Grand Avenue–Newtown (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

 Grand Avenue–Newtown
 "M" train ​"R" train
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Manhattan bound platform with Metropolitan Avenue bound M at the station.
Station statistics
Address Grand Avenue, Broadway & Queens Boulevard
Elmhurst, NY 11373
Borough Queens
Locale Elmhurst
Coordinates 40°44′13″N 73°52′39″W / 40.73695°N 73.877521°W / 40.73695; -73.877521Coordinates: 40°44′13″N 73°52′39″W / 40.73695°N 73.877521°W / 40.73695; -73.877521
Division B (IND)
Line IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services       E  (late nights)
​      M  (weekdays until 11 p.m.)
​      R  (all hours except late nights)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: Q58, Q59
MTA Bus: Q53 SBS, Q60
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 4
Other information
Opened December 31, 1936 (1936-12-31)
Station code 265[1]
Wireless service [2][3]
Traffic
Passengers (2017) 5,792,378[4] Decrease 4.4%
Rank 77 out of 425
Station succession
Next east Woodhaven Boulevard: E  ​M  ​R 
Next west Elmhurst Avenue: E  ​M  ​R 

Grand Avenue–Newtown is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located under private property at the northeast corner of the intersection of Grand Avenue, Broadway, and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Elmhurst, Queens, it is served by the M train on weekdays, the R train at all times except nights, and the E train at night. The station opened on December 31, 1936 as part of the Independent Subway System's Queens Boulevard Line. The opening of the station brought significant growth to Elmhurst.

History

Track layout
to Woodhaven Blvd
to Elmhurst Av

The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first lines built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND),[5][6][7] and stretches between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 179th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.[5][7][8] The Queens Boulevard Line was in part financed by a Public Works Administration (PWA) loan and grant of $25,000,000.[9] On December 31, 1936, the IND Queens Boulevard Line was extended by eight stops, and 3.5 miles (5.6 km), from its previous terminus at Roosevelt Avenue to Union Turnpike, and the Grand Avenue station opened as part of this extension.[10][11][12][13][14]

In Elmhurst, almost all of the century-old buildings in the heart of the village were destroyed for the construction of the subway. Land was taken on the west side of the Broadway to avoid the demolition of the Saint James Episcopal Church and the Reformed Church. Many nineteenth century residences and the Wandowenock Fire Company buildings had to be torn down. To allow the subway line to curve into Queens Boulevard from Broadway, the northeast corner of the two streets was removed, in addition to some stores and an old Presbyterian chapel. New buildings were built behind a new curb line once the subway was completed, bringing a new face to Elmhurst. The introduction of the subway stimulated local growth in Elmhurst. Commercial buildings and apartment houses replaced existing structures.[15]:145[16]:23

Station layout

G Street level Exit/entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
P
Platform level		 Side platform, doors will open on the right
Southbound local ← "M" train toward Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue weekdays (Elmhurst Avenue)
← "R" train toward Bay Ridge–95th Street (Elmhurst Avenue)
← "E" train toward World Trade Center nights (Elmhurst Avenue)
Southbound express ← "E" train "F" train do not stop here
Northbound express → "E" train "F" train do not stop here →
Northbound local → "R" train ("M" train weekdays) toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Woodhaven Boulevard) →
→ "E" train toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer nights (Woodhaven Boulevard) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Entrance at Broadway

There are four tracks and two side platforms here.[17] In between the local tracks and the express tracks, there are trackway walls.[18] The station has a full length mezzanine, but as the fare control and booth area are at the center of the mezzanine, crossover is available only at the easternmost staircase.[19][20]

Both platforms have a medium Cerulean Blue tile band with a black border with small "GRAND" captions in white lettering on a black background beneath them. They also have name tablets reading "GRAND AVE." with "NEWTOWN" shown beneath in white sans serif lettering on a black background and a Cerulean Blue border.[21] Concrete-clad columns painted Cadet blue run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black name plates in white lettering.[22][18]

Exits

Each side has two sets of street stairs. There is a full-time entrance at Justice Avenue and Broadway on the west end, with staircases to either side of Broadway. There are also exits to either southern corner of Queens Boulevard at 54th Avenue, and another staircase to the northern side of Queens Boulevard at 54th Avenue.[23]

High entry/exit turnstiles at both ends of the mezzanine allow people to exit fare control without having to walk down to the middle of the mezzanine. A free crossover between two platforms exists at this location. Originally, there were two fare control areas at each end, which is clear from the presence of two closed staircases at the Manhattan-bound side.[24][25] The mezzanine narrows to about two-thirds of its width on the southern side of the mezzanine directly to the opposite of the closed staircases. The narrowing of the mezzanine did not allow for staircases on the Queens-bound side in this location like on the Manhattan-bound side.[26] Chain-link fence is used to separate the areas inside and outside fare control. The Manhattan- and Queens-bound paid areas are separated by at this location by the unpaid area, which runs down the center of the mezzanine.[27] In total, this side of the station has four staircases in addition to the two closed ones mentioned, while the other side has five staircases.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  2. ↑ "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  3. ↑ 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."
  4. ↑ "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2012–2017". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Duffus, R.L. (September 22, 1929). "OUR GREAT SUBWAY NETWORK SPREADS WIDER; New Plans of Board of Transportation Involve the Building of More Than One Hundred Miles of Additional Rapid Transit Routes for New York". The New York Times. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ "QUEENS SUBWAY WORK AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: Completion Will Lead to Big Apartrnent Building, Says William C. Speers". The New York Times. April 7, 1929. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Queens Lauded as Best Boro By Chamber Chief". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 23, 1929. p. 40. Retrieved October 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ New York Times, New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000, March 21, 1925, page 1
  9. ↑ "TEST TRAINS RUNNING IN QUEENS SUBWAY; Switch and Signal Equipment of New Independent Line Is Being Checked". The New York Times. December 20, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  10. ↑ "NEW RETAIL AREA IN QUEENS BOROUGH; Sees Roosevelt Avenue Subway Station as Great Shopping Centre. ADVANTAGES POINTED OUT Accessibility to Many Home Communities Assures Potential Market". The New York Times. July 9, 1933. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Reproduction Poster of Extension to Union Turnpike – Kew Gardens". Flickr – Photo Sharing!. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ "PWA Party Views New Subway Link: Queens Section to Be Opened Tomorrow Is Inspected by Tuttle and Others" (PDF). nytimes.com. The New York Times. December 30, 1936. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ "CITY SUBWAY OPENS QUEENS LINK TODAY; Extension Brings Kew Gardens Within 36 Minutes of 42d St. on Frequent Trains". The New York Times. December 31, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  14. ↑ "OPENING MOVED UP FOR NEW SUBWAY; Traffic to Be Started on the Extension of City's Line to Kew Gardens on Thursday. EIGHT STATIONS ARE ADDED La Guardia and Official Party Will Inspect New Queens Branch on Wednesday". The New York Times. December 26, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  15. ↑ Seyfried, Vincent F. (1995). Elmhurst : from town seat to mega-suburb. Vincent F. Seyfried.
  16. ↑ Seyfried, Vincent F.; Asadorian, William (1991). Old Queens, N.Y., in Early Photographs. Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-26358-8.
  17. ↑ Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
  18. 1 2 E., Bill (July 31, 2007). "Trackway Walls at Grand Avenue". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  19. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "A sign indicating that the crossover to the other platform is at the easternmost end of the platform". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  20. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "Two High Entrance Turnstiles, and Two High Exit Only turnstiles on the very narrow portion of the mezzanine that serves as an overpass between the two platforms". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  21. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "Another name tablet at Grand Ave-Newtown this one has a direction pointer for 54th Avenue underneath it". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  22. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "Looking down the Manhattan-bound platform at Grand Avenue-Newtown all the station columns look like boring columns of concrete with no forms in them or indentations giving them character". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Grand Av Newtown (M)(R)" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  24. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "hen the station opened their must have been a different staircase. There are two now fenced off staircases leading up from the Manhattan-bound platform up to the mezzanine when it is entirely outside of fare control. There is no place to put Queens-bound platform staircases because the mezzanine is only two thirds the width of the tracks and platforms here". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  25. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "Looking up a closed staircase from the Manhattan-bound platform that leads directly up to the mezzanine to a portion of it that is now outside of fare control". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  26. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "The mezzanine gets narrow, and the two separate sections of the mezzanine for trains in each direction ends making the entire 2/3 full width mezzanine outside of fare control". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  27. ↑ Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2008). "Looking down the mezzanine outside of fare control with the ugly black chain link fences visible on both sides segregating the area from within fare control". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  28. ↑ "R Train". 2015-01-13. Archived from the original on 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
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