The Grant Avenue station is a
station on the
IND Liberty Av Line of the
New York City Subway. Located at Grant Avenue just north of Pitkin Avenue in
City Line, Brooklyn
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...
, near the border between the
boroughs
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle A ...
of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
it is served by the
A train at all times. The station is the line's easternmost stop in Brooklyn; the Fulton Street Line continues east into Queens via the
Fulton Street Elevated
The Fulton Street Line, also called the Fulton Street Elevated or Kings County Line, was an elevated rail line mostly in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It ran above Fulton Street from Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn in Downtown Brooklyn east t ...
.
The funds to construct the Fulton Street Line east of
Broadway Junction, including the Grant Avenue station, were allocated in 1939. Construction of the extension was delayed due to material shortages from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The Fulton Street Line between Broadway Junction and
Euclid Avenue opened in 1948. Funding to construct the Grant Avenue station was allocated in 1950, and the station opened in 1956.
History
Original plan
Grant Avenue was built as part of the extension of the
IND Fulton Street Line east of
Broadway–East New York.
Funding for the station was allocated in 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 ...
's 1939 Capital Budget, projected to be completed by 1942. In October 1940, construction began on the portion of the extension along Pitkin Avenue between Crystal Street and Grant Avenue. This included a station at
Euclid Avenue and the
Pitkin Yard
The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwe ...
, but did not include a station at Grant Avenue.
By this time, the Board acquired private property on the east side of Grant Avenue for subway construction. By 1941, the intersection of Pitkin and Grant Avenues was excavated for subway construction. The opening of the East New York station, and completion of all stations east to Euclid Avenue that were then-under construction,
was halted in 1942 due to supply shortages from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
The extension of the line to Euclid Avenue opened in November 1948, six years late.
As part of the extension, the Fulton Line tunnel under Pitkin Avenue was built up to Eldert Lane just past Grant Avenue to facilitate a
future subway extension via Pitkin Avenue.
Modified plans
By 1947, the plans were modified so the IND line would instead use the nearby
BMT Fulton Street Elevated along
Liberty Avenue. Additional trackways were installed in the tunnel just east of Euclid Avenue for a potential connection to the Fulton Street El.
The yet-to-be-built Grant Avenue station was also displayed on the signal board in the Euclid Avenue station.
In 1949, the Board of Transportation approved a plan to extend the IND Fulton Line along the eastern Fulton El to
Lefferts Boulevard
Lefferts Boulevard is a major north–south thoroughfare in Queens, New York City, running through the communities of Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and South Ozone Park. Its northern end is at Kew Gardens Road, in Kew Gardens, and its southern end i ...
. The station was expected to be completed in 1952.
Under the original plans, the
Grant Avenue
Grant Avenue in San Francisco, California, is one of the oldest streets in the city's Chinatown district. It runs in a north–south direction starting at Market Street in the heart of downtown and dead-ending past Francisco Street in the North ...
station of the BMT elevated would have been preserved as the first station east of the link.
In 1950, the
New York City Planning Commission
The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...
approved funding for an extension of the IND Fulton Line east from Euclid Avenue to Grant Avenue.
In late 1952, the Board of Transportation began construction on a connection between the IND and both the Fulton Elevated and the
Rockaway Beach Branch
The Rockaway Beach Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York City, United States. The line left the Main Line at Whitepot Junction in Rego Park heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica ...
of the
Long Island Rail Road, which included a new underground Grant Avenue station.
The station opened on April 29, 1956, along with the connection to the Fulton Elevated east to Lefferts Boulevard. One month later, service to
the Rockaways
The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of ...
commenced via the old Rockaway Beach Branch, which had been converted to the
IND Rockaway Line
The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, operating in Queens. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways. The ...
.
The station also replaced the former Grant Avenue station on the Fulton Elevated, which was closed and demolished.
Station layout
![Grant Av entrance vc](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Grant_Av_entrance_vc.jpg)
This station has two tracks and one
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
.
The column and wall tiles are textured light green, with "GRANT" in dark green letters going down vertically on columns and horizontally along the wall underneath the tile band; the tile band is set in a soldier course of dark green bordered by the same light green as the rest of the wall, albeit minus the textured surface.
When it opened, the Grant Avenue station featured
fluorescent lighting
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet ligh ...
, instead of the incandescent lights that were standard throughout the New York City Subway at the time.
East of the station (or south, in terms of
railroad directions
Railroad directions are used to describe train directions on rail systems. The terms used may be derived from such sources as compass directions, altitude directions, or other directions. However, the railroad directions frequently vary from the ac ...
), the line gains a center track from
Pitkin Yard
The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwe ...
, leaves the subway tunnel and ramps up to the elevated tracks along Liberty Avenue. Once it exits the tunnel, the line enters Queens.
At the tunnel portal, another track from Pitkin Yard merges with the southbound local track. The line continues as three tracks, towards
80th Street station on Liberty Avenue. The two yard tracks are located under the station.
Exit
The station's only entrance is a 1950s-style brick station-house at street level, located at the northwest corner of Pitkin and Grant Avenues.
Inside, there is a token booth,
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 ...
bank, fluorescent lights, newsstand, and three staircases to the platform.
The entrance is located next to a
NYCDOT
The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Depart ...
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...
facility, signed as "Municipal Parking: Grant Avenue," that encompasses both sides of Grant Avenue.
Additional parking was formerly present on then-NYCT property across
North Conduit Avenue, which has since been developed.
References
External links
*
* The Subway Nut â€
Grant Avenue PicturesGrant Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street ViewPlatform from Google Maps Street View
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, fulton=yes
IND Fulton Street Line stations
New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn
New York City Subway stations located underground
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1956
East New York, Brooklyn
1956 establishments in New York City