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DeKalb Avenue (BMT Broadway Line)
Encyclopedia
DeKalb Avenue is a local station
shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line
and the BMT Brighton Line
of the New York City Subway
, located at the intersection of DeKalb
and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn
. It is served by the Q
train at all times, the R
train at all times except late nights, the B
train on weekdays and the D
and N
trains during late nights.
s between the two outer pairs of tracks. The two center tracks bypass the station and are used by the D and N trains during daytime hours. B, Q, and late night D trains stop at the outermost tracks, R and late night N trains stop at the inner platform tracks. The platform columns are painted red on their lower halves and cream on their upper halves.
North of the station, the outer and bypass tracks head towards the Manhattan Bridge
with a flying junction
that allows trains to use either the north side of the bridge (via the Chrystie Street Connection
to the IND Sixth Avenue Line
) (B
and D
trains) or the south side of the bridge (to the BMT Broadway Line
) (N
and Q
trains). The middle tracks continue north along the BMT Fourth Avenue Line
into the Montague Street Tunnel
towards the BMT Broadway Line
(late night N
and R
trains) or BMT Nassau Street Line
(currently unused in regular service).
South of the station, the bypass tracks become the express tracks on the Fourth Avenue Line (daytime D
and N
trains). The four remaining tracks become six tracks at a flying junction
. (Detailed view of current track layout) Trains headed south on the tunnel tracks or outer tracks proceed to the Brighton Line (B
and Q
trains) or switches from those two tracks provide the route to the local tracks of the Fourth Avenue Line (D
, N
and R
trains). In the current service pattern, the tunnel route is not used for Brighton Line trains.
Since it opened, DeKalb Avenue has been a major transfer point between BMT services, with the lines splitting north and south of the station. Platform extensions were built into a curve south of the station in 1927 to allow for longer trains. They were closed and replaced by straight extensions to the north in 1960. The abandoned portions can be seen from the open platforms and trains.
The station has a shortened mezzanine
because room was needed for a proposed Lafayette Avenue line. The subway connection was never built. North of this station, near the Manhattan Bridge
, there is a provision for a never-built loop back to southern Brooklyn without crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Manhattan. Bellmouths for the unbuilt loop are visible from passing trains. South of this station, a junction was built at Fulton Street for a never-built branch to run via Lafayette Ave and Broadway.
bank is a token booth, a single street stair to the southwest corner of DeKalb Avenue and the Flatbush Avenue extension built inside a store front, and two staircases that meet at their landings and an elevator that go up to the southeast corner outside an Applebee's
restaurant.
The other entrance/exit is at the station's extreme north end and unstaffed. An up-only escalator and long staircase from each platform goes up to a mezzanine above the tracks. Two pairs of exit-only turnstiles and one set of three HEET
turnstiles provide entrance/exit from the system. This entrance has two street stairs, one to Albee Square on the west side of Flatbush Avenue and the other to Fleet Street on the east side outside Long Island University
.
The center of the platforms has a crossunder that connects them both. Both fare control areas feature a 2005 artwork called DeKalb Improvisation by Stephen Johnson. It consists of a large mural in the main fare control area and several smaller ones in the secondary one.
north of the station that had caused a switching bottleneck. A station at Myrtle Avenue
was closed as part of the renovation.
As originally configured, the extreme outside tracks in each direction hosted the Fourth Avenue Line local tracks and the next pair hosted the Brighton Line. The middle tracks, which bypassed the station, hosted the Fourth Avenue express tracks. A group of level crossovers at the northern end of the station allowed all tracks access to both sides of the Manhattan Bridge
and to the Montague Street Tunnel
.
Prior to the DeKalb Av track realignments in the late 1950s/early 1960s, the Fourth Avenue local tracks actually straight railed to the Manhattan Bridge. The alignment of the Brighton line tracks led into the present B2 tunnel track in the DeKalb Avenue station and the bypass. During the reconstruction, the Brighton tracks to the bypass were realigned directly into Dekalb and current A3 and A4 bridge tracks were added to the outside of the former subway infrastructure.
The current configuration was started in 1956 and completed in April 1961. (Detailed view of current track layout) All switches immediately north of the station were eliminated. The junction towards the Manhattan Bridge
was rebuilt. To make room for a new flying junction
, the Myrtle Avenue station
was closed. That station's northbound platform remains visible from passing trains, but the southbound platform was demolished.
The Chrystie Street Connection
project was also tied to this improvement, as it resulted in more trains using the bridge. Over the years, as more of the business community shifted to midtown, the slower tunnel route became less popular, and it is now the least used of the three northbound routing options.
An earlier plan called the Ashland Place Connection would have allowed trains on the elevated BMT Fulton Street Line to run into the subway through DeKalb Avenue, making the bottleneck even worse. This was not built, in part because the city was more interested in building its own system, the IND
. However, a whole new subway was also planned, splitting from this line and heading under the East River
to the BMT Broadway Line
at City Hall
. This plan was considered in various forms between late 1916 and 1926.
The DeKalb Avenue station was built with provisions for a possible track connection to Nevins Street
on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line
; see that page for details.
Dekalb Avenue received another overhaul in the 1970s where the station's structure and over all appearance were improved. The MTA fixed and replaced wall tiles, old signs, and incandescent lighting to the 70's modern look wall tiles, signs and fluorescent lights. Staircases and platform edges were also fixed.
The latest major overhaul was in 2004–2006. The station was repaired as well as upgraded for ADA-accessibility
. The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiled the walls, added new tiles to the floors, upgraded the station's lights and public address system, installed ADA yellow safety threads along the platform edge and replaced the trackbeds for all trains entering or bypassing the station. It also installed elevators on both platforms, as well as elevators to the street level.
Metro station
A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....
shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line
BMT Fourth Avenue Line
The Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. Fourth Avenue never had a streetcar line or elevated railway due to the provisions of the assessment charged to neighboring property owners when the street...
and the BMT Brighton Line
BMT Brighton Line
The BMT Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of 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. The Q is joined by the B express train on weekdays...
of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
, located at the intersection of DeKalb
DeKalb Avenue
DeKalb Avenue is a street in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the majority of its length in Brooklyn. It runs from Woodward Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens to Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn...
and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. It is served by the Q
Q (New York City Subway service)
The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign, on station signs and the official subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
train at all times, the R
R (New York City Subway service)
The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan.The R service operates at all times...
train at all times except late nights, the B
B (New York City Subway service)
The B Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs over the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan....
train on weekdays and the D
D (New York City Subway service)
The D Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line through Manhattan....
and N
N (New York City Subway service)
The N Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. Its route bullet is colored yellow, which appears on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
trains during late nights.
Description
This underground station, opened on June 19, 1915 and completed on August 1, 1920, has six tracks with island platformIsland platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
s between the two outer pairs of tracks. The two center tracks bypass the station and are used by the D and N trains during daytime hours. B, Q, and late night D trains stop at the outermost tracks, R and late night N trains stop at the inner platform tracks. The platform columns are painted red on their lower halves and cream on their upper halves.
North of the station, the outer and bypass tracks head towards the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
with a flying junction
Flying junction
A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "grade-separated junction"...
that allows trains to use either the north side of the bridge (via the Chrystie Street Connection
Chrystie Street Connection
The Chrystie Street Connection is a major connecting line of the New York City Subway, and is one of the few connections between lines of the BMT and IND divisions...
to the IND Sixth Avenue Line
IND Sixth Avenue Line
The Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south through the Rutgers Street Tunnel to Brooklyn...
) (B
B (New York City Subway service)
The B Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs over the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan....
and D
D (New York City Subway service)
The D Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line through Manhattan....
trains) or the south side of the bridge (to the BMT Broadway Line
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. , it is served by three services, all colored yellow: the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks...
) (N
N (New York City Subway service)
The N Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. Its route bullet is colored yellow, which appears on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
and Q
Q (New York City Subway service)
The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign, on station signs and the official subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
trains). The middle tracks continue north along the BMT Fourth Avenue Line
BMT Fourth Avenue Line
The Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. Fourth Avenue never had a streetcar line or elevated railway due to the provisions of the assessment charged to neighboring property owners when the street...
into the Montague Street Tunnel
Montague Street Tunnel
The Montague Street Tunnel carries the trains of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It opened to revenue service on Sunday, August 1, 1920 at 2 am with a holiday schedule, the same day as the 60th Street Tunnel. Regular service began...
towards the BMT Broadway Line
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. , it is served by three services, all colored yellow: the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks...
(late night N
N (New York City Subway service)
The N Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. Its route bullet is colored yellow, which appears on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
and R
R (New York City Subway service)
The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan.The R service operates at all times...
trains) or BMT Nassau Street Line
BMT Nassau Street Line
The BMT Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system in Manhattan. It is served by the and trains which are colored brown on maps and signage...
(currently unused in regular service).
South of the station, the bypass tracks become the express tracks on the Fourth Avenue Line (daytime D
D (New York City Subway service)
The D Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line through Manhattan....
and N
N (New York City Subway service)
The N Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. Its route bullet is colored yellow, which appears on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
trains). The four remaining tracks become six tracks at a flying junction
Flying junction
A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "grade-separated junction"...
. (Detailed view of current track layout) Trains headed south on the tunnel tracks or outer tracks proceed to the Brighton Line (B
B (New York City Subway service)
The B Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs over the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan....
and Q
Q (New York City Subway service)
The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign, on station signs and the official subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
trains) or switches from those two tracks provide the route to the local tracks of the Fourth Avenue Line (D
D (New York City Subway service)
The D Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line through Manhattan....
, N
N (New York City Subway service)
The N Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. Its route bullet is colored yellow, which appears on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
and R
R (New York City Subway service)
The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan.The R service operates at all times...
trains). In the current service pattern, the tunnel route is not used for Brighton Line trains.
Since it opened, DeKalb Avenue has been a major transfer point between BMT services, with the lines splitting north and south of the station. Platform extensions were built into a curve south of the station in 1927 to allow for longer trains. They were closed and replaced by straight extensions to the north in 1960. The abandoned portions can be seen from the open platforms and trains.
The station has a shortened mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
because room was needed for a proposed Lafayette Avenue line. The subway connection was never built. North of this station, near the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
, there is a provision for a never-built loop back to southern Brooklyn without crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Manhattan. Bellmouths for the unbuilt loop are visible from passing trains. South of this station, a junction was built at Fulton Street for a never-built branch to run via Lafayette Ave and Broadway.
Entrances/Exits
This station has two entrances/exits. The full-time one is near the extreme south end and has two staircases and one elevator from each platform that go up to a waiting area above the platforms and tracks that contains two restrooms open from 5:00 a.m. to midnight. Outside of the turnstileTurnstile
A turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. It can also be made so as to enforce one-way traffic of people, and in addition, it can restrict passage only to people who insert a coin, a ticket, a pass, or similar...
bank is a token booth, a single street stair to the southwest corner of DeKalb Avenue and the Flatbush Avenue extension built inside a store front, and two staircases that meet at their landings and an elevator that go up to the southeast corner outside an Applebee's
Applebee's
Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...
restaurant.
The other entrance/exit is at the station's extreme north end and unstaffed. An up-only escalator and long staircase from each platform goes up to a mezzanine above the tracks. Two pairs of exit-only turnstiles and one set of three HEET
Heet
Heet or HEET may refer to*HEET, High Entrance/Exit Turnstile*Iso-HEET, a brand of isopropanol antifreeze produced by Gold Eagle*Hīt, a city in Iraq...
turnstiles provide entrance/exit from the system. This entrance has two street stairs, one to Albee Square on the west side of Flatbush Avenue and the other to Fleet Street on the east side outside Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
.
The center of the platforms has a crossunder that connects them both. Both fare control areas feature a 2005 artwork called DeKalb Improvisation by Stephen Johnson. It consists of a large mural in the main fare control area and several smaller ones in the secondary one.
History
The station has been reconfigured a number of times. The current configuration dates from a 1956–61 reconstruction project to straighten the platforms and eliminate a level junctionLevel junction
In U.S. railroad practice, a level junction is a railway junction that has a track configuration in which merging or crossing railroad lines provide track connections with each other that require trains to cross over in front of opposing traffic at grade In U.S. railroad practice, a level junction...
north of the station that had caused a switching bottleneck. A station at Myrtle Avenue
Myrtle Avenue (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
Myrtle Avenue is an abandoned local station on the Manhattan Bridge subway tracks south of the bridge in Brooklyn, New York City, United States...
was closed as part of the renovation.
As originally configured, the extreme outside tracks in each direction hosted the Fourth Avenue Line local tracks and the next pair hosted the Brighton Line. The middle tracks, which bypassed the station, hosted the Fourth Avenue express tracks. A group of level crossovers at the northern end of the station allowed all tracks access to both sides of the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
and to the Montague Street Tunnel
Montague Street Tunnel
The Montague Street Tunnel carries the trains of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It opened to revenue service on Sunday, August 1, 1920 at 2 am with a holiday schedule, the same day as the 60th Street Tunnel. Regular service began...
.
Prior to the DeKalb Av track realignments in the late 1950s/early 1960s, the Fourth Avenue local tracks actually straight railed to the Manhattan Bridge. The alignment of the Brighton line tracks led into the present B2 tunnel track in the DeKalb Avenue station and the bypass. During the reconstruction, the Brighton tracks to the bypass were realigned directly into Dekalb and current A3 and A4 bridge tracks were added to the outside of the former subway infrastructure.
The current configuration was started in 1956 and completed in April 1961. (Detailed view of current track layout) All switches immediately north of the station were eliminated. The junction towards the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
was rebuilt. To make room for a new flying junction
Flying junction
A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "grade-separated junction"...
, the Myrtle Avenue station
Myrtle Avenue (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
Myrtle Avenue is an abandoned local station on the Manhattan Bridge subway tracks south of the bridge in Brooklyn, New York City, United States...
was closed. That station's northbound platform remains visible from passing trains, but the southbound platform was demolished.
The Chrystie Street Connection
Chrystie Street Connection
The Chrystie Street Connection is a major connecting line of the New York City Subway, and is one of the few connections between lines of the BMT and IND divisions...
project was also tied to this improvement, as it resulted in more trains using the bridge. Over the years, as more of the business community shifted to midtown, the slower tunnel route became less popular, and it is now the least used of the three northbound routing options.
An earlier plan called the Ashland Place Connection would have allowed trains on the elevated BMT Fulton Street Line to run into the subway through DeKalb Avenue, making the bottleneck even worse. This was not built, in part because the city was more interested in building its own system, the IND
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System , formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway...
. However, a whole new subway was also planned, splitting from this line and heading under the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
to the BMT Broadway Line
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. , it is served by three services, all colored yellow: the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks...
at City Hall
City Hall (BMT Broadway Line)
City Hall is a local station on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. It is served by the R train at all times except late nights and by the N train during late night hours...
. This plan was considered in various forms between late 1916 and 1926.
The DeKalb Avenue station was built with provisions for a possible track connection to Nevins Street
Nevins Street (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)
Nevins Street is an express station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue, Fulton Street and Nevins Street in Brooklyn, it is served by the 2 and 4 trains at all times, the 3 train at all times except late nights, and the 5 train...
on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line
IRT Eastern Parkway Line
IRT Eastern Parkway Line and New Lots Line can refer to:* IRT Eastern Parkway Line* IRT New Lots Line...
; see that page for details.
Station overhaul
After the 1961 reconstruction period, some adjustments were made to the station. In the late 1960s, the station platforms were extended northward at least 150 feet to accommodate for a 600 foot long train. It also added new 60's modern look tiling.Dekalb Avenue received another overhaul in the 1970s where the station's structure and over all appearance were improved. The MTA fixed and replaced wall tiles, old signs, and incandescent lighting to the 70's modern look wall tiles, signs and fluorescent lights. Staircases and platform edges were also fixed.
The latest major overhaul was in 2004–2006. The station was repaired as well as upgraded for ADA-accessibility
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
. The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiled the walls, added new tiles to the floors, upgraded the station's lights and public address system, installed ADA yellow safety threads along the platform edge and replaced the trackbeds for all trains entering or bypassing the station. It also installed elevators on both platforms, as well as elevators to the street level.
External links
- Station Reporter — B Train
- Station Reporter — Q Train
- Station Reporter — R Train
- The Subway Nut — DeKalb Avenue Pictures
- MTA's Arts For Transit — DeKalb Avenue (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
- DeKalb Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
- Fleet Street entrance from Google Maps Street View