Crown Heights–Utica Avenue station

Crown Heights–Utica Avenue is an express station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line of the New York City Subway. Located under Eastern Parkway near Utica Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, it is served by the 4 train at all times and the 3 train at all times except late nights. There is also limited rush hour 2 and 5 services here.

Crown Heights–Utica Avenue  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Utica Avenue & Eastern Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11213
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Crown Heights
Coordinates	40.668758°N 73.931208°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services	2  (limited rush hour service in the peak direction) ​   3  (all except late nights) ​   4  (all times) ​   5  (limited rush hour service only)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B14, B17, B45, B46, B46 SBS
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	2 island platforms (1 on each level) cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Other information
Opened	August 23, 1920
Station code	345[1]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2019	7,933,008[2]  0.2%
Rank	44 out of 424[2]
Station succession
Next north	Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College (express): 4  ​5  Kingston Avenue (local): 2  ​3  ​4  ​5
Next south	Sutter Avenue–Rutland Road: 2  ​3  ​4  (Terminal): 4  ​5
Location
Track layout Upper level E1 E2 from Franklin Av from Kingston Av to lower level to lower level to Sutter Av–Rutland Rd Lower level E4 E3 to Franklin Av to Kingston Av from upper level from upper level
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

Despite its name, this station has no exit to the corner of Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway. It is actually located between Schenectady and Utica Avenues and the two exits lead to the middle of the block, several feet from the actual cross street.

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control Elevator at northwest corner of Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway, in Eastern Parkway median
B2	Southbound express	→ termination track → → toward New Lots Avenue (select rush hour trips) (Sutter Avenue–Rutland Road) → → termination track (select rush hour trips) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	→ ( late nights) toward New Lots Avenue (Sutter Avenue–Rutland Road) → → toward New Lots Avenue (select rush hour trips) (Sutter Avenue–Rutland Road) →
B3	Northbound express	← toward Woodlawn (Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College) ← toward Dyre Avenue or Nereid Avenue (select rush hour trips) (Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College)
	Island platform
	Northbound local	← toward 148th Street (Kingston Avenue) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (Kingston Avenue) ← toward 241st Street (select rush hour trips) (Kingston Avenue)

The station was opened on August 23, 1920. The station serves local and express trains in a two-level layout with two island platforms. The upper platform serves southbound trains, with local tracks to the west and express tracks to the east, and the lower platform serves northbound trains with a similar configuration.[3] This is the easternmost underground and four-track subway station on the Eastern Parkway Line; to the east (railroad south) of here, the local tracks rises and become the IRT New Lots Line, while the express tracks end at bumper blocks just under Ralph Avenue. Diamond crossover tracks exist west (railroad north) of the station for northbound trains and east for southbound trains. Another diamond crossover, east of here, connects the southbound express track to a ramp down to the lower level. Trains descending the ramp can access either the local or express track.[3]

Elevator to platforms

There is an active tower at the south end of the platform while a closed one exists on the east of the lower level.

In 1981, the MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.[4]

Exits

The station's two exits are located at either end. The one on the west (railroad north) is staffed weekdays only and accessed via a wide staircase in place of the end wall of the New Lots Avenue-bound platform. This staircase leads up to a small mezzanine where there is a token booth and turnstiles. When the booth and turnstile bank are closed, three HEET turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile provide access to/from the entrance. The two street staircases lead out to the two malls on either side of the main road of Eastern Parkway on the west side of Schenectady Avenue.[5]

The station's full-time exit is at the east end (railroad south) of the platforms. Two narrow staircases and one elevator connect both platforms to a small upper level mezzanine that has two public restrooms (one for men and the other for women) and leads to a bank of turnstiles. The two street stairs here lead to either mall of Eastern Parkway west of Utica Avenue. Another elevator from the south mall leads to fare control.[5]

Design

On the New Lots Avenue-bound platform, the track walls have a section of yellow-orange tiles beneath the trim-line and another line of yellow tiles on the bottom of the tiled portions. The I-beams and other steel work along the track walls are painted in dark blue. The Manhattan-bound platform has its metalwork painted in golden yellow and the tiles beneath the trim line in dark blue. In the station, there are ornate doors in the tile walls which serve as vent chambers.

Detail of Good Morning and Good Night artwork

The 2004 artwork here is called Good Morning and Good Night by Hugo Consuegra.[6] It contains ceramic tiles of the sun and moon on the platform walls.

Provisions for expansion

Extensions of the IRT subway east or south the station have been proposed since the line's planning in the 1910s, which included terminating the line at Buffalo Avenue just east of the station, or extending the line down Utica Avenue towards Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U near Kings Plaza. The Utica Avenue extension in particular has been proposed several times as part of the New York City Transit Authority's 1968 expansion proposals, in older pre-unification plans, and in the competing pre-unification expansion plans of the Independent Subway System (IND).[7][8][9][10][11] Just east of this station, a bellmouth splits away from the local track on both levels, and curves south. This was built into the station as a provision for the proposed Utica Avenue Line, which is why the station itself has no exits to Utica Avenue.[12] In 2015, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his proposal for an extension of the 3 and 4 trains down Utica Avenue.[13]

Notes

References

1. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
2. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
3. "www.nycsubway.org: New York City Subway Track Maps". www.nycsubway.org. October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
4. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
5. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Crown Heights" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
6. "Artwork: Good Morning, Good Night (Hugo Consuegra)". Retrieved October 5, 2019.
7. Raskin, Joseph B. (2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. New York, New York: Fordham University Press. doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823253692.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-82325-369-2.
8. "1968 NYCTA Expansion Plans (Picture)". Second Avenue Sagas. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
9. "MTA Program for Action". thejoekorner.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
10. "Transit Outlook Bright in Brooklyn: First Branch Lines on Assessment Plan Likely to be Built in That Borough" (PDF). The New York Times. March 6, 1910. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
11. Prial, Frank J. (October 31, 1971). "Brooklyn Bemoans Its Ancient Subways". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
12. Taft, Lyman W. (October 13, 1954). "Finds Many Unused Subway Tunnels Under City Streets". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 24. Retrieved October 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (April 22, 2015). "Mayor de Blasio Revives Plan for a Utica Avenue Subway Line". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2019.

External links

• nycsubway.org – Brooklyn IRT : Utica Avenue
• Station Reporter — 3 Train
• Station Reporter — 4 Train
• The Subway Nut — Crown Heights–Utica Avenue Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Crown Heights–Utica Avenue (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)
• Utica Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Schenectady Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• "Platform from Google Maps Street View". Retrieved October 5, 2019.