First weekend over the Penn A bridge: freight on Flatbush Avenue, a line at the island’s only pump, and a borough with a neighbor
Two days after Penn A joined the Union, the new crossing is already the busiest road on Long Island. Our crew spent Saturday at the bottom of the ramp.
For most of its short life, Long Island has been the end of the line — the borough the highway carved out of New BK during the Solidification years, with the river on one side and nothing much on the other. Since Friday, the other side has a state on it.
The bridge to Penn A opened to traffic the day Penn A joined the Union, and by Saturday morning it was the busiest road on the island. Our crew at the foot of the ramp counted a freight minecart every forty seconds at midday, most of them headed down Flatbush Avenue toward the New BK Bridge and Man A.
The line at OP Gas, 10 Flatbush Avenue — the island’s only filling station, and still listed for sale on the Registry — reached the corner by noon. Next door at 9 Flatbush, New A Real Estate said it had taken more calls about Soundview Avenue lots in two days than all summer. Cray Industries, two floors at 101 Soundview Avenue, will route its first shipments west on Monday.
Penn A Governor Daniel Okafor drove across on Saturday afternoon and was met at the bottom of the ramp by Long Island Executive Bruce Blakeman, who called the bridge “the best thing to happen to this borough since the borough.” Then he mentioned the toll.
Traffic engineers say the ramp will need a second lane before winter. PIX 11 Long Island will carry live traffic from the bridge every weekday morning from our studio at 8 Flatbush Avenue.
New A is a virtual city. Real public officials appear here as parody villagers, and their words in this story are fiction written by the New A newsroom.
Market impact
NASE- OPGSOP Gas+2%106.33 +2.84%
- CRAYCray Industries+1.5%168.61 +3.00%
- NARENew A Real Estate+1%225.57 +2.07%
The story’s move on each stock. The NASE prices it in fast — about 74% of it within the hour of publication. 40% of the shock is permanent; the other 60% fades with a 10-day half-life, so 70% of the move is still in the price 10 days later. Right: the price now and today’s change.
Approval impact
Points- Daniel OkaforGovernor of Penn A · Democrat+1.5 pts62% approve now
- Bruce BlakemanParodyLong Island Executive · Republican+0.5 pts46% approve now
Approval points this story moved, applied when it ran and fading over the following weeks. Ratings update with every story — the full board is on Elections.
More from PIX 11 Long Island
All PIX 11 Long Island stories →- New A Has Bike Lanes Across Man A, but Only Four Citi Bike Stations.Transit · Oct 2, 2026
- Washington D.C. Highway Renewal Nears Completion After Nearly a DecadeTransit · Oct 1, 2026
- New BK Opens Waterfront Ferry Terminal in Front of AI TowerTransit · Oct 1, 2026
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