Nostrand Avenue station (IND Fulton Street Line)

The Nostrand Avenue station was constructed as part of the IND Fulton Street Line, the main line of the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND)'s main line from Downtown Brooklyn to southern Queens.[5] The groundbreaking for the line was held on April 16, 1929, at Fulton Street and Arlington Place, located at the site of the future station.[6] The Nostrand Avenue station opened on April 9, 1936, as part of an extension of the IND from its previous Brooklyn terminus at Jay Street–Borough Hall, which opened three years earlier, to Rockaway Avenue.[1] The new IND subway replaced the BMT Fulton Street Elevated, and this station replaced the elevated's Nostrand Avenue station, which was formerly above the current subway station until it closed on May 31, 1940.[7]

On January 12, 1943, business, church and civic leaders from Brooklyn testified before the City Affairs Committee of the New York City Council, asking that the Bedford Avenue entrances to this station and the Classon Avenue entrances to the Franklin Avenue station be opened. These entrances had been constructed with the rest of the line, but had been boarded up with the line's completion.[8] On February 4, 1943, the City Council passed a resolution urging the New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT) to open the entrances.[9] At the time, the staircases to Bedford Avenue were only used for exits.[10]

As a result of a year-long campaign from the Bedford–Stuyvesant Neighborhood Council, the NYCBOT agreed to open the Bedford Avenue entrances to the station.[11] The Neighborhood Council disclosed the announcement on June 16, 1950, and the NYCBOT promptly began work opening the entrances.[11] The entrances opened on July 24, 1950, after a change booth and turnstiles were installed, being open on Mondays to Fridays between 6:30 and 10:30 a.m., and from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.[12]

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.[13] The Bedford Avenue entrances were closed by the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) before or during the 1980s.[14][15][16] Though the entrances were closed, a portion of the mezzanine remained open to allow for free crossovers between directions.[17]

This passageway was closed on an emergency basis in April 1991, after the NYCTA, on March 28, 1991, ordered the closing of the 15 most dangerous passageways in the subway system within a week following the rape of a woman behind a pile of debris in the subway passageway connecting the 34th Street–Herald Square and 42nd Street–Bryant Park stations under Sixth Avenue on March 20, 1991.[18][19] The locations were chosen based on crime volume, lighting, traffic and physical layout, and were closed under the declaration of a public safety emergency, and were blocked off with plywood and fencing until public hearings were held and official permission was obtained.[20] By closing the entrances, the transit police could deploy many officers to other parts of the system. This passageway was chosen because the station had 96 felonies since January 1, 1990.[21][22] In January 1992, the MTA Board approved a request by the NYCTA to close 43 full- or part-time station areas at 30 station complexes, including this passageway. With the closure of the passageway, during late nights, when the part-time booth to the Queens-bound platform was closed, passengers would use the existing high entrance and exit turnstiles. The NYCTA was also considering making this booth full-time.[17]

On February 17, 2005, transit workers found two trash bags on the station's tracks, which contained the body parts of 19-year-old Rashawn Brazell, a Bushwick resident who had been reported missing three days earlier. In February 2017, 38-year-old Kwauhuru Govan was arrested for Brazell's murder.[23][24]

On December 11, 2015, New York City Transit released its Review of the A and C Lines report. Among the various aspects discussed, the report discussed the option of reopening closed station entrances along these routes. The report concluded that if additional capital funding was provided, or if the Federal Transit Administration's interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) reverted its original flexible approach, reopening the closed entrances at Nostrand Avenue would become more feasible.[25]^:37–38 The report stated that reopening the Bedford Avenue entrances would reduce congestion at the Nostrand Avenue entrance, would reduce uneven loading on A and C trains, and would cut the walking distance for riders going to and from areas west of Arlington Place, including bus riders. It also found that reopening the closed entrances at Fulton Street and Arlington Place to the northbound platform would provide similar benefits at a lower cost.[25]^:73

Despite overcrowding at the Nostrand Avenue station, the Bedford Avenue entrances remained closed for over 25 years.[26][27][28] In 2019, the MTA announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.[29] On February 6, 2020, the MTA held a press conference in the closed Bedford Avenue mezzanine of the station and announced that the Bedford Avenue entrances to the station would be reopened by the end of the year. Reopening the entrances will cost $2 million, with $1.25 million coming from New York City Transit, $500,000 from Assembly Member Tremaine Wright and $250,000 from State Senator Velmanette Montgomery. The work, which will be completed by New York City Transit staff, will entail the installation of lighting and turnstiles, the rehabilitation of stairways, the scraping and repainting of areas, the repairing and replacement of tile, and the construction of new sidewalk entrances.[26][27][28][30] The entrances will reduce severe overcrowding during the p.m. rush hour, allow for free transfers between directions, will better serve areas west of Arlington Place, and will provide a direct connection to northbound B44 SBS service. The reopening of the entrance was made possible because of future ADA improvements at the station.[27][28]

View of station name tablets

Each platform has its own exits to the corners of Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street, which are 15 feet (4.6 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide. The following exits each contain one staircase:[36]

The station has a full-time booth in the Nostrand Avenue fare control area on the northbound platform, and used to have a part-time booth at the Nostrand Avenue fare control area on the southbound platform.[17]

Both upper-level platforms have a passage at their railroad north (geographical west) ends to a large mezzanine with a crossover.[38] Two stairs from this mezzanine lead to either eastern corner of Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street,[16] some 1,000 feet (300 m) west of the Nostrand Avenue entrances. The entrances from Bedford Avenue were closed prior to the 1980s due to increasing crime, but the crossover and passages were retained until 1992, when high crime rates in the subway system prompted the MTA to close the crossover as well.[17] In February 2020, the MTA announced the reopening of the mezzanine, entrances, and accompanying passages, with an anticipated opening date of late 2020.[30]

The Manhattan-bound upper level also has a closed fare control area to both northern corners of Arlington Place and Fulton Street.[25][37] The Arlington Place entrance is located behind a tiled wall with a door.[39]