Court Square (New York City Subway)

History

The first station to open was 45th Road–Court House Square on November 5, 1916, built under the Dual Contracts as part of a two-stop extension of the future IRT Flushing Line from Hunters Point Avenue to Queensboro Plaza. In the late-1920s and early 1930s, the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND) constructed the first sections of the Crosstown and Queens Boulevard Lines; the Court Square Crosstown Line station was the first Queens station of either line to be built, with its structure having been completed in July 1930 and the tilework and equipment installed afterward. On August 19, 1933, the IND opened the Court Square station as part of the first leg of the IND Crosstown Line. The IND Queens Boulevard Line between Manhattan and Roosevelt Avenue opened that same day, with GG trains (predecessor to today's G service) operating between Queens Plaza and Nassau Avenue in Brooklyn. The 23rd Street–Ely Avenue station had been partially built in the early 1930s, but was not completed until August 28, 1939, with E trains serving the station.

Connections created

In 1984, the MTA planned to construct a transfer passageway between the Queens Boulevard and Crosstown Line stations as part of a planned connector between the Queens Boulevard Line and the IND 63rd Street Line. Around 1986, Citigroup (then Citicorp) agreed to fund the passageway, at the cost of $8.5 million, as part of a zoning requirement for the construction of the adjacent One Court Square tower; the tower was built as part of the process of Citicorp splitting up its operations between its different buildings. The company selected the site due to the proximity to the stations. The building opened in 1989, with the passageway completed later on. In 2000, the MTA began designing a second in-system passageway between the Flushing and Crosstown line stations. On December 16, 2001, the 63rd Street Line connector was opened and service on the Queens Boulevard Line was increased, requiring G trains to terminate at Court Square on weekdays. To compensate Crosstown riders going into Queens, a free out-of-system transfer to the Flushing Line station was created.

In October 2005, Citigroup announced they would be funding the passageway between the Flushing and Crosstown line stations, as a zoning requirement for the construction of the Court Square Two building. On March 17, 2011, the Queens Boulevard station was renamed to "Court Square–23rd Street". On June 3, 2011, the $47 million ADA-accessible connection between the Crosstown Line and Flushing Line stations was opened and the two stations were renamed "Court Square"; most of the project was funded by Citi, with $13.9 million covered by the MTA. The Flushing Line station was closed from January 21, 2012 to April 2, 2012 to complete further renovations, including platform upgrades and renovations to the station's mezzanine to make the station fully ADA-compliant.

Station layout

The station complex consists of three formerly separate stations along the IND Queens Boulevard Line, IND Crosstown Line, and IRT Flushing Line. There are several entrances to the complex, with two passageways within fare control connecting the stations.

Crosstown–Queens Boulevard Lines transfer passageway

The northernmost passageway, which is 360 feet (110 m) long, connects the east (railroad north) end of the Queens Boulevard Line station, at 44th Drive east of 23rd Street, with the north end of the Crosstown Line station at Jackson Avenue and 45th Avenue. This passageway was originally planned in the 1980s to compensate for the planned reroute of the G service away from the Queens Boulevard line when the connector to the 63rd Street Line was completed (which occurred in 2001), and was constructed in the 1990s after Citigroup opened its 658-foot (201 m) office tower at One Court Square. The main fare control area has a skylight and the passageway has the only moving walkways (horizontal escalators) in the subway system, which move passengers from the Crosstown and Flushing Lines' platforms to the Queens Boulevard Line's platforms. These were installed in December 2001 when the G began terminating at this station complex on weekdays.

The passageway is split into two sections, and between these two sections is the full-time fare control area for the complex that has a turnstile bank, token booth, and two staircases. One has two escalators and goes up to south side of 44th Drive inside a Citibank location next to the tower, and the other is open weekdays only and leads to the entrance plaza of One Court Square. A set of escalators opposite the street stairs lead to the building's lobby.

Flushing–Crosstown Lines transfer passageway

The second passageway, opened in June 2011, consists of two escalators, one elevator, and one staircase within a glass-enclosed structure that connects the underground Crosstown Line station and the elevated Flushing Line station at 45th Road. Between 2001 and 2011, this was a free out-of-system transfer. While the elevators make both passageways ADA-accessible, only the IRT Flushing Line platforms are fully ADA-accessible with elevators to platform level; in the future, the IND Crosstown Line platform will be made accessible as well. In addition, there is no direct connection between the Flushing and Queens Boulevard platforms.

IRT Flushing Line platforms

Court Square is an elevated station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. There are two side platforms and two tracks at the station.

The station opened on November 5, 1916 as 45th Road–Court House Square as part of an extension of the Flushing Line two stops to the west to Queensboro Plaza. The platforms at 45th Road were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains. In 2005, this station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The current platforms were installed in the 2012 renovations. They are composed of numerous panels of composite fiberglass resin, lighter than conventional concrete and designed to resist corrosion and thermal expansion. The platform edges are equipped with ADA-compliant tactile strips. Both platforms have beige windscreens that run along their entire lengths and brown canopies with green frames and support columns except for a small section at their north ends. Small sections of the windscreens are mesh, allowing a view into the local area.

Exits

This station has an elevated station house beneath the tracks at the extreme south end. A single staircase from each platform goes down to a waiting area/crossunder, where a turnstile bank provides entrance/exit from the station. Near these staircases, one elevator leads from each platform to the mezzanine. Outside fare control, there is a token booth; an elevator and two staircases go down to the northwestern corner of 45th Road and 23rd Street, while two escalators within an enclosed passageway lead directly to the complex's underground mezzanine area (via a new transfer passageway), and the northbound platform's elevator (within fare control) also leads to the underground mezzanine, bypassing the street along the way. A single staircase also leads to the southwestern corner of 45th Road and 23rd Street, and is signposted as serving only the Flushing Line station (as opposed to all three stations of the complex).

The station house formerly had two more staircases leading to either eastern corner, as well as another staircase to the northwestern corner. In June 2011, they were replaced by the in-system transfer to the underground platforms, which added a new staircase to the former southeast corner of the intersection. As part of the project, a short strip of 45th Road between 23rd Street and Jackson Avenue was de-mapped, while the adjacent Albert Short Triangle was renovated.

In the early 20th century, there were requests for an additional entrance from 23rd Street at the north end of the station, but this was never constructed.

IND Queens Boulevard Line platforms

Court Square–23rd Street on the IND Queens Boulevard Line is an underground station with two tracks and two side platforms. It is located along 44th Drive between 21st and 23rd Streets and is the westernmost (railroad south) station on the line in Queens.

Each platform has a scarlet lake trim line with a black border and name tablets reading "23RD ST. – ELY AVE." in white sans serif letting on a black and brown background and matching scarlet lake border. Below the trim line and name tablets are small directional signs and station signs alternating between "23RD" and "ELY" in white lettering on a black border. Red I-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate in white lettering.

The station, provisionally called "21st Street/Van Alst Avenue," was constructed between 1931 and 1933 along with the original section of the line east to Roosevelt Avenue, but remained unfinished at the time of the line's opening due to lack of demand perceived by the city Board of Transportation, which called the station a "dead" station. This was in spite of protests from local civic and industry leaders, due to the numerous factories in the surrounding area. By December 1933, the station was referred to as "Ely Avenue", likely to avoid confusion with the nearby station on the Crosstown Line. In September 1936, it was decided to complete the station as an in-fill station due to expanding commercial and industrial operations in the area, with tilework, staircases, and other equipment installed. The station was finished by 1938, but its opening was delayed once again due to alleged lack of demand, with calls to open the station to serve the Long Island City Courthouse, St. John's Hospital (now the site of One Court Square), and the newly opened Queensbridge Houses.

The station finally opened as 23rd Street–Ely Avenue on August 28, 1939, six years after the first section of the Queens Boulevard Line and the opening of Court Street on the Crosstown line. (Ely Avenue was the former name of 23rd Street until many named streets in the borough were given numbers by the Queens Topographical Bureau in 1915.) Similarly, Van Alst Avenue is now 21st Street, while 44th Drive was previously Nott Avenue.

Exits

This station has three entrances/exits; the full-time one is at the extreme north (geographical east) end. A single staircase from each platform leads up to a crossover, where on the Manhattan-bound side, one exit-only turnstile and one High Entry/Exit Turnstile leads to a single staircase that goes up to the northeast corner of 44th Drive and 23rd Street. On the Forest Hills-bound side of the crossover is the long passageway to the IND Crosstown platform. Prior to the construction of the passageway, this exit contained a full-time token booth and staircases to both sides of 44th Drive.

This station's second fare control area is at the station's extreme western end. A single staircase from each platform go up to a raised crossover split in two by a steel fence. The Manhattan-bound side has a turnstile bank, token booth, and one staircase going up to the northeast corner of 21st Street and 44th Drive while the Queens-bound side has two exit-only turnstiles and one staircase going up to the southeast corner of the aforementioned intersection. All fare control areas have their original IND-style directional mosaics.

There are two sets of artwork at this station. One was made in 1992 by Frank Olt and is called Temple Quad Reliefs, consisting of glass mosaic and ceramic tiles on the platform walls. The other was made in 2001 by Elizabeth Murray and is called Streams, consisting of glass mosaics on the transfer passageway walls.

IND Crosstown Line platform

Court Square, previously called Long Island City−Court Square, is the northernmost station on the IND Crosstown Line and the northern terminal for G trains at all times. Although G service terminates here, the tracks themselves continue north and feed into the Queens Boulevard main line just south of Queens Plaza. This section of track is not used in regular service, though until April 19, 2010, trains traveled over this connection to continue to Forest Hills–71st Avenue at various times of the day.

This underground station, opened on August 19, 1933, has one island platform between two tracks. Each track wall has a green trim line with a black border and small "COURT SQ" signs below it in white lettering on black background. Green I-beam columns run along both sides of the platform at regular intervals.

South of the station is the Court Square Interlocking. Here, a center track briefly forms between the two main tracks of the Crosstown Line, allowing trains to terminate on either track of the station and reverse direction towards Brooklyn. This interlocking was modernized in 1998.

The platform is expected to gain ADA-access, with the installation of one new elevator, as part of the 2015–2019 Capital Program. The elevator project, originally expected to begin in 2016, has been delayed to 2019.

Exits

Three staircases from the platform go up to the full length mezzanine above and a passageway within fare control connects the station to the Queens Boulevard platform. All fare control areas are unstaffed, containing just full height turnstiles. The main one has a single staircase that goes up to the southwest corner of Jackson Avenue and Court Square West, and a staircase to the north side of Jackson Avenue at Thompson Avenue in front of One Court Square. There was previously a street stair to the southeast corner of Jackson Avenue and Court Square West.

After the IND 63rd Street Line was connected to the Queens Boulevard Line in December 2001 (a project known as the "63rd Street Connector"), another unstaffed entrance was added to the south end of the mezzanine at 45th Road, to allow an out-of-system transfer to the IRT Flushing Line. From this fare control area, a single staircase goes up to the north side of Jackson Avenue at Pearson Street directly outside the staircases to the IRT station. A second staircase to the southwest corner of the intersection no longer exists. In June 2011, this transfer was replaced by an enclosed in-system transfer that consists of two escalators, one elevator, and one staircase connecting both stations.

Nearby points of interest

The P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center (MoMA PS1) is nearby at 46th and Jackson Avenues. The One Court Square building, owned by Citicorp, sits right above the station as well. Queens County Criminal Court is directly on Court Square, just east of Jackson Avenue.

The site of the 5 Pointz building at Jackson Avenue and Davis Street, which was famously covered in graffiti until its demolition in 2014, is visible just south of the Flushing Line station and can be seen by passing 7 <7> trains.

In addition, the station sits in the center of the Hunters Point Historic District, and as a result, many historic buildings can be found near the stations. However, the area right around the station is also seeing a revitalization, with high-rise condominiums and rental buildings being built in the area, and upscale restaurants being built near the train station. In addition, there is a bourgeoning art community due to the presence of MoMA PS1 and 5 Pointz, as well as a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) supermarket proposed for the area.