PLAYING IN TRAFFIC AVENUE

By PATRICK O’CONNOR
Forgotten NY contributor

A comment on the recent FNY piece “Otto Road, Glendale’s Railroad Road” suggested another article on nearby Traffic Avenue in Ridgewood. Traffic Avenue is like Otto Road in that it parallels the Lower Montauk Branch of the Long Island Railroad and runs for just one-third of a mile between Menahan and Woodbine Streets. Warehouse buildings were built on Traffic Avenue around 1915 to facilitate loading and receiving materials from the rail siding. The only reference to these buildings I could find was a note on Centre Lumber company at 65-55 Traffic Street (sic) in an article by TrainsAreFun.

^ Aerial views from 1924 and today. Comparison of current and 1924 aerial photos shows the area completely developed. Thus, we’ll need to go back further.

1901-1904 Hyde Map shows no development yet in the area but does show the Lower Montauk Branch LIRR (referred to as the Main Line) with a station at Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue.

The 1909 Bromley map shows much of the Ridgewood neighborhood developed except for the portion straddling the railroad, between Fresh Pond Road and Lutheran (now All Faiths Cemetery).

1915 Board of Estimate Map shows the area completely mapped. Like Otto Road, that was originally identified at Otto Street, Traffic Avenue was also referred to here as Traffic Street.

Traffic Avenue intercepts and terminates several streets running from Ridgewood to Brooklyn. Menahan, Grove, Linden, Palmetto and Woodbine Streets as well as Gates Avenue all end here. Each street runs about two miles into Bushwick ending at Brooklyn’s Broadway, except for Menahan that ends at Bushwick Avenue. Only Gates Avenue, named for Revolutionary War General Horatio Gates, proceeds west of Broadway to Clinton Hill, ending at Fulton Street for a total of four and a half miles.

Note that Admiral Avenue to the east of the railroad is called Traffic Street on this map. This Belcher Hyde from 1915 shows it as Admiral Avenue.

I began this short walk at Woodbine and Traffic and got a peek at the MTA Fresh Pond Bus maintenance facility. An M Train operating on the surface is passing by behind the fence.

Commercial buildings on Traffic Avenue are mostly non-descript brick buildings, some with business signs and others without. Various businesses now occupy these buildings including a recycling transfer point, a printing company, an electrical equipment distribution company and an NYC safety training facility.

Just one block into the walk is Palmetto Street. The real appeal of the area is the Fresh Pond-Traffic Historic District, that was delineated in 1982 as one of ten historic districts within Ridgewood. It was added to National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Written descriptions include 197 buildings constructed between 1914 and 1921. Woodbine Street is mentioned as being included but only addresses on Palmetto Street, Gates Avenue and Linden Street between Traffic Avenue and Fresh Pond Road are listed to be within the historic district.

Note: the Landmarks Preservation Commission does not yet list this as a historic district on its NYC map.

Architecture is similar on each of the three blocks, featuring two story row houses with bricks colors ranging from cream to tan to medium brown. Some rows of buildings have flat fronts while others have bay windows protruding out in a trapezoidal shape. Some corner houses like this one at the corner of Palmetto Street and Traffic Avenue appear to form an end cap to the block. 

Back on Traffic Avenue, there was still commercial activity going on late in the afternoon so getting a picture down the street required some patience.

< At the end of Traffic Avenue, turning on to Menahan Street toward Fresh Pond Road, I encountered this appealing stone façade house.

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I needed to satisfy curiosity about what, if anything, could be noted about the Traffic Avenue businesses from the roof of the Metro Mall. I really couldn’t discern anything new but did see the railroad cars and a lot of tagging of the buildings. Admiral Avenue, the residential block across the tracks from Traffic Avenue, is in view here.

That’s today’s traffic report and of course, while on Fresh Pond Road, I invoked my 11^th Commandment: “Thou shalt not pass a Rosa’s Pizza without having a slice.” As usual it was an enjoyable bite.

Patrick O’Connor is a lifelong resident of Queens, retired with 40 years of service for City of New York Department of Environmental Protection and is a licensed sightseeing guide in New York City.

Check out the ForgottenBook (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as Forgotten Queens (Arcadia, 2013). I also have a chapter in the anthology “New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg” (Reaktion, 2007). As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site. 

9/9/26