The Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street station is the western

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing su ...

on 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 ...

of the New York City Subway, located on Beach 116th Street near Rockaway Beach Boulevard in

Rockaway Beach, Queens Rockaway Beach is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is bounded by Arverne to the east and Rockaway Park to the west. It is named for the Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk, which is the l ...

. It is served by the

Rockaway Park Shuttle The Rockaway Park Shuttle is a New York City Subway shuttle train that operates in Queens. It connects with the train at Broad Channel station and is the latest iteration of the Rockaway Shuttle services that have been running on the Rockaway ...

at all times and ten daily rush-hour A trains in the peak direction.

History

The station was originally built in 1882 as a Long Island Rail Road station on 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 ...

, was called Rockaway Beach, and contained a trolley stop for the

Ocean Electric Railway The Ocean Electric Railway was a street car line that operated on The Rockaways. It ran parallel to parts of the Rockaway Beach Branch and Far Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. The headquarters of the OER were at the Far Rockaway Long ...

, which eventually expanded their line further west to Belle Harbor and Neponsit. In 1899, the station was enlarged in order to accommodate 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 ...

cars, and the name was changed to Rockaway Park. In spring 1917, a second station was built as a replacement for the former station, which was razed. After a 1950 fire at The Raunt destroyed the trestle across Jamaica Bay, the LIRR rerouted Rockaway Beach service along the Far Rockaway Branch, then abandoned the Rockaway Beach Branch. 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 ...

purchased all stations on the branch in June 1952, and the

New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...

(successor to the Board of Transportation) closed them to LIRR service on October 3, 1955 in order to convert many of them into subway stations. The current station, Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street, opened on June 28, 1956, with all other stations on the Rockaway Line except

Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

. Far Rockaway reopened in 1958 after being rebuilt for Subway use, and the LIRR opened a new

station on Nameoke Street. Plans to add a subway line to the Rockaway Peninsula actually date back to the 1920s and originally involved extending the western terminus along Newport Avenue to Beach 149th Street, rather than its current terminus at Rockaway Park. Board of Transportation of the City of New York Engineering Department, Proposed Additional Rapid Transit Lines And Proposed Vehicular Tunnel, dated August 23, 1929 Project for Expanded Rapid Transit Facilities, New York City Transit System, dated July 5, 1939. In 2002, it was announced that Rockaway Park would be one of ten subway stations citywide to receive renovations. Starting in May 2007, the station building, platform and yard area underwent renovation. The new station building was unveiled in early November 2007.

Station layout

The station is at ground level. There are two tracks and 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 ...

. The tracks end at bumper blocks at the west ( railroad south) end of the platform. On either side of the station are tracks leading to the Rockaway Park Yard. Originally, terminal tracks with low-level platforms occupied the yard area during the LIRR years. The area of the current high-level platform was part of the LIRR depot yard.

Exit

Because the entrance is at street level, the station is

ADA accessible 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 ...

without the use of an elevator or ramps. The station house is made of concrete with windows and plywood walls and a brick exterior. It also has an entrance leading to an adjacent restaurant. An examination of the station house shows the former ticket windows, which were used when the line was part of the

LIRR 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, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

. The station houses Transit Police District 23, which was moved to the station in June 1977. A new police facility was opened on September 18, 2009. 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 ...

municipal parking lot lies just north of the station.

Gallery

File:Beach 116th Street Police Precinct.jpg, Mezzanine and police precinct File:LIRR Depot, Rockaway Park, NY.png, Postcard, ca. 1917 File:Rockaway Park - Beach 116th Street Station under reconstruction; 2007.jpg, Platform reconstruction in 2007 File:Northern half of platforms at Rockaway Pk - B 116th St.jpg, Northern half of the platform

References

External links

* * Station Reporter �
Rockaway Park Shuttle

* The Subway Nut �
Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street Pictures
* MTA's Arts For Transit �

* [https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=40.580519,-73.837534&spn=0.00383,0.013433&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.580438,-73.837477&panoid=8A4cjBvjXNwvgLaDw-3c_Q&cbp=12,29.33,,0,3.56 Beach 116th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View]
Platform from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockaway Park - Beach 116th Street (Ind Rockaway Line) IND Rockaway Line stations Rockaway, Queens New York City Subway stations in Queens, New York New York City Subway terminals New York City Subway stations located at-grade New York City Subway stations located aboveground Railway stations in the United States opened in 1956 1956 establishments in New York City