Hunterspoint Avenue is a station on the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

within the City Terminal Zone. It is located at 49th Avenue (formerly Hunters Point Avenue) between 21st Street and Skillman Avenue in the Hunters Point and

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

neighborhoods of

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. This ground-level station has an

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 ...

between two tracks and is currently not wheelchair accessible from the entrance above the station. The station is served only during weekday rush hours in the peak direction (to Hunterspoint Avenue from Long Island in the morning, from Hunterspoint Avenue to Long Island in the evening). Trains serving here usually run on the Oyster Bay, Montauk, or

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

Branches. Some westbound trains continue to and terminate at

, and some eastbound trains originate in Long Island City. All service is provided by diesel trains that cannot use the

East River Tunnels The East River Tunnels are four single-track railroad passenger service tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross the East River to Long Island City in Queens. The tracks ...

, but the tracks are electrified.

History

Hunterspoint Avenue station opened in August 1860, three years before the

New York and Flushing Railroad The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Lo ...

built their own Hunter's Point station. LIRR's Hunterspoint Avenue was renovated in April 1878, but burned in a fire in December 1902. The station was replaced on April 26, 1903, only to be rebuilt again nine years later. he preceding is confusing the Hunterspoint station (renamed Long Island City) with the Hunterspoint AVENUE station. They are two different stations.According to a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

article from May 1914, the third station was scheduled to open on July 1, 1914. Instead, the reopening date was delayed until October 18, 1914. he Times article actually makes it clear, this is a NEW station, located east of the original Hunterspoint station, which had long since been renamed Long Island City and still existed. In June 1947, only two weekday trains were scheduled east from Hunterspoint Ave, one to Jamaica and one to Queens Village. Trains destined beyond electrified territory could leave Penn Station behind DD1 electric locomotives and change engines at Jamaica; thirteen weekday trains did so. That service ended in 1951, leading to Hunterspoint Avenue's present role. On November 22, 1948, a -long extension of the platform went into service. In the 2010s, it was announced that the station would receive renovations and become compliant with the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...

, as part of the 2015-2019 MTA Capital Program. However, this was pushed back in an amendment from August 2017 until the MTA's 2020-2024 Capital Program.

Station layout

The station has one 10-car long high-level

between the two Main Line tracks, with stairways on both sides of 49th Avenue.

Gallery

Image:HunterspointAvenueLIRR.JPG, Hunterspoint Avenue station, as seen from

IRT Flushing Line The IRT Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, named for its eastern terminal in Flushing, Queens. It is operated as part of the A Division. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), a private operator, ...

subway train. Image:Grade Crossing 11th St & 53d Av jeh.jpg, Junction; left branch crosses Borden Avenue to HP station. File:Hunterspoint Avenue LIRR; NJT Cars 7608 and 7610 .jpg, A New Jersey Transit commuter train passes by on the way to

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinci ...

as it leaves the Sunnyside Yard. File:Amtrak 604 passes Hunterspoint Avenue LIRR station.jpg, So does an Amtrak train.

References

External links

Hunterspoint Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Platform from Google Maps Street View

Wooden Station Sign and covered entrance from the bridge in 1958; by W.J. Edwards (TrainsAreFun)
{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Railway stations in the United States opened in 1860 Railway stations in Queens, New York Long Island City 1860 establishments in New York (state)