Broadway is an avenue in the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 borough

Borough (New York City)

New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

 of Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 that extends from the East River

East River

The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...

 in the neighborhood of Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

 in a southeasterly direction to East New York for a length of 4.32 miles (7 km). It was named for Broadway

Broadway (New York City)

Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...

 in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. The East New York terminus is a complicated intersection with East New York Avenue, Fulton Street

Fulton Street (Brooklyn)

Fulton Street, named after engineer Robert Fulton, exists mainly in two parts in what are today two boroughs of New York City which Fulton linked by his steam ferries, and each segment has its own distinct identity. This entry deals with Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which now begins at the...

, Jamaica Avenue

Jamaica Avenue

Jamaica Avenue is a major avenue in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, New York, in the United States. Jamaica Avenue starts at Broadway and Fulton Street in the East New York neighborhood in Brooklyn, and goes to the city line in Bellerose, Queens, where it becomes Jericho...

, and Alabama Avenue. The Broadway (Brooklyn) line

BMT Jamaica Line

The Jamaica 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 southeast over Broadway to East New York, Brooklyn, and then east over Fulton Street and Jamaica Avenue to...

 of the New York City Subway

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

 runs on elevated tracks over Broadway from the Williamsburg Bridge

Williamsburg Bridge

The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway...

 to East New York (and beyond). Broadway forms the boundary between the neighborhoods of Bushwick, which lies above Broadway to the Northeast, and Bedford-Stuyvesant to the Southwest.

History

When Williamsburg was an independent city, the length of Broadway from the East River to South 6th St was known as South 7th St. From that point to Division Ave, it took over the path of South 6th St. Both of these segments opened in the 1830s. From that intersection to its terminus in East New York it was named Division Ave, which was laid on the municipal boundaries separating the city of Brooklyn from the town of Bushwick (and village of Williamsburg, which was then part of the town). At each of the roadbed changes in Williamsburg, Broadway bends a little more to the south until it runs straight southeast to East New York.

The Broadway Ferry

Broadway Ferry

Broadway Ferry was a ferry landing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, United States at the foot of Broadway. Boats connected it to the Grand Street Ferry, East 23rd Street Ferry, and James Slip landings in Manhattan. In Brooklyn, the Broadway El ended at the ferry....

 provided service (from the early 19th century) from the foot of Broadway to several points in Manhattan and by the mid-1860s was carrying over 200,000 passengers per day. The ferry terminal was linked first to streetcars

Broadway Line (Brooklyn surface)

The Broadway Line was a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States along Broadway between Williamsburg and East New York. Originally a streetcar line, it later became a bus route, but no bus currently operates over the entire length of Broadway, with the BMT Jamaica Line...

 and then elevated rapid transit in 1889. With these connections, the central commercial area of Williamsburg began to migrate to Broadway from Grand Street

Grand Street (Brooklyn)

Grand Street and Grand Avenue are the respective names of a street which runs through the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States...

. This was further spurred by the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge although the section of Broadway from the new bridge plaza to the ferry landing river declined since it was now effectively bypassed. Prominent extant buildings in Williamsburg located on Broadway include The Williamsburgh Savings Bank

Williamsburgh Savings Bank

The Williamsburgh Savings Bank was an important institution in Brooklyn, New York, from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. A series of bank mergers brought it into the HSBC group late in the 20th century...

 (at #175, built in 1875), Nassau Trust Company (at #134-136, built in 1888), Kings County Savings Bank

Kings County Savings Bank

Kings County Savings Bank is a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission-designated building in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn section of New York City. It is an example of French Second Empire-style architecture. Construction of the building began in 1860, to designs of William H...

 (#135, built in 1868), Peter Luger Steak House (at 178, built in 1876), and several cast iron buildings such as the Sparrow Shoe Factory (#195, built in 1882).