Avenue U station (BMT Brighton Line)

The Avenue U station is a local station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway, located at Avenue U between East 15th and East 16th Streets in Homecrest and Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The station is served by the Q train at all times.[3]

 Avenue U
 "Q" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View from southbound platform
Station statistics
AddressAvenue U & East 16th Street
Brooklyn, New York
BoroughBrooklyn
LocaleHomecrest, Sheepshead Bay
Coordinates40°35′56″N 73°57′21″W / 40.598875°N 73.955841°W / 40.598875; -73.955841
DivisionB (BMT)[1]
LineBMT Brighton Line
Services   Q all times (all times)
TransitBus transport NYCT Bus: B3
StructureEmbankment
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
Opened(surface station): c. 1902
(current station): c. 1908
Opposite-
direction
transfer
Yes
Traffic
2023877,440[2]Increase 11.3%
Rank313 out of 423[2]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
Kings Highway
Local
Neck Road
"B" train does not stop here
Location
Avenue U station (BMT Brighton Line) is located in New York City Subway
Avenue U station (BMT Brighton Line)
Avenue U station (BMT Brighton Line) is located in New York City
Avenue U station (BMT Brighton Line)
Avenue U station (BMT Brighton Line) is located in New York
Avenue U station (BMT Brighton Line)
Track layout

Street map

Map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times

History

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The original station was opened on the surface Brighton Beach Railroad at Avenue U near East 15th Street, c.1902, coincident with the building of the community of Homecrest, It was closed during elevation of the Brighton Line and the current station opened around 1908.

On August 1, 1920, a tunnel under Flatbush Avenue opened, connecting the Brighton Line to the Broadway subway in Manhattan.[4][5] At the same time, the line's former track connections to the Fulton Street Elevated were severed. Subway trains from Manhattan and elevated trains from Franklin Avenue served Brighton Line stations, sharing the line to Coney Island.[5][6]

It underwent more recent reconstruction from December 2008 to January 2010. Both platforms were rebuilt with new windscreens, canopies, and tactile strip edges.[7]

Station layout

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Platform level Side platform
Northbound local   toward 96th Street (Kings Highway)
Northbound express   does not stop here
Southbound express   does not stop here →
Southbound local   toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Neck Road)
Side platform
Ground Street level Entrances/exits, station building and agent, MetroCard and OMNY vending machines

The station is located on a raised earthen embankment. There are four tracks and two side platforms. The two center tracks are used by the B express train on weekdays.[8]

Both platforms have beige windscreens with green outlines and frames along their entire lengths and red canopies with green frames in the center. The station signs are in the standard black plates in white lettering and lamp posts are on all support columns of the windscreens in the non-canopied areas. The Coney Island-bound platform has a storage area above the mezzanine staircase.

The 2011 artwork here is called Brooklyn Wildfires by Jason Middlebrook and Miotto Mosaic Art Studio. It is installed on the walls of the Coney Island-bound platform's staircase and consists of ceramic tiling and glass mosaic depicting various species of wildflowers.

Exit

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The station has one ground-level station house directly underneath the tracks and platforms on the north side of Avenue U. It has a token booth, turnstile bank, and double-wide staircase going up to the Coney Island-bound platform and two standard width staircases to the Manhattan-bound one. The Coney Island-bound staircase landing splits below a landing, one side leading to the station house and the other bypassing it with two exit-only turnstiles leading directly to the sidewalk. The Coney Island-bound platform also has a metal door leading to a closed staircase that goes down to the north side of Avenue U.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "Q Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "New Subway Link Opens; Service Started Through Queens and Montague Street Tubes". The New York Times. August 1, 1920. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Montague Street Tube, Brighton Subway Operation Begun". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 1, 1920. p. 53. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Randy (September 30, 2003). "Tunnel Vision; Short Line. Small Train. Little Graffiti". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  7. ^ "Press Release - NYC Transit - Temporary Loss of Brighton Line Express". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  8. ^ Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Midwood" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
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Artwork by Jason Middlebrook