The Sheepshead Bay station is an express station on the

BMT Brighton Line The BMT Brighton Line, also known as the Brighton Beach Line, is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train, but is joined ...

of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

. It is located in the

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * ''Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central Am ...

neighborhood 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 ...

. It is served by the Q train at all times and by the B train on weekdays.

History

In April 1931, as part of project to extend the station platforms, a new entrance opened at Voohries Avenue. It was renovated by

New York City Transit 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 ...

’s in-house

maintenance-of-way A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

forces in 1997-1998. In December 2008, a wooden pedestrian bridge was built above the express tracks that connected the two platforms near the north end of this station. This was for passengers wishing to transfer between directions during reconstruction of

Avenue U Avenue U is a commercial street located in Brooklyn, New York, United States. This avenue is a main thoroughfare throughout its length. Avenue U begins at Stillwell Avenue in Gravesend and ends at Bergen Avenue in Bergen Beach, while serving the o ...

and Neck Road. The bridge was removed in September 2010. In 2019, as part of an initiative to increase the accessibility of the New York City Subway system, the MTA announced that it would install elevators at the Sheepshead Bay station as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program. In November 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $965 million contract for the installation of 21 elevators across eight stations, including Sheepshead Bay. A joint venture of ASTM and Halmar International would construct the elevators under a public-private partnership.

Station layout

This station, which is located on an embankment, has four tracks and two

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 ...

s, and is an express station. The platforms curve to the west at the south end and were extended to the north on both sides. There is clear evidence of this extension by looking underneath the platforms. This station originally was a terminal stop as the extension to

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach i ...

was not built until 1917. Outside and to the east of the Voorhies Avenue side entrance, there is a pedestrian overpass running alongside the

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

-bound side of line, but it only crosses the

Belt Parkway The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as t ...

to the south side. The 1998 artwork here is called
Postcards from Sheepshead Bay
' by Deborah Goletz. Made of ceramic tile, it draws the faces and life on the "Bay" (as Brooklyn residents call it short for Sheepshead Bay). The three artwork designs are a

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

, some people wearing 17th century clothing near a boat

dock A dock (from Dutch language, Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The ex ...

, and a

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

. A closer examination of the tile band at the mezzanine level has

seashells A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...

and

Pisces fish Pisces may refer to: * Pisces, an obsolete (because of land vertebrates) taxonomic superclass including all fish * Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign * Pisces (constellation), a constellation ** Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in ...

. Outside the station is a mural in the style of a "Welcome to Sheepshead Bay" postcard. As a homage to similar boardwalk attractions, this mural features holes for people inside to stick their faces through, and have their picture taken from outside. Sheepshead Bay BMT SB sta jeh

Exits

In addition to the aforementioned interactive mural, the full-time entrance at Sheepshead Bay Road and East 16th Street also has a bench facing

fare control In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...

and two overhead heaters. This side has two stairs to each platform. There was a small arcade of stores starting on the side opposite of the station agent booth prior to the station's renovation, but it was rearranged and broken up into several stores. The part-time entrance to Voorhies Avenue is at the very south end of the platforms and each has one staircase to the mezzanine. This side had a booth until 2010 that was open only during weekday mornings. It now has a regular bank of

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 t ...

s that is only open weekdays and is HEET access other times. Both mezzanines have BMT-style directional mosaics tablets that says "To Manhattan" and "To Coney Island."

Gallery

File:BMT Sheepshead Bay Station South Entrance.webm, South entrance, as seen from the street File:BMT Brighton Line Sheepshead Bay station South entrance inside.webm, South entrance, past fare equipment File:NYC Subway Sheepshead Bay station - looking southward.jpg, Station platform, looking southward File:Platforms and Q train at Sheepshead Bay station, June 2013.JPG, Station platforms for local and express trains File:Postcards From Sheepshead Bay 001.jpg, Station mosaic "Postcards from

" File:Sheepshead Bay Station View 001.jpg, Looking northward File:Sheepshead Bay snow vc.jpg, South end of the station, during winter storms

In popular culture

The station was featured in the film version of ''

Glengarry Glen Ross ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' is a play by David Mamet that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts� ...

''.

References

External links

* * Station Reporter �
Q Train
* MTA's Arts For Transit �

* The Subway Nut �
Sheepshead Bay Pictures

Sheepshead Bay Road entrance from Google Maps Street View

Voorhies Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Platforms from Google Maps Street View
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, brighton=yes BMT Brighton Line stations New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn New York City Subway stations located aboveground Railway stations in the United States opened in 1907 BMT 1908 establishments in New York City