Gowanus Expressway & 3rd Avenue at 51st Street

Gowanus Expressway, 3rd Avenue and 51st Street meet at a six-way junction in Sunset Park (West), Brooklyn. Between 2021 and 2025, 33 police-reported crashes were recorded here, against a median of seven crashes for a Brooklyn corner. In 2025, 463 school-zone speed camera tickets were recorded here. Sunset Park Library is 680 feet away, and Pena Herrera Playground is 1,140 feet away. The nearest subway, 53 St, is about four minutes on foot, for the R. Within a five-minute walk are 13 public places, eight of them religious buildings, and 14 places to eat.

Safety record
13 hurt
33 police-reported crashes, 2021–2025
Nearest subway
53 St
940 feet · 4 min on foot · R
Nearest bus stop
360 feet
3 Av/50 St · B37
Within a walk
13 places
8 religious buildings, 1 day care or pre-K site and 4 more kinds, within five minutes

Map

Layers
Gowanus Expressway & 3rd Avenue at 51st Street Nearby corners, linked

Getting there

How walks are measured

Subway

The nearest subway station is 53 St, 940 feet from this corner, about four minutes on foot.

  1. 53 St R
    940 feet
    R

Next trains at this station

Manhattan
1 line
  1. R …
Southbound
1 line
  1. R …

Also within a walk

  1. 45 St R
    0.4 miles
    R

The MTA's permanent art catalog lists “Untitled” (2017) by Mickalene Thomas at the 53 St station.

Bus

The nearest bus stop is 3 Av/50 St, 360 feet away, for the B37.

  • 3 routes within a ten-minute walk
  1. 3 Av/50 St B37
    360 feet
    B37

Next buses at this stop

  1. B37 …

Live arrivals

Cycling

  • 18 bicycle racks within 820 feet
  • 1 more bike-share station within a five-minute walk

Nearest bike-share station

  1. 53 St & 4 Ave 25 docks in all
    1,180 feet

By car

The nearest highway entrance is the ramp to the Gowanus Expressway eastbound at 3rd Avenue & Connector, 0.5 miles by car along the streets.

  1. 5705 2nd Avenue Gas station
    0.4 miles
  2. 140 58th Street Charging for electric cars, two Level 2 chargers
    0.7 miles

Safety record

How crashes are counted

Between 2021 and 2025, police reported 33 crashes at this corner, more than the median of seven crashes for a Brooklyn corner.

  • 11 people injured
  • 2 people killed
  • 1 of those hurt, on foot
  • 2 of those hurt, on a bike

The most recent crash recorded here was in October 2025.

What the city has done here

  • Leading pedestrian interval, March 2019

Camera tickets

How tickets are counted

In 2025, 463 school-zone speed camera tickets were issued for violations recorded at this corner, the 1,230th most of the 1,957 corners in the city where any were issued.

In 2026 so far, through August 27, 194 more were issued.

Every corner with speed camera tickets

About this corner

Where facts come from
ZIP code
11220
Community board
Brooklyn Community Board 7
City Council district
38
Police precinct
72
Neighborhood (City Planning area)
Sunset Park (West)

The streets

  • Up to two travel lanes
  • One of the streets is one-way

Homes

About 1,200 homes stand within 820 feet of this corner, a mix of apartment buildings and smaller houses. The buildings holding them mostly went up between 1910 and 1930.

Trees

NYC Parks records 45 trees within 330 feet; the most common is the green ash.

Parking on the streets meeting here

How signs are read
  • 42 signs on these blocks
  • 9 different rules

The sign wording is DOT's, as recorded between December 2016 and July 2021, and the sign on the street decides.

East side of 3rd Avenue

  • No parking 6 signs NO PARKING SATURDAY 9:30AM-11AM
  • No parking 4 signs NO PARKING TUESDAY FRIDAY MIDNIGHT-3AM

West side of 3rd Avenue

  • No parking 5 signs NO PARKING MONDAY THURSDAY MIDNIGHT-3AM
  • No parking 6 signs NO PARKING SATURDAY 11:30AM-1PM

North side of 51st Street

  • No parking 6 signs NO PARKING MONDAY 9:30AM-11AM
  • No parking 3 signs NO PARKING THURSDAY 11:30AM-1PM
  • Truck loading only 2 signs TRUCK LOADING ONLY MONDAY-FRIDAY 6AM-4PM

South side of 51st Street

  • No parking 5 signs NO PARKING WEDNESDAY 11:30AM-1PM
  • No parking 5 signs NO PARKING WEDNESDAY 9:30AM-11AM

Schools, parks and places within a walk

How places are listed

Thirteen public places are within a five-minute walk.

  • 8 religious buildings
  • 1 day care or pre-K site
  • 1 fire station
  • 1 library
  • 1 playground
  • 1 school

Schools and child care

  1. Al Madrasa Al Islamiya School
    590 feet
  2. Grand Street Settlement Preschool, ages 2 to 5
    780 feet

Parks, playgrounds and gardens

  1. Pena Herrera Playground
    1,140 feet

Libraries, museums and history

  1. Sunset Park Library
    680 feet

Houses of worship

  1. St Andrews Episcopal Church House of worship
    1,080 feet
  2. Pentecostal Evangelist Church House of worship
    1,190 feet

Fire and police

  1. Battalion 40/Engine 201/Ladder 114 Fire station
    970 feet

Bank branches

  1. Chase Bank branch
    780 feet

Supermarkets

  1. Bravo Supermarket
    1,300 feet
  2. Food Universe Supermarket
    0.5 miles
  3. City Fresh Market Supermarket
    0.5 miles

Food stores and places to eat

Within a five-minute walk there are 14 places to eat and 22 food stores.

Not on record for this corner: a designated landmark or historic district within 820 feet.

Nearby corners

The eight nearest corners on foot, seven of them within a three-minute walk:

See every intersection along 3rd Avenue, 51st Street or Gowanus Expressway.

Sources: NYPD, NYC Finance, NYC DOT, MTA, New York City's bike-share system, NYS Environmental Conservation, NYC City Planning, US Department of Energy, NYC Parks, NYC Technology and Innovation, NYC Health, FDIC, NYS Agriculture and Markets and USDA, retrieved September 18 – October 6, 2026.