into Prospect Avenue between Fifth and Fourth Avenues.

History

Prospect Avenue was originally known as Middle Street, and was laid out on the Commissioners Plan of 1839. As originally designed, Middle Street's southern terminus was at the (then) city limits, approximately the present intersection of Terrace Place. Middle Street, along with Sherman Street and Braxton Street (now Windsor Place), filled the gap between 16th Street and 17th Street caused by an angle in the Brooklyn street grid. An attempt was made in 1865 to change the name of Middle Street to Sterling Street, possibly for

Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish line ...

, but was vetoed by Mayor Alfred M. Wood. With the establishment of Prospect Park came the necessity for additional access, and in 1868 the

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official t ...

passed an act which provided for the improvement of Middle Street, and its renaming to Prospect Avenue. It was to be widened from 60 to 80 feet. Maps made in 1874 for the Kings County Town Survey Commission provided for the extension of Prospect Avenue at a 100-foot width into the Town of Flatbush as far as Ocean Parkway. A steep. boulder - strewn

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

, and the fact that the Brooklyn and Flatbush sections of Prospect Avenue were misaligned at the boundary between the two municipalities, delayed completion of the thoroughfare for many years. In 1903, plans were approved to correct the misalignment at the former boundary, to cut through the hill and connect the sections of Prospect Avenue as a continuous roadway. Seeley Street was to cross over Prospect Avenue on a concrete and steel arch bridge.''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' (Brooklyn, New York) · Sun, Apr 12, 1903 · Page 54

Public transportation

Prospect Avenue is served by 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 ...

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 ...

station at Prospect Avenue and the

IND Culver Line The IND Culver Line (formerly BMT Culver Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, extending from Downtown Brooklyn south to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The local tracks of the Culv ...

Fort Hamilton Parkway Fort Hamilton Parkway is a parkway in Brooklyn, New York. It runs for 4.1 miles from the neighborhood of Windsor Terrace to Bay Ridge, its southern end at the entrance to its namesake military base at Fort Hamilton. History Originally know ...

station.

References

{{Brooklyn Streets Streets in Brooklyn