Jamaica–179th Street station

Jamaica–179th Street is an express terminal station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located under Hillside Avenue at 179th Street in Jamaica, Queens, it is served by the F train at all times, the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction, and a few rush-hour E trains. The station has 15 entrances, including two at Midland Parkway in Jamaica Estates.

 Jamaica–179 Street
 ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Manhattan-bound platform. An R160 F train is visible on the Manhattan-bound local track.
Station statistics
Address179th Street & Hillside Avenue
Queens, NY 11432
BoroughQueens
LocaleJamaica, Jamaica Estates
Coordinates40.712459°N 73.78448°W / 40.712459; -73.78448
DivisionB (IND)
LineIND Queens Boulevard Line
Services   E  (limited rush-hour service)
​   F  (all times) <F>  (two rush hour trains, peak direction)
Transit NYCT Bus: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q17, Q36, Q43, Q76, Q77, X68
MTA Bus: Q110
NICE Bus: n1, n6, n6X, n22, n22X, n24, n26
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedDecember 11, 1950 (1950-12-11)[1][2]
Station code254[3]
Accessible ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer		N/A
Traffic
20196,262,449[4]  0.1%
Rank66 out of 424[4]
Station succession
Next north(Terminal): E  ​F  <F>
Next south169th Street (local): F  <F> ​
Parsons Boulevard (express): E 

Jamaica–179th Street was opened on December 11, 1950, although it had been planned to be built at 178th Street as early as 1928. At the time, the Queens Boulevard Line was part of the Independent Subway System (IND), but the original IND plans did not provide for constructing the 178th Street station until the line was extended even further to Queens Village. The line opened to 169th Street, the next station west, in 1937. Various changes in plans, as well as material shortages due to the Great Depression and World War II, delayed the project until 1946. Jamaica–179th Street became among Queens' busiest upon its 1950 opening. After a period of deterioration, the station was renovated twice, in the 1980s and the 2000s. As a result of planning for a never-built expansion to Queens Village, the station has 8 storage tracks to its east, giving it the highest peak capacity of any New York City Subway station.

History

The 179th Street station (drawn up as 178th Street) had been planned along with the rest of the IND Queens Boulevard Line as its original terminus as early as 1928.[5][6][7][8] In December 1930,[8] however, it was planned to construct stations only up to 169th Street, with tail tracks and switches installed up to the foot of the station at 178th Street, along with a provision for the station. The tracks ended at bumper blocks, and the tunnel at a bulkhead.[6][9] Under these plans, the 178th Street station would be built during a further eastward extension.[10] The Queens Boulevard Line was extended up to 169th Street on April 24, 1937, with the tail tracks and switches used to store and reverse trains. The 169th Street station provided an unsatisfactory terminal setup for a four-track line: there were no storage facilities provided at the 169th Street station, and since 169th Street was a local station, trains on the outer local tracks had to cross over to the inner express tracks to reverse direction.[11][12][13]

Calls from the local community to build a new station at 178th Street occurred as early as 1932; several of these requests came from the Jamaica Estates Association.[8][10][14] In June 1936, the association petitioned Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia for the extension.[14][15] As early as 1936, the New York City Board of Transportation (predecessor to the New York City Transit Authority and the MTA) was evaluating construction of the station along with further eastward extensions of the line, with the board's 1940 budget allocating funding for the station.[16][17][18] Under the 1940 plans, construction of the station was set to take place between 1941 and 1945.[19] In January 1941, city councilman James A. Burke proposed extending the line to 178th Street, in order to relieve congestion at 169th Street. Burke believed that a station could be built within the existing tunnel and trackage and cost only $100,000, while engineers from the Board of Transportation stated it would require additional tunneling and new relay tracks extending to 184th Street.[20] In July 1941, the Board of Transportation requested funding for a new express terminal station to replace 169th Street.[21] Construction was delayed, however, due to material shortages caused by the Great Depression, and further delayed due to the onset of World War II.[1][22]

The plans for the station were approved after the war in 1946, in order to "provide a more satisfactory terminal" for the line.[13][18][23] A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 5, 1947, at 182nd Street and Hillside Avenue, with Mayor William O'Dwyer and now-borough president Burke in attendance.[24] A bus terminal accompanying the station, similar to the 165th Street Bus Terminal, was initially planned for the station but never built.[25][26] The station opened on December 11, 1950, at the cost of over $10 million; Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri and Queens Borough President Maurice A. FitzGerald attended the opening.[1][25][27] 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.[28] 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.[22] By 1959, the station was the busiest in Queens.[29]

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

In 1981, the MTA listed the 179th Street station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.[30] Later in the 1980s, the station was renovated and modernized; as part of the renovation, the IND-style purple tile band was removed from the station walls, and a design with intertwining blue and orange stripes was added.[31][32] During a further upgrade that occurred by about 2000, elevators were installed in the station to make it ADA-accessible.[33][34] The elevators were opened around 2005.[35] Starting in August 2007, the MTA began installing decorative ventilation grates along Hillside Avenue above the station, and sealing other grates, both in order to combat flooding. At the time, the Hillside Avenue subway was considered the most flood-prone area in the subway system.[36]

Service history

Initially, E trains served the station at all times, while F trains only operated to the station during late nights.[1][27] In 1951, F trains were extended to 179th Street during the day as well.[37]

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,[38] until December 11, 1988, when the E was rerouted to the Archer Avenue Subway.[38] The R served the station from 1988 to 1992, but only provided rush-hour service after 1990.[39]

Since 2001, limited rush hour E train service terminates at this station due to capacity constraints at Jamaica Center, as well as to provide direct rush hour express service along Hillside Avenue. The station sees a total of 14 rush hour trains on weekdays; four originating and three terminating at this station during the a.m. rush, and three originating and four terminating at the station during the p.m. rush.[40][41][42]

Station layout
G Street level Exit/entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
Elevator at southeast corner of 179th Place and Hillside Avenue
P
Platform level		 Track 1 ← toward Coney Island (169th Street)
Island platform
Track 3 ← toward Coney Island (169th Street)
← toward World Trade Center (select weekday trips) (Parsons Boulevard)
Track 4 → termination track →
→ termination track (select weekday trips) →
Island platform
Track 2 → termination track →
Mosaics directing to the Monastery and Retreat House
View across the platform showing the intertwined wall design

This underground station looks like a typical express station, with four tracks and two island platforms.[43] To the east (railroad north) is a large storage and relay yard consisting of two levels with four relay tracks each,[44] extending approximately .25 miles (0.40 km)[45] to around 184th Place.[lower-alpha 1][44][48]:923, 1597 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 17–18 trains per hour during peak hours).[lower-alpha 2][49][50] 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.[44] They then return on the corresponding track on the southbound side.[52] Due to the switching configuration at the station, 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.[52] Outside of relay operations, the yard provides storage for four trains.[46] It is estimated that the relay tracks east of the station can fit about 600 passenger automobiles.[47]

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 (both formerly Rocky Hill Road) in Queens Village,[5][17] with later plans to extend the line to Little Neck Parkway in Bellerose near the Nassau County border.[53] The upper level was to be extended eastward while the lower level tracks were always intended to be relay tracks.[44][54] 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.[44][54]

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.[55] There are two fare control areas. The full-time area at the east end of the station, between 179th and 180th Streets, has a token booth and a bank of 12 turnstiles and two high-exit-only turnstiles.[43] The part-time exit at 178th Street contains a nine-turnstile bank, two high exit entrance turnstiles (HEETs), and two high exit turnstiles.[43] The two ends are connected by a full-length mezzanine,[43][47] 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.[56] 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.[33][57]

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,[58] and until the 1958 opening of the line's Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue terminal (which is about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the city's border with Nassau County[59]), 179th Street was the closest subway station to Nassau County.[60] New York Magazine described the station's location as being in "a neighborhood so outer-borough it might as well be in another state"—namely, one of "hip-hop’s fertile crescents" where rappers 50 Cent and Ja Rule grew up.[61]

Entrances and exits
Unusual to the subway system, some of the 16 entrances, like this one at 179th Place, have a canopy over them.[33][43]
Stairs at Midland Parkway near Jamaica Estates
Elevator at 179th Place

The station has a total of 15 staircase entrances and 1 elevator entrance.[33][43][57] There are seven full-time entrances at four locations (consisting of six stairs and one elevator), which are indicated in green, and nine other part-time entrances, which are indicated in red.[33]

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

Nearby points of interest

The childhood home of U.S. President Donald Trump, located at 85-15 Wareham Place, is a few blocks away from the Midland Parkway entrance to the station. Trump's father Fred Trump built the house a year after the station opened, in 1951.[62]

A mosaic sign within one of the station's exits points to the "Monastery and Retreat House". This refers to the Passionist Monastery of the Immaculate Conception and Bishop Molloy Retreat House, located along a 12-acre (4.9 ha) complex one block north of the station.[63]

Notes
  1. Some sources state that the relay tracks end at 184th Street.[25] Others state that the tracks extend to 184th Place/185th Street or 186th Street.[18][46][23][47]
  2. A maximum of 14 to 15 F trains per hour operate from the station during peak hours, while three E trains per hour depart or arrive at the station during peak hours only.[49] Under MTA standards, the station could facilitate up to 15 trains per hour from two full-time services, a total of 30 trains per hour.[50][51]

References
  1. "New Subway Link Opened In Queens: Mayor, Not Using His Own Dime, Dedicates Hillside Extension and Pledges Fine Service" (PDF). The New York Times. December 12, 1950. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. "Subway Link Opens Monday" (PDF). The New York Times. December 6, 1950. Retrieved June 30, 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. "Queens Interlaced With New Arteries: New Boulevards, Parks and Parkways Important Factors in Growth of Borough". The New York Times. May 13, 1928. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  7. "Plans to be Drawn for 6th Av. Subway" (PDF). The New York Times. April 1, 1935. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  8. "Horn Tells How Civics Obtained Tube Terminus: Denies It Was Work of Chamber of Commerce" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. July 18, 1932. p. 5. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  10. "Grant Station At 178th St. on Jamaica Tube". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Fultonhistory.com. July 1, 1932. p. 32. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  11. "PWA Party Views New Subway Link: Queens Section to Be Opened Tomorrow Is Inspected by Tuttle and Others" (PDF). The New York Times. December 30, 1936. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  12. "Subway Link Opens Soon: City Line to Jamaica Will Start About April 24" (PDF). The New York Times. March 17, 1937. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  13. Report including analysis of operations of the New York City transit system for five years, ended June 30, 1945. New York City: Board of Transportation of the City of New York. 1945.
  14. "City Studies Hillside Ave. Subway Plan: Jamaica Estates Association Wants Station at 178th Street" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. July 16, 1936. p. 10. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  15. "500 Protest Decision On Tube Station: 178th Street Dispute to Be Brought Before Mayor" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. June 16, 1936. p. 6. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  17. "Subway Work Delayed By Lack of Funds: Jamaica Project, However, Still Tops the City's Official Plans". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. August 11, 1939.
  18. "Subway Plan Presented: Board of Estimate Gets Queens Extension Program" (PDF). The New York Times. July 20, 1946. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  19. Hall, Charles (November 2, 1939). "New Schools and Subways Doomed in Budget Slash: Other Projects Also Set Back By Planners" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. p. 1. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  21. "Extension of Subway Made 'Must': 184th Street Service Heads City's Transit Construction List". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. July 26, 1941. p. 1.
  22. 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.
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  48. Transportation, New York (N. Y. ) Board of (1949). Proceedings ...
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  59. Google (August 15, 2016). "Nassau County, NY" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
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