The most congested area of Main Street is at its northern end in Downtown Flushing, between Sanford Avenue and Northern Boulevard. Other congestion points include the intersections with the Long Island Expressway; the Union Turnpike/Grand Central Parkway (GCP) interchange, from 73rd Avenue south to the GCP; and its southern terminus, at Queens Boulevard.[7] The growth of the business activity at the core of Downtown Flushing, dominated by the Flushing Chinatown, has continued to flourish despite the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]
Intersection of Main Street and Kissena Boulevard in Downtown Flushing, 2015.Main Street in foreground, interchange under construction around 1946.
For much of its early history Main Street was a quiet, small-town street. In the beginning, it did not extend south of the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road.[11] The intersection of Main Street and Northern Boulevard, built in the 17th century, is one of the oldest modern intersections in the United States.[12] As of 1891, it continued four blocks south to Franklin Avenue, as another street called Jaggar Avenue.[12][13]
The street was extended to Cedar Grove Cemetery in 1920.[12] By 1932, Main Street's south end was Reeves Avenue, at the former Spring Hill Golf Club.[11] In 1938, an extension opened to the Grand Central Parkway.[14] By 1940, the areas around Main Street's northern end, near Flushing, were largely developed. Kew Gardens Hills was built around Main Street after World War II.[11] On November 23, 1954, the extension south to Queens Boulevard and the Van Wyck Expressway was opened.[15]
The primary public transportation on Main Street is the Q44 bus route, running from the Jamaica Center area through the entire length of Main Street before continuing to the Bronx.[6] In 1999, the Q44 was converted into a limited-stop service, supplemented by Q20A and Q20B local buses running from Jamaica to College Point.[6][17] Prior to 2010, the now-defunct Q74 bus served the southern portion of the street between 73rd and Reeves Avenues. The route, which ran between Kew Gardens – Union Turnpike station and Queens College, was eliminated in 2010 due to budget cuts within the MTA.[18][19][20] The X51 express bus served a portion of the street between Elder Avenue near Kissena Park and Horace Harding Expressway, before being discontinued in the 2010 cuts due to low ridership.[18][21]
Many buses travel through or terminate on the section of Main Street located in Flushing. This includes several routes that run between Flushing and Jamaica, as well as the Q50 bus to Co-op City, Bronx.[4][6][7] Several other buses intersect with the street at other major streets along the route.[6]
A Q44 Select Bus Service bus at Main Street and 62nd Road in Flushing
The Main Street corridor, along with the parallel Kissena/Parsons Boulevard corridor and the 164th Street corridor, was studied by the NYC Department of Transportation in 2015 for the implementation of Select Bus Service (SBS) between Flushing and Jamaica. This would convert the Q44 route into a bus rapid transit line.[7][22][23][24] As part of the proposal, a bus only lane was proposed for installation on Main Street between Reeves Avenue and Northern Boulevard, as well as on parts of Hillside Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard. After backlash from local businesses, the bus lanes in the Queensboro Hill section of Flushing and in Kew Gardens Hills were dropped from the SBS proposal.[7][22][24][25] However, the Q44 route was approved for SBS conversion in June 2015, and was implemented on November 29, 2015.[22]
In October 2016, the New York City Department of Transportation announced that southbound traffic on Main Street between 37th Avenue and 40th Road would be converted to a busway restricted to buses and local delivery vehicles. This would allow bus speeds to be maintained during the construction of widened sidewalks.[26] The busway was implemented in 2017, resulted in a 23 percent increase in bus speeds.[27][28] The southbound traffic restriction was made permanent in 2018.[29]
In June 2020, mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would test out a northbound busway on Main Street in Downtown Flushing.[30][31] Almost all Main Street business owners expressed opposition to the busway in a survey,[32] leading a New York Supreme Court judge to place an injunction in November 2020.[28][33] In January 2021, the busway was introduced on the northbound lanes of Main Street and Kissena Boulevard between Sanford Avenue and Northern Boulevard.[27][34][35]
There are four other Main Streets in the four other boroughs of New York City:
InEdgewater Park, the Bronx, Main Street is so obscure that it is not notated on street signs. It is a short road in a 675-unit co-op. This Main Street is rarely referred to by its name.[2][12]
InDumbo, Brooklyn, Main Street is a two-block cobblestone street that still has old pieces of railroad track embedded into the cobblestones.[2][12][38]
OnRoosevelt Island in Manhattan, Main Street is the sole north–south artery on the island, and is lined mainly with apartment buildings, hospitals, and a small town center consisting of several businesses.[2][12]
InTottenville, Staten Island, Main Street is a six-block artery that runs north to south at the western end of the neighborhood.[2][12]
Of the five Main Streets in New York City, Queens's is the busiest and most notable.[2][11][12]
^Sarah Ngu (January 29, 2021). "'Not what it used to be': in New York, Flushing's Asian residents brace against gentrification". The Guardian US. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020. The three developers have stressed in public hearings that they are not outsiders to Flushing, which is 69% Asian. 'They've been here, they live here, they work here, they've invested here,' said Ross Moskowitz, an attorney for the developers at a different public hearing in February...Tangram Tower, a luxury mixed-use development built by F&T. Last year, prices for two-bedroom apartments started at $1.15m...The influx of transnational capital and rise of luxury developments in Flushing has displaced longtime immigrant residents and small business owners, as well as disrupted its cultural and culinary landscape. These changes follow the familiar script of gentrification, but with a change of actors: it is Chinese American developers and wealthy Chinese immigrants who are gentrifying this working-class neighborhood, which is majority Chinese.
^Sheets, Connor Adams (December 15, 2010). "Seniors slam elimination of Q74". timesledger.com. Times Ledger. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
^ abc"Q44 Select Bus Service"(PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. June 9, 2015. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2015.