Broad Channel - Definition and Overview

Broad Channel is a neighborhood located on an island in Jamaica Bay, a part of the borough of Queens in New York City. It lies between Howard Beach and Rockaway. Cross Bay Boulevard is the only major road which runs through, also sharing Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on the same land mass. The town consists of artificial canals seperating dead end residential blocks, and is the home of noted guitarist William Sullivan.

A New York City Subway line stops in Broad Channel at Broad Channel station. Depending on the time of day and day of the week, the train might bear the letter A, C, or S.

At one time, the streets of Broad Channel were numbered along the same continuum found in the rest of Queens besides the Rockaways (with the numbers of "Streets" increasing from west to east, the numbers of "Avenues" increasing from north to south, etc.). Today, however, Broad Channel streets have their own numbering format, independent of that used elsewhere in the borough. This change still causes occasional confusion.