Puneet Varma (Editor)

Marcy Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)

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Division
  
B (BMT)

Structure
  
Elevated

Opened
  
25 June 1888

Locale
  
Williamsburg

Line
  
BMT Jamaica Line

Platforms
  
2 side platforms

Borough
  
Brooklyn

Marcy Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)

Services
  
J  (all times)       M  (all times except late nights)       Z  (rush hours, peak direction)

Transit connections
  
NYCT Bus: B24, B32, B39, B44, B44 SBS, B46, B60, B62, Q54, Q59 (at Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal)

Address
  
Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States

Tracks
  
3 (1 not for passenger service)

Similar
  
Hewes Street, Broad Street, Myrtle Avenue, Lorimer Street, Flushing Avenue

Marcy avenue bmt jamaica line action


Marcy Avenue is a station on the BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Marcy Avenue and Broadway in Brooklyn, it is served by the J train at all times, the M train at all times except late nights, and the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction.

Contents

History

Marcy Avenue opened on June 25, 1888 as a part of the Broadway Elevated, one of the first elevated lines in New York City. Trains traveled westbound to the Broadway Ferry terminal on the East River in Brooklyn and eastbound services ran to Canarsie (this routing is no longer used due to the later building of the Canarsie Line) and a connection over the Williamsburg Bridge to Delancey Street/Essex Street in Manhattan opened in 1908. In 1913, trains were extended further down the newly opened Nassau Street Line to Chambers Street. A year later, a connection was built to allow Myrtle Avenue trains to run on the Broadway Elevated.

The Dual Contracts expansion projects radically changed operations at Marcy Avenue. A third track was added, allowing trains to run express, although the track remains as a stub-end at Marcy Avenue for storage and turn-arounds. The Contracts also provided for the merger of the Jamaica Line from Broadway Junction to 168th Street with the Broadway Elevated, in turn making the Broadway Elevated part of the Jamaica Line and giving trains three eastern terminals.

On April 13, 1954, the enlarged station platform at Marcy Avenue was opened, as well as the expanded stairway facilities.

Station layout

This station has two side platforms and three tracks and is the westernmost station on the Jamaica Line. The center track dead ends at the west end at a bumper block and is unusable for service. Until 1962, this track connected to the Williamsburg Bridge, and allowed trains to skip this station. Both platforms have beige windscreens and red canopies with green frames that run along the entire length except for a section at the southeast (railroad south), where they have waist-high black steel fences.

The 2005 artwork here is called A Space Odyssey by Ellsworth Ausby. It consists of stained glass windows depicting space travel on the platform windscreens.

Just west of this station, there is a short section of trackway continuing straight which once led to the Broadway Ferry Spur. As now configured, westbound trains run over the Williamsburg Bridge, connecting to the BMT Nassau Street Line in Manhattan. To the east, there are switches that are used by the J and Z trains when they run express to Myrtle Avenue weekdays in the peak direction.

Exits

All four fare control areas of the station are on platform level. As a result, there is no free transfer between directions. The primary ones, are elevated station houses adjacent to the platforms. Each station house has doors leading to the stairs and platform, turnstile bank, token booth, and two stairs and one ADA-accessible elevator to the street. The stairs from the Manhattan-bound station house go down to either northern corner of Marcy Avenue and Broadway while the stair from the Queens-bound station house go down to either southern corners. The elevators go down to either western corner of Marcy Avenue and Broadway, with the Queens-bound elevator on the southwest corner and the Manhattan-bound elevator on the northwest corner.

Both platforms have a HEET turnstile entrance/exit at their extreme west end that was added during a 1990s renovation. Each leads to a canopied staircase that goes down to either side of Broadway near Havemeyer Street.

The home of the character Dave Stutler in the 2010 film The Sorcerer's Apprentice is located near this station. Stutler is also attacked by a wolf in this station.

The fictional neighborhood of "Little Wadiya", from the 2012 film The Dictator, is located near to this station. The choice may be related to the presence of the Hasidic Jewish Community in Williamsburg.

Flight of the Conchords are seen emerging from Marcy Avenue station singing the song Inner City Pressure during episode 2 of series 1 of the show.

Rapper Jay-Z attributes his moniker partially to the J/Z, which stop here.

References

Marcy Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line) Wikipedia