Francis Lewis Boulevard

Francis Lewis Boulevard intersecting with Union Turnpike in Cunningham Park, Queens NY.

Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. The roadway is named for Francis Lewis, a Queens resident who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Route description

Francis Lewis Boulevard (heading north to south) starts off from the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone, and runs through Whitestone, Bayside, Auburndale, Fresh Meadows, Hollis, Cambria Heights, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton and Rosedale. Throughout the majority of its length, it is a 4-6 lane wide median divided street, making it one of the wider boulevards that runs exclusively in Eastern Queens, along with Merrick Boulevard, and the southern portion of Springfield Boulevard. South of Springfield Boulevard, Francis Lewis Boulevard detours around Old Montefiore Cemetery, with portions of 121st Avenue, 230th Place, and 138th Avenue renamed Francis Lewis Boulevard on its way towards Rosedale. The boulevard ends at Hook Creek Boulevard in Rosedale, right before the Nassau County border. It is the longest street exclusively within Queens (longer roads, such as Northern Boulevard continue into Nassau and Suffolk Counties). Being a long, major street, it intersects with many other major throughfares in Queens as well, such as Utopia Parkway, Northern Boulevard, Union Turnpike, Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue, Linden Boulevard, Springfield Boulevard, Merrick Boulevard, and Sunrise Highway.

Francis Lewis Boulevard has two main bus lines, the Q76 and the Q77. The Q76 runs down Francis Lewis Boulevard from Hillside Avenue in Hollis to the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone. It runs through the Holliswood, Cunningham Park, Bayside, and Whitestone sections of the street. The Q77 runs on the stretch between the intersection with Springfield Boulevard to Hillside Avenue, and goes through the Springfield Gardens, St. Albans, and Hollis stretches of Francis Lewis Boulevard. Both bus lines operate from the 165th Street Bus Depot in Jamaica, and also share a route along Hillside Avenue. Other bus lines, such as the Q16, and Q28, serve smaller stretches of the street.

The Cunningham Park stretch of Francis Lewis Boulevard is notorious for drag racing, which has resulted in several fatalities to drivers and pedestrians over the years. Recently, speed cameras have been installed along this stretch.

Two major Catholic high schools in New York City, St. Francis Preparatory School and Holy Cross High School are both located on Francis Lewis Boulevard. St. Francis Preparatory is located at the intersection with Horace Harding Expressway, whereas Holy Cross is located by the intersection with 26th Avenue. Every year the two schools play a football game in the beginning of the season called the "Battle of the Boulevard", in reference to the shared stretch of road.

Francis Lewis Boulevard is accessible at Exit 35 of the Cross Island Parkway, Exit 24A off the Belt Parkway, Exit 20A-B off the Grand Central Parkway and Exit 26 off the Long Island Expressway.

History

Before being renamed in the 1930s, the roadway (or at least the part between Springfield Boulevard and Whitestone) was called Cross Island Boulevard. The street was renamed after Francis Lewis to honor a signer of the Declaration of Independence who owned a home in Whitestone, and to avoid confusion with the Cross Island Parkway. Many residents that live by the street usually refer to Francis Lewis Boulevard as simply "Franny Lew".

Gallery

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  From the former Long Island Motor Parkway bridge

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  At 42nd Avenue in Bayside

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  At 53d Avenue, Bayside

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  In Whitestone

External links

• Google Maps - Francis Lewis Boulevard
• Jeff Saltzman's Francis Lewis Blvd. section
• Forgotten NY: Rosedale
• FrancisLewisBlvd.com (News, Photos, Links) related to Francis Lewis Blvd in Queens, NY