Hylan Boulevard

Hylan Boulevard is a major northeast-southwest boulevard in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is approximately 14.0 miles (22.5 km) long (22.53 kilometers), and runs from the North Shore neighborhood of Rosebank to the South Shore neighborhood of Tottenville. It is named for former New York City mayor John F. Hylan, before which it was known as Southfield Avenue. It is often misunderstood to be read as Hyland or Highland Boulevard.

Route description

Hylan Boulevard begins at Alice Austen House at the southeast end of Edgewater Street in Rosebank, its first major intersection coming at .2 miles (0.32 km), with Bay Street.^[1] It becomes divided by street markings at Tompkins Avenue, but then splits at .8 miles (1.3 km) and crosses the Staten Island Expressway over two separate overpasses.(one northbound, one southbound)^[2] Upon merging again, it becomes Steuben Street, and Hylan Boulevard continues east of there, snaking further through the neighborhood of Arrochar. Steuben meets Hylan again at 2.0 miles (3.2 km).^[3] Half a mile later, it intersects with Old Town Road and Quintard Street, at which point it begins a predominantly straight southward run. Major intersections following include Seaview Avenue (3.2 miles) and Midland Avenue (4.0 miles). At 4.6 miles (7.4 km), Hylan intersects with New Dorp Lane at what is known to be one of Staten Island's worst intersections in the way of traffic and traffic collisions.^[4] Continuing southwest from there, it reverse-curves at approximately 5.6 miles (9.0 km), and then continues straight southwest again. Major intersections include Tysens Lane (5.2 miles), Buffalo Street (6.1 miles) and Nelson Avenue (7.5 miles). At 8.2 miles (13.2 km), it intersects with Richmond Avenue, another major Island thoroughfare.^[5] Continuing, the last portion of divided roadway ends at Arden Avenue (8.7 miles), and the boulevard continues westward through the neighborhoods of the South Shore, ending at Satterlee Street in Tottenville.^[6]

Attractions

As an integral artery of Staten Island, Hylan Boulevard is a major commercial corridor and a heavily trafficked roadway. At the northernmost end is Buono Beach, a small park offering spectacular views of New York Harbor, as well as the Alice Austen House (address: 2 Hylan Blvd.), the historical home of native Island photographer Alice Austen. Commercial establishments of all kinds line the boulevard's north-central stretch, with larger shopping centers in and around the New Dorp neighborhood. At Buffalo Street is the entrance to Great Kills Park, part of the larger Gateway National Recreation Area. In the neighborhood of Great Kills there are more businesses, but south of Richmond Avenue, the boulevard is almost entirely residential.

Transportation

While the Staten Island Railway never crosses Hylan's path, it largely pararells the boulevard, and many stations along the line are half a mile to a mile and a half (one or two km) away at higher elevation with the closest being the Old Town station.^[7] The former South Beach line of the railway did cross the boulevard just East of the Rosebank station.^[8]

Hylan Blvd is served by the following MTA NYCT and NYC DOT buses:

• The S51 from Midland Avenue to Lincoln Avenue.^[9]
• The S52 from Fingerboard Road to Sand Lane.^[10]
• The S53 from Sand Lane to Clove Road.^[11]
• The S54 from Nelson Avenue to Richmond Avenue.^[12]
• The S55 from Luten Avenue to Seguine Avenue.^[13]
• The S56 from Luten Avenue to Bayview Avenue.^[14]
• The S57 from Ebbitts Street to Guyon Avenue.^[15]
• The S59 from Richmond Avenue to Craig Avenue.^[16]
• The S78, for nearly the entire length^[17]
• The S79 from Narrows Road to Richmond Avenue.^[18]
• The X1 from Steuben Street to Richmond Avenue.
• The X2, X3, and X9 from Steuben Street to Tysens Lane.
• The X4 and X5 from Midland Avenue to Richmond Avenue.
• The X7 and x8 from Midland Avenue to Nelson Avenue.^[19]
• The X22 from Page Avenue to Craig Avenue.^[20]
• The X23 from Luten Avenue to Seguine Avenue.^[21]
• The X24 from Tysens Lane to Arden Avenue.^[22]

Former routes include:

• The X6 from Midland Avenue to Richmond Avenue.
• The X18 from Bay Street to Tompkins Avenue.
• The X20 from Fingerboard Road to Narrows Road.
• The X21 from Arden Avenue to Huguenot Avenue.

References