Francis Lewis Boulevard

Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. The roadway is named for Francis Lewis, a Queens resident who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. The boulevard zigzags across Queens by including segments of several other roadways that were renamed to become parts of the boulevard.

Francis Lewis Boulevard begins at an intersection with 148th Avenue and Hook Creek Boulevard in Rosedale, Queens, continues due northwest and encounters its first major intersection (with NY 27 (South Conduit Avenue and Sunrise Highway)) approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) later, where it also crosses under the Long Island Rail Road's Montauk Branch. Passing over the Laurelton Parkway a short distance later, Francis Lewis Boulevard then continues as a neighborhood street westbound until it reaches the intersection of 138th Avenue and 230th Place, at which point, Francis Lewis Boulevard turns right to a northeastern direction, with 138th Avenue continuing to the west and 230th Place continuing to the south.

Continuing northward from where 230th Place ends at 138th Avenue, Francis Lewis Boulevard becomes wider with a grass mall and then a painted median as it snakes around the Montefiore Cemetery in Laurelton, taking the alignment of 121st Avenue as it snakes around the cemetery. After 223rd Street, Francis Lewis Boulevard leaves 121st Avenue and resumes roughly the same northwestern alignment that it had before the Laurelton Parkway. Passing Springfield Boulevard in Cambria Heights, Queens, Francis Lewis Boulevard becomes a 4-lane road, and maintains a status as a four- or six-lane median divided street for the remainder of its run through Queens, using the alignment of what would be 206th Street south of Cunningham Park and the alignment that would be 200th Street north of it to the Port Washington Branch. Neighborhoods traversed north of Springfield Boulevard are Cambria Heights, Hollis and Queens Village the western edge of Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows, Auburndale, Bayside, and Whitestone, passing under the LIRR Main Line at the boundary of Hollis and Queens Village, NY 25 (Hillside Avenue), the Grand Central Parkway and the Horace Harding Expressway at the south and north ends of Cunningham Park, respectively, and NY 25A (Northern Boulevard) in Bayside. After crossing under the Port Washington Branch, Francis Lewis Boulevard leaves the street grid and intersects with streets at oblique angles through the rest of its run in Whitestone to its northern terminus at the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone. At 10.8 miles (17.4 km) long, Francis Lewis Boulevard is one of the longest streets in Queens that only runs in Queens, and is one of only two Queens street to pass uninterrupted past both Conduit Avenue and Northern Boulevard, the other being Springfield Boulevard.

One block past the south end of Francis Lewis Boulevard is Hungry Harbor Road, continuing as Rosedale Road, which proceeds east into South Valley Stream in Nassau County. Prior to the construction Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge from Brooklyn, and the bridges of Cross Bay Boulevard from Howard Beach, the combined Francis Lewis-Rosedale Road route provided one of the few routes between the Rockaways and the rest of New York City.

The Cunningham Park stretch of Francis Lewis Boulevard is notorious for drag racing, which has resulted in several fatalities to drivers and pedestrians over the years. Recently, speed cameras have been installed along this stretch. The Brooklyn-Queens Greenway also runs parallel to Francis Lewis Boulevard through Cunningham Park.

Francis Lewis Boulevard is accessible at Exit 35 of the Cross Island Parkway, Exit 24A off the Belt Parkway, Exit 20A-B off the Grand Central Parkway and Exit 26 off the Long Island Expressway.

Clintonville Street is a short street in Whitestone, beginning at 163rd Street adjacent to the west of Francis Lewis Boulevard, and running parallel to the boulevard to the Cross Island Parkway. It then extends north of the parkway to Whitestone Landing at the East River coastline. Clintonville Street was part of the original Francis Lewis Boulevard, until the boulevard was reconstructed and rerouted as part of the Whitestone Bridge and Cross Island Parkway projects.

Before being renamed in the 1930s, the roadway was called Cross Island Boulevard. The street was renamed after Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who owned a home in Whitestone, to avoid confusion with the Cross Island Parkway. Portions of the boulevard were built through Lewis' Whitestone estate. Many residents that live by the street usually refer to Francis Lewis Boulevard as simply "Franny Lew".