Jamaica – 179th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

Jamaica – 179th Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Southbound platform. An R160 F train is visible on the southbound local track.
Station statistics
Address 179th Street & Hillside Avenue
Queens, NY 11432
Borough Queens
Locale Jamaica, Jamaica Estates
Coordinates 40°42′45″N 73°47′04″W / 40.712459°N 73.78448°W / 40.712459; -73.78448Coordinates: 40°42′45″N 73°47′04″W / 40.712459°N 73.78448°W / 40.712459; -73.78448
Division B (IND)
Line IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services       E  (rush hours)
      F  (all times)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q17, Q36, Q43, Q76, Q77, X68
MTA Bus: Q110
NICE Bus: n1, n6, n22, n22A, n24, n26
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 island platforms
Tracks 4
Other information
Opened December 11, 1950 (1950-12-11)[1][2]
Accessible
Wireless service [3][4]
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 6,898,938[5] Increase 1.2%
Rank 63 out of 422
Station succession
Next north (Terminal): E  F 
Next south 169th Street (local): F 
Parsons Boulevard (express): E 
Next north none: E  F 
Next south Kew Gardens – Union Turnpike: E  F 

Jamaica – 179th Street is an express terminal station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 179th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, it serves as the northern terminal for the F at all times and a few rush hour E trains. Two of the entrances are located on the corners of Hillside Avenue and Midland Parkway in Jamaica Estates, with a total of 15 entrances to the station.

History

View across the platform showing the intertwined wall design

By April 1937, the IND Queens Boulevard Line had been extended up to 169th Street.[6][7] The 179th Street station (drawn up as 178th Street) had been planned to open around the same time as the rest of the line,[8][9] with tail tracks and switches installed up to the foot of the station at 178th Street,[10][11] but construction had been delayed due to the onset of the Great Depression. When the station plans were revisited in the early 1940s, construction was delayed again due to the onset of World War II.[1] Construction of the station began after the war on May 5, 1946.[1][12][13]

The station opened on December 11, 1950.[1][14] It was the last subway station whose construction was funded by New York City, until the construction of the 34th Street – Hudson Yards station on the 7 Subway Extension beginning in 2008.[15] Upon opening, the station became a major transit hub for passengers from south and east Queens and Nassau County, and led to increased development in Jamaica.[13]

In the 1980s, the station was renovated and modernized.[16][17] The IND-style purple tile band was removed from the station walls, and a design with intertwining blue and orange stripes was added.

Until 1988, 179th Street served as the full-time northern terminal for both Queens Boulevard express services (the E and F trains), which led to congestion at the station.[18] On December 11, 1988, the E service was rerouted to the Archer Avenue Subway.[18] The R was extended full-time to the station to provide additional service until 1990.[19]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/Entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
(Elevator at SE corner of 179th Place and Hillside Avenue)
P
Platform level		 Track 1 ← toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (boarding passengers only) (169th Street)
Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
Track 3 ← toward World Trade Center (boarding passengers, rush hours only) (Parsons Boulevard)
← toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (boarding passengers only) (169th Street)
Track 2 → ( rush hours) termination track →
Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
Track 4 → termination track →
A R46 F train, seen from the termination platform

This underground station looks like a typical express station, with four tracks and two island platforms. To the east (railroad north) is a large storage and relay yard consisting of two levels with four relay tracks each extending out to 185th Street.[10][12][20] This total of eight storage tracks gives 179th Street the highest peak terminal capacity of any station in the New York City Subway: 63 trains per hour, or one train every 57 seconds, although the station currently operates at a far lower throughput (only 20 trains per hour during peak hours). Terminating trains enter on one of the two northbound tracks, then relay to one of the two levels—the upper level if coming from the express track, or the lower level if coming from the local track. They then return on the corresponding track on the southbound side. The few E trains that begin here always leave from the express track and run express along Hillside Avenue; F trains may leave from either track, switching to the local track east of 169th Street if necessary.

The configuration of the relay tracks is evidence of the original plans to build an extension of the Queens Boulevard Line further east into Queens. The line would have continued under Hillside Avenue to Springfield Boulevard and Braddock Avenue (formerly Rocky Hill Road) in Queens Village,[8] with later plans to extend the line to Little Neck Parkway in Bellerose near the Nassau County border.[21] The upper level was to be extended eastward while the lower level tracks were always intended to be relay tracks. The tracks on the upper level are longer than the lower level tracks and the upper level tracks have a wooden partition at the bumper blocks.

The station has beige wall tiles with intertwining blue and orange stripes, representing the two colors of the New York City flag, and the colors of the IND Eighth Avenue and Sixth Avenue lines which serve the station. There are two fare control areas, one full-time between 179th and 180th Streets and one part-time at 178th Street. The two are connected by a full-length mezzanine, which features Our Spectrum of Support artwork by Reginald Polynice, a set of plywood cutout figures appearing to hold up the ceiling of the mezzanine. The station also features a control tower.[1] The station is ADA-accessible via an elevator installed at 179th Place on the north side of Hillside Avenue.[22][23]

The station lies about 3.25 miles (5.23 km) west of the city's border with Nassau County. Until the IND Rockaway Line was opened in 1956, and its Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue terminal was opened in 1958, 179th Street was the closest subway station to Nassau County.[24][25]

Entrances and exits

Stairs at 179th Place

The station has a total of 15 staircase entrances and 1 elevator entrance.[22][23]

Exit location Exit type Number of exits
NE corner of Hillside Avenue and 178th Street Staircase 1
SE corner of Hillside Avenue and 178th Street Staircase 1
North side of Hillside Avenue and 179th Street Staircase 2
SW corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Street Staircase 1
SE corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Street Staircase 1
NE corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Place Staircase 2
SE corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Place Staircase 3
Elevator 1
SW corner of Hillside Avenue and 180th Street Staircase 1
NW corner of Hillside Avenue and Midland Parkway Staircase 1
NE corner of Hillside Avenue and Midland Parkway Staircase 1
SW corner of Hillside Avenue and 181st Street Staircase 1

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "New Subway Link Opening in Queens". nytimes.com. The New York Times. December 12, 1950. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Subway Link Opens Monday". nytimes.com. The New York Times. December 6, 1950. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  3. ↑ NYC Subway Wireless
  4. ↑ More Subway Stations in Manhattan, Bronx in Line to Get Online, mta.info (March 25, 2015). "The first two phases included stations in Midtown Manhattan and all underground stations in Queens with the exception of the 7 Main St terminal."
  5. ↑ "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  6. ↑ "PWA Party Views New Subway Link: Queens Section to Be Opened Tomorrow Is Inspected by Tuttle and Others". nytimes.com. The New York Times. December 30, 1936. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Subway Link Opens Soon: City Line to Jamaica Will Start About April 24". nytimes.com. The New York Times. March 17, 1937. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. 1 2 "QUEENS INTERLACED WITH NEW ARTERIES: New Boulevards, Parks and Parkways Important Factors in Growth of Borough". nytimes.com. The New York Times. May 13, 1928. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Plans to be Drawn for 6th Av. Subway". nytimes.com. The New York Times. April 1, 1935. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Trial Run to Jamaica on Subway Tomorrow: Section From Kew Gardens to 169th Street Will Open to Public in Two Weeks". nytimes.com. The New York Times. April 9, 1937. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Assail Bodies Dealing With Queens Transit: Civics at Mass Rally Ask City Authorities to Better Situation". Newspapers.com. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 15, 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Subway Extension In Queens Is Voted". nytimes.com. The New York Times. August 2, 1946. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  13. 1 2 Joseph B. Raskin (1 November 2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-5369-2. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "www.nycsubway.org". www.nycsubway.org.
  15. ↑ Kelly Weill. "Photos: Inside The New 7 Train Extension". Gothamist. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  16. ↑ Farber, M.A. (August 1, 1984). "TRANSIT SYSTEM IS FACING A TROUBLED FUTURE". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Goldman, Ari L. (April 28, 1983). "M.T.A. MAKING MAJOR ADDITION TO CAPITAL PLAN". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  18. 1 2 Johnson, Kirk (December 9, 1988). "Big Changes For Subways Are to Begin". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Service Changes: September 30, 1990" (PDF). Metropolitan Transit Authority (New York). September 30, 1990. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  20. ↑ Verhovek, Sam Howe (November 21, 1988). "For Shelter, Homeless Take the E Train". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  21. ↑ Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (23 August 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 416–. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
  22. 1 2 "SUBWAY-SIDEWALK INTERFACE PROJECT: 179TH STREET STATION" (PDF). transalt.org. Transportation Alternatives, City of New York, New York City Department of City Planning, New York City Department of Transportation. December 30, 1936. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  23. 1 2 "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Jamaica" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  24. ↑ Freeman, Ira Henry (June 28, 1956). "Rockaway Trains to Operate Today". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "New Subway Unit Ready: Far Rockaway IND Terminal Will Be Opened Today". nytimes.com. The New York Times. January 16, 1958. Retrieved 29 June 2015.

External links

The western end of the lower relay yard. Ramps can be seen going up to platform level.
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