53rd Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
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The 53rd Street station is a local station on the
BMT Fourth Avenue Line The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. The line is served by the D, N, and R at all times; the R typically runs local, while the D and N run express duri ...
of the New York City Subway. Located at 53rd Street and Fourth Avenue in
Sunset Park, Brooklyn Sunset Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, bounded by Park Slope and Green-Wood Cemetery to the north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south, and Upper New York Bay to the ...
, it is served by the R train at all times. The N train also stops here during late nights, and some rush-hour W trains stop here in the peak direction. The 53rd Street station was constructed as part of the Fourth Avenue Line, which was approved in 1905. Construction on the segment of the line that includes 53rd Street started on March 15, 1913, and was completed in 1915. The station opened on September 22, 1915, after the opening of the initial portion of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line to 59th Street. The station's platforms were lengthened in 1926–1927, and again during a renovation in 1968–1970. The station was renovated again in 2017.


History


Construction and opening

The 53rd Street station was constructed as part of the Fourth Avenue Line, the plan for which was initially adopted on June 1, 1905. The Rapid Transit Commission was succeeded on July 1, 1907, by the
New York State Public Service Commission The New York Public Service Commission is the public utilities commission of the New York state government that regulates and oversees the electric, gas, water, and telecommunication industries in New York as part of the Department of Public Servi ...
(PSC), which approved the plan for the line in late 1907. As part of negotiations between New York City, the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using ...
(BRT), and the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT ...
for the expansion of the city's transit network, the line was leased to a subsidiary of the BRT. The agreement, known as Contract 4 of the
Dual Contracts The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Ra ...
, was signed on March 19, 1913. In 1912, during the Dual System negotiations, the construction of an extension of the Fourth Avenue subway from 43rd Street to 89th Street, just south of the 86th Street station, was recommended. The proposal was approved by the Board of Estimate on February 15, 1912. The PSC directed its chief engineer to create plans on June 14, 1912. The two contracts for the extension, Route 11B, were awarded on September 16, 1912, to Degnon Construction Company for a combined $3.8 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Construction on Route 11B1, the section of the extension between 43rd Street and 61st Street, which includes the 53rd Street station, began on March 15, 1913. Originally, this section was planned to have two tracks, but after the connection to the Sea Beach Line was added to the plan during the middle of construction, the plan was changed to four tracks. This section was completed in 1915. The section of the line running through the 53rd Street station opened on June 22, 1915, as part of an extension of the subway to Coney Island, which included the Fourth Avenue Line north of 59th Street as well as the entire Sea Beach Line. The line's opening was marked with a competition between two trains heading from Chambers Street station in Manhattan to the Coney Island station, one heading via the West End Line and the other via the Sea Beach Line; the latter got to Coney Island first. However, the 45th and 53rd Street stations remained closed, despite being technically complete, since the stations were being used by a contractor to haul dirt out. The stations opened on September 22, 1915.


Station renovations


1920s

On June 27, 1922, the New York State Transit Commission directed its engineers to prepare plans to lengthen the platforms at 23 stations on the lines of the
Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway ...
(BMT), the successor to the BRT, to accommodate eight-car trains. As part of the project, 53rd Street's platforms would have been lengthened from to . Though the Transit Commission ordered the BMT to lengthen these platforms in September 1923, progress on the extensions did not occur until February 16, 1925, when the
New York City Board of Transportation The New York City Board of Transportation or the Board of Transportation of the City of New York (NYCBOT or BOT) was a city transit commission and operator in New York City, consisting of three members appointed by the mayor. It was created in ...
(NYCBOT) directed its engineers to prepare plans to lengthen the platforms at this and eleven other stations along the Fourth Avenue Line. It estimated the project's cost to be $633,000 () (). The NYCBOT received bids for the project on February 25, 1926. The contract was awarded to the Corson Construction Company for $345,021 () (). The extensions opened on August 1, 1927.


1960s

The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940. In the 1960s, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) started a project to lengthen station platforms on its lines in Southern Brooklyn to to accommodate 10-car trains. On July 14, 1967, the NYCTA awarded a contract to conduct test borings at eleven stations on the Fourth Avenue Line, including 53rd Street, to the W. M. Walsh Corporation for $6,585 () in preparation of the construction of platform extensions (). The NYCTA issued an invitation for bids on the project to extend the platforms at stations along the Fourth Avenue Line between 45th Street station and Bay Ridge—95th Street, including this station, on May 3, 1968. As part of the renovation project, the station's platforms were extended to the south, and the station's elaborate mosaic tile walls were covered over with white cinderblock tiles. The latter change, which was also made to fifteen other stations on the BMT Broadway and Fourth Avenue Line, was criticized for being dehumanizing. The NYCTA spokesman stated that the old tiles were in poor condition and that the change was made to improve the appearance of stations and provide uniformity. Furthermore, it did not consider the old mosaics to have "any great artistic merit".


2017

As part of the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
's 2015–2019 Capital Program, the station, along with thirty other New York City Subway stations, were scheduled to undergo a complete overhaul as part of the
Enhanced Station Initiative Since the late 20th century, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has started several projects to maintain and improve the New York City Subway. Some of these projects, such as subway line automation, proposed platform screen doors, the FA ...
. Updates were to include cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps, improved signage, and improved station lighting. From January to May 2016,
Grimshaw Architects Grimshaw Architects (formerly Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners) is an architectural firm based in London. Founded in 1980 by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the firm was one of the pioneers of high-tech architecture. In particular, they are known for their d ...
worked on a design for the station's renovation, with
Arup Group Arup (officially Arup Group Limited) is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London which provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment ...
acting as a consultant. The award for Package 1 of the renovations, which covered renovations at the Prospect Avenue, 53rd Street, and Bay Ridge Avenue stations on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, was awarded on November 30, 2016. Citnalta-Forte Joint Venture was selected to renovate the three stations under a $72 million
design–build Design–build (or design/build, and abbreviated D–B or D/B accordingly) is a project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which the design and construction services are contracted by a sin ...
contract, the first such contract in the subway system's history. The station was closed on March 27, 2017, for these renovations, and reopened on September 8, 2017, ahead of schedule.


Station layout

This underground station has four tracks and two
side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platform ...
s. The R stops here at all times; some rush-hour W trains stop here in the peak direction; and the N stops here during late nights, but uses the center express tracks to bypass the station during daytime hours. Columns run along the entire length of both platforms and are painted black. Every other column has a "53 Street" sign on it in black with white text. All are rounded except for the ones near the two staircases to the station's main entrance, which was where the platforms were extended in 1970. Prior to the station's 1970 renovation, it was finished all in white and marble tile, and it had its own color scheme to allow regular passengers to identify the station based only on the color of the marble trimmings. Since that renovation, the station walls have consisted of white cinderblock tiles, except for small recesses in the walls, which contain yellow-painted cinderblock tiles. The yellow cinderblock field contains the station-name signs and black text pointing to the exits. During the 2017 renovation, the cinderblock tiles were refurbished and colored white with small recesses containing black tiles. ADA-compliant platform treads and a granite tiled floor, as well as indirect lighting atop the station wall, which was relocated from above the platform edge, were installed. The 2017 artwork at this station consists of nature-inspired mosaics by Brooklyn-based artist
Mickalene Thomas Mickalene Thomas (born January 28, 1971) is a contemporary African-American visual artist best known as a painter of complex works using rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel.
.


Exits

The station's main entrance has two staircases to each platform and one to each northern corner of Fourth Avenue and 53rd Street. The mezzanine allows transfer between directions and contains some original mosaic directional and arrow signs. The one by the staircases to the southbound platform displays "Ft. Hamilton & Coney Island" while the one by the Manhattan-bound platform staircases displays "Down Town Trains." The southbound platform has an additional entrance near the north end. Two platform-level
turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...
s lead to a small landing before a three-flight staircase goes up to 52nd Street and Fourth Avenue. Prior to the 2017 renovation, the entrance was exit-only. The landing area contained the original 1915 trim band with a single "53" tiled on it prior to the renovation of the station.


References


External links

* * Station Reporter â€
R Train
* The Subway Nut â€
53rd Street Pictures

Rebuilt Platforms from Google Maps Street View

Rebuilt Mezzanine from Google Maps Street View

Rebuilt 53rd Street Entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:53rd Street (Bmt Fourth Avenue Line) BMT Fourth Avenue Line stations New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn New York City Subway stations located underground Railway stations in the United States opened in 1915 1915 establishments in New York City Sunset Park, Brooklyn