Broadway (Five Towns, New York)

Broadway
Nassau County Route C22
Route information
Maintained by NCDPW
Length5.2 mi[1] (8.4 km)
Major junctions
South endHarris Street at the QueensNassau County border in Lawrence
Major intersections NY 878 (Nassau Expressway) in Lawrence
Rockaway Turnpike (CR 257) / Meadow Lane (CR D51) in Lawrence
Woodmere Boulevard (CR E68) at the WoodmereWoodsburgh border
West Broadway (CR E51) in Hewlett
East Rockaway Road (CR C64) in Hewlett
NY 27 (Sunrise Highway) in Lynbrook
North endMerrick Road (CR 27) in Lynbrook
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyNassau
Highway system

Broadway (also known as CR C22 and formerly as CR 54) is a major county highway serving the Five Towns region of the Town of Hempstead, in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States, running for a total of 5.2 miles (8.4 km) between Lawrence and Lynbrook.

The road, in its entirety, is owned by Nassau County and maintained by the Nassau County Department of Public Works as one of two discontinuous segments of the unsigned Nassau County Route C22 – the other being Broadway in Bethpage.[2][3][4]

Route description

Broadway begins at Harris Street, at the Queens-Nassau County border in Lawrence, as a continuation of Empire Avenue.[2][3][4][5] Continuing towards the east, it soon intersects Doughty Boulevard (CR 75), and then the Nassau Expressway (NY 878) immediately afterwards.[2][3][4] It then continues towards the east, eventually intersecting Lawrence Avenue, thence turning towards the northeast until intersecting Rockaway Turnpike (CR 257) and Meadow Lane (CR D51). It then continues on a more easterly path, eventually turning again towards the northeast briefly before turning back towards the east as it enters Woodsburgh. Soon thereafter, Broadway intersects Woodmere Boulevard (CR E68), and then enters Woodmere.[4]

Shortly after entering Woodmere, the road turns northeast again and soon intersects West Broadway (CR E51). It then continues northeast, soon entering Hewlett and intersecting East Rockaway Road (CR C64). It soon thereafter intersects Rockaway Avenue (CR E06), thence entering Lynbrook. Soon thereafter, it intersects Scranton Avenue (CR E18) before reaching Sunrise Highway (NY 27). It then crosses underneath the Long Island Rail Road, and soon thereafter terminates at Merrick Road (CR 27).[2][3][4]

Broadway is classified as a minor arterial highway by the New York State Department of Transportation and is eligible for federal aid.[4][5]

History

Historically, Broadway was the primary north–south thoroughfare through the Five Towns and, more broadly, between the Rockaways and Lynbrook.[6][7][8][9] As the area's population and vehicular traffic grew following World War II, a need for an improved roadway – one that could better accommodate traffic and serve as the area's primary through road, as well as to provide better connections with the rest of Nassau County – became apparent.[6][8][10] This prompted Nassau County to reconstruct Peninsula Boulevard (CR 2) slightly west and north of Broadway as a high-capacity arterial roadway, providing a bypass of Broadway and providing a direct link not only between the Rockaways, the Five Towns, and Lynbrook – but eventually also to and from points further north, with that highway being extended to Hempstead village later in the decade.[6][7][8][10] The segment of Peninsula Boulevard bypassing Broadway – between Ocean Avenue in Lynbrook and the intersection of Bay Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike at the Cederhurst–Inwood border – opened to traffic in 1954.[6][7][8]

Route number

Beginning in 1959, when the Nassau County Department of Public Works created a numbered highway system as part of their "Master Plan" for the county highway system, Broadway was originally designated as County Route 54.[11][12][13] This route, along with all of the other county routes in Nassau County, became unsigned in the 1970s, when Nassau County officials opted to remove the signs as opposed to allocating the funds for replacing them with new ones that met the latest federal design standards and requirements stated in the federal government's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.[14][15]

Major intersections

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Lawrence, Nassau CountyQueens line0.000.00Harris StreetWestern terminus of CR C22 designation and Nassau County ownership; Broadway continues west into Queens.
Lawrence, Nassau County0.080.13 NY 878 (Nassau Expressway)At-grade intersection.
0.220.35Lord Avenue
0.520.84Lawrence Avenue
0.821.32Weston Place
0.931.50Rockaway Turnpike (CR 257) / Meadow Lane (CR D51)
Cedarhurst1.402.25Waverly Place
CedarhurstWoodmere line1.893.04Prospect Avenue
Woodmere2.023.25Linden Street
WoodmereWoodsburgh line2.123.41Meadow DriveThe border between Woodmere and the Incorporated Village of Woodsburgh runs along the center of Broadway between Meadow Drive and Woodmere Boulevard.
2.373.81Woodmere Boulevard (CR E68)
WoodmereHewlett line2.754.43Johnson Place
Hewlett3.185.12Piermont Avenue
3.215.17West Broadway (CR E51)
3.445.54East Rockaway Road (CR C64)
4.046.50Rockaway Avenue (CR E06) / Sheridan Avenue
Lynbrook4.707.56Scranton Avenue (CR E18)
4.797.71Olive Place
4.907.89Union Place
5.038.10 NY 27 (Sunrise Highway)At-grade intersection.
5.108.21Langdon Place
5.208.37Merrick Road (CR 27)End of CR C22; merges into Hempstead Avenue (CR D09).
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Transportation

As of September 2025, two Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus routes travel along portions of Broadway: the n31 and n32.[16][17] The n31 travels along Broadway in Lynbrook, while the n32 also runs along it through the Hewletts and Woodmere; both buses run between Far Rockaway, Queens and the Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center in Hempstead village.[16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "CR C22" (PDF). NYSDOT Local Highway Inventory. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d New York State Department of Transportation (2021). "County Roads Listing: Nassau County" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "My Roads". Nassau County, NY. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "New York State Roadway Inventory System Viewer". gis.dot.ny.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "New York State Department of Transportation Functional Class Viewer". gis.dot.ny.gov. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "PENINSULA LINK OPENED; Boulevard Section Is Between Lynbrook and Inwood". The New York Times. July 15, 1954. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "Nassau Widens Peninsula Boulevard to South Shore". The New York Times. July 12, 1958. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d "Boulevard Extension Approved". Newsday. April 27, 1954. p. 29.
  9. ^ "OPINION; High in the Saddle, High on Life". The New York Times. July 22, 2001. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Branch Danger Spot Scored by Village". Newsday. June 6, 1950. p. 23 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ "Sea Cliff quadrangle, New York - Map Collections". Brooklyn Public Library. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  12. ^ Nassau County Department of Public Works (1959). "Master Plan for Nassau County". Nassau County Department of Public Works.
  13. ^ "Lynbrook quadrangle, New York - Map Collections". Brooklyn Public Library. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  14. ^ "Nassau-Suffolk County Road History". January 3, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  15. ^ Anderson, Steve. "County Roads on Long Island". NYCRoads. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Long Island Zoning Atlas". Long Island Index Maps. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Nassau Inter-County Express - Maps and Schedules". nicebus.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.