Fresh Pond, Queens facts for kids
Fresh Pond was once the name of a small neighborhood in Queens, one of New York City's five main areas called boroughs. It was located between two large cemeteries, Lutheran and Mount Olivet, and a place called Juniper Valley.
Today, people don't usually call this area "Fresh Pond" anymore. Instead, it's considered part of the neighborhoods around it, like Maspeth, Middle Village, Glendale, and Ridgewood. The name "Fresh Pond" came from two freshwater ponds that used to be there. These ponds were filled in during the early 1900s. Other ponds in the area had slightly salty water because they were close to Newtown Creek, which connects to the ocean.
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Getting Around Fresh Pond
The main streets in the Fresh Pond area are Fresh Pond Road, Metropolitan Avenue, Eliot Avenue, and 61st Street. These streets all meet in the center of the community, which is where many shops and businesses are located.
Subway and Bus Connections
The area is well-connected by public transportation. You can find subway stations for the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line (which uses the M train train) at Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue.
Fresh Pond is also home to the Fresh Pond Depot. This is a large garage and maintenance facility for many of the buses used by MTA Bus and New York City Bus.
Train Lines and Freight
East of where Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road meet, you'll find a former Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) freight station. This station was part of the Montauk Branch train line. There's also a large train yard nearby called the Fresh Pond Yard.
Another train line, the freight-only Bushwick Branch of the LIRR, branches off from below the Fresh Pond Yard. This line crosses over Flushing Avenue. Freight cars from other train lines, like the New York Connecting Railroad and the New York Cross Harbor Railroad, can switch trains here.
Fresh Pond Road's History
Fresh Pond Road has been an important path for hundreds of years. During the American Revolutionary War, which was fought for America's independence, British soldiers used Fresh Pond Road to chase after the American military.
