New York State Route 102


New York State Route 102 is an east–west state highway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It is little more than an alternate route of NY 24 through the town of Hempstead. NY 102 goes under the Meadowbrook State Parkway, but has no connecting ramps to or from the parkway. It does, however have a right-of-way for a formerly proposed eastbound lane. The route begins at an intersection with William Street in Hempstead before ending at NY 24 in East Meadow.
NY 102 was assigned in the 1930s and has not been changed significantly since. Until 2017, NY 102 left NY 24 in West Hempstead and followed Front Street through the village of Hempstead and Uniondale before rejoining NY 24 in East Meadow. The portion of NY 102 west of William Street was maintained by Nassau County as County Route 106 and was unsigned while the remainder of the highway is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation and signed.

Route description

NY 102 begins at an intersection with William Street in the village of Hempstead. The route winds eastward through Hempstead for several blocks along the now four-lane road, passing numerous residences and apartment buildings. NY 102 bends northeast, intersecting with Uniondale Avenue in Uniondale. At this junction, the route becomes commercial in nature once again, crossing several blocks of businesses until Locust Avenue. Now two lanes, NY 102 continues northeast through Uniondale, crossing under the six lanes of the Meadowbrook State Parkway. After the Meadowbrook, the route continues to bend northeast, passing through more residences and large commercial strips. A short distance later, the route intersects with Merrick Avenue, entering the Barnum Woods section of East Meadow.
In Barnum Woods, NY 102 becomes a mix of residential and commercial as the two-lane main street. At the junction with Vincent Road, NY 102 leaves Barnum Woods and enters East Meadow.The route remains commercial and residential in nature, proceeding northeast past a long strip mall near East Meadow Avenue. After passing a large complex of stores, NY 102 intersects with NY 24 once again in East Meadow. This T-intersection serves as the eastern terminus of NY 102, whose right-of-way also ends.

History

The state-maintained section of NY 102 was improved to state highway standards as part of a project contracted out by the state of New York on September 20, 1907. A total of of highway were rebuilt as part of the $81,000 project, including all of modern NY 105. The reconstructed roads were added to the state highway system on November 2, 1908, as unsigned State Highway 437. Both parts of SH 437 received posted route numbers in the early 1930s, with the Front Street segment becoming part of NY 102. The route also continued west over locally maintained roads in order to connect to NY 24 at both ends. NY 102's alignment has not been altered since.
By 2017, NY 102's county-maintained section between NY 24 and William Street in the village of Hempstead was decommissioned, leaving only the state-maintained section east of the intersection.

Major intersections