Cypress Hills station

Cypress Hills is a skip-stop station on the BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway, located on Jamaica Avenue in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of northeastern Brooklyn. It is served by the J train at all times. The Z train skips this station when it operates.

Cypress Hills
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View from the northbound platform with an R42 J train
Station statistics
Address	Hemlock Street & Jamaica Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11208
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Cypress Hills
Coordinates	40°41′23″N 73°52′23″W
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Jamaica Line BMT Lexington Avenue Line (formerly)
Services	J  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B13, Q56
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	May 30, 1893[1]
Rebuilt	May 28, 1917[2]
Station code	086[3]
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Cypress Hills Cemetery City Line
Traffic
2019	420,647[4]  2.3%
Rank	413 out of 424[4]
Station succession
Next north	75th Street – Elderts Lane: J  (J  skips to 85th Street – Forest Parkway)
Next south	Crescent Street: J
Location
Track layout to 75 St to Crescent St
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops all times

History

This station was opened on May 30, 1893 as part of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad's four stop extension of the Lexington Avenue Line to Cypress Hills.[1] The original Cypress Hills station had two tracks and one island platform and was located along Crescent Street, reaching the cemetery. This station was the terminal for both the Jamaica Line and the BMT Lexington Avenue Line when it opened.[5] It formerly had an island platform and stub-end located directly along Crescent Street just south of Jamaica Avenue that can still be seen approaching the cemetery east of the station.[1]

The rebuilt station was constructed under the Dual Contracts and was opened on May 28, 1917.[2] The rebuilt station has two tracks and two side platforms. The removal of the island platform resulted in a space between the tracks. This space would allow for an express third track, but one was never built.

Lexington Avenue Line service terminated in October 1950, but Jamaica Line trains continued to serve the station.

Station layout

P Platform level	Side platform
	Westbound local	← toward Broad Street (Crescent Street) ← does not stop here
	Peak-direction express	No track or roadbed
	Eastbound local	→ toward Jamaica Center (85th Street–Forest Parkway PM rush, 75th Street-Elderts Lane other times) → → does not stop here →
	Side platform
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
G	Street level	Entrances/exits

South end of northbound platform

This is the northernmost station in Brooklyn on the BMT Jamaica Line, since the next stop, 75th Street–Elderts Lane, is in Queens. Both platforms have beige windscreens and green canopies with brown roofs that run along the entire length. Just west of this station are two sharp curves that trains must navigate at less than 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). For this reason, a train must take more time to transverse this section than other sections of the line.

The 1990 artwork here is called Five Points of Observation, by Kathleen McCarthy. It affords a view of the street from the platforms and resembles a face when seen from the street. This artwork is also located in four other stations on the Jamaica Line.

Exits

The station's main entrance is at the south end. A single staircase from each platform leads to an elevated station house beneath the tracks. Inside are three turnstiles and a token booth. Outside of fare control, two street stairs lead to the corners of Hemlock and Crescent Streets.[6]

On the north end of each platform, a single staircase leads to a landing outside of a now closed station house. On the Queens-bound platform, a single exit-only turnstile provides exit from the system and a street stair perpendicular to the line leads to Autumn Avenue, which ends at Jamaica Avenue.[6] The exit on the Manhattan-bound platform was closed, and the street stair was removed.

References

1. "Trains Running This Morning The Elevated Road to Cypress Hills Still in Operation". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 30, 1893. p. 10. Retrieved October 2, 2016 – via Brooklyn Newspapers.
2. • "TO OPEN JAMAICA AV. LINE.; Nearly Two and a Half Miles Ready for Operation Tonight" (May 27, 1917). New York Times Company. May 27, 1917. p. 24. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
   • "Jamaica Avenue 'L' is an Old Story Already" (PDF) (May 31, 1917). Leader Observer (Queens/Brooklyn, NY). May 31, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
   • Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York, Volume 1. New York State Public Service Commission. January 15, 1918. pp. 73, 81, 312–314. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
3. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
4. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
5. http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?113358
6. • "MTA Neighborhood Maps: East New York" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
   • "MTA Neighborhood Map: Woodhaven" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Jamaica Line: Cypress Hills
• Station Reporter — J Train
• The Subway Nut — Cypress Hills Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Cypress Hills (BMT Jamaica Line)
• Crescent Street and Hemlock Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Autumn Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View