As Queens residents know, the vast amount of its streets are numbered; in general, Avenues run west to east, while Streets run from north to south. When this system was gradually adopted between 1915 and 1935, it was found that there were places where the same number had to be used between two streets and avenues, sometimes more than once, and so numbered Roads, Drives, Places, Lanes, Courts and Terraces were deployed. Brooklyn, too, has a generous system of numbered Streets and Avenues, and also East, West, North and South numbered streets as well as neighborhood-specific Bay, Beach, Brighton, etc. streets. But a constancy in Brooklyn’s system of numbered streets is that the vast majority are called “Avenue” or “Street.” But there are exceptions.
It’s escaped my notice so far, but since at least 2020, there’s been a 49th Road between 49th and 50th Streets between 19th and 20th Avenue in Brough Park. It was constructed as a service alley for a new apartment complex. If Brooklyn followed the Queens model of adding extra numbered streets, it would be called 49th Place. This has happened elsewhere in the borough.
In Marine Park near Queens Plaza, there had been a north-south street running athwart the grid from Avenue T to Flatbush Avenue called Amersfort Avenue. Possibly to avoid confusion with Amersfort Place in the Brooklyn College area, in the 1970s the then-Department of Traffic decided to rename Amersfort Avenue as East 53rd Street, and also rename the existing section of East 53rd between Avenues T and U as East 53rd Place.
When new housing was developed in Bensonhurst, the street grid was changed, and thus was born a series of roads called 19th Lane, 20th Drive, 20th Lane and 21st Drive, between 19th and 21st Avenues west of Cropsey Avenue. These also broke the “unwritten rule” of no numbered streets in Brooklyn not called “Avenue” or “Street.” This change had happened by 1949 at least.
A few block west, 17th Avenue was shortened to create Bath Beach Park several decades ago, and a short street called 17th Place was created to link the avenue to Bay 16th Street.
Are there more examples? Comments are open.
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8/6/26