Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (New York City Subway)

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center
New York City Subway rapid transit station complex
Entrance from Barclays Center
Station statistics
Address	Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Street, Flatbush Avenue & Fourth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Downtown Brooklyn
Coordinates	40°41′04″N 73°58′44″W / 40.684462°N 73.978758°WCoordinates: 40°41′04″N 73°58′44″W / 40.684462°N 73.978758°W
Division	A (IRT), B (BMT)
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line BMT Brighton Line IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services	2  (all times)       3  (all except late nights)       4  (all times)       5  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m.)       B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)       Q  (all times)       D  (all times)       N  (all times)       R  (all times)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: B37, B41, B45, B63, B67 MTA Bus: B103 LIRR: City Terminal Zone (at Atlantic Terminal)
Levels	3
Other information
Accessible
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	13,690,678 (station complex)[1]  0.5%
Rank	21 out of 422
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops weekdays only
Location
Atlantic Avenue Control House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	Interborough Rapid Transit Subway Control Houses TR
NRHP Reference #	80002643[2]
Added to NRHP	May 6, 1980
Atlantic Avenue Subway Station (IRT and BMT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP Reference #	04001023[2]
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center is a New York City Subway station complex shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, the BMT Brighton Line and the IRT Eastern Parkway Line, located at Atlantic, Fourth, and Flatbush Avenues and Pacific Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The complex is served by the:

• 2, 4, D, N, Q and R trains at all times
• 3 train at all times except late nights
• 5 and B trains weekdays only

With nine subway services, this station is second to the Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal complex in offering the most transfers to other services.

As of 2015, it is the busiest subway station in Brooklyn, with 13,617,153 passengers, and is ranked 21st overall.^[1] The control house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980,^[3] while the station complex as a whole has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004,^[3] and is ADA-compliant.

History

The landmarked Atlantic Avenue Control House's exterior (left) and interior (right)

The IRT Eastern Parkway Line station was built first, in 1908, the terminal of a four-stop subway extension from Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn via the Joralemon Street Tunnel.^[4] The station's control house, a grand, ornate entrance to what was then the terminal of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's Brooklyn lines, was designed by Heins & LaFarge, the architects who also built the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, Manhattan.^[5] This control house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980; however, the actual entrance is now removed and now serves as a skylight into the IRT station.^[3]

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the Brighton Line platforms at Atlantic Avenue, along with those at six other stations on the Brighton Line, were lengthened to 615 feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 60-foot IND cars, or a nine-car train of 67-foot BMT cars.^[6]

The station was overhauled in the late 1970s. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) fixed the station's structure and overhauled its appearance. It refurbished the wall tilings and replaced the old signs and incandescent lighting with modern fixtures. It also fixed the staircases and platform edges. On January 16, 1978, the ex-IRT and ex-BMT stations were connected into a single station complex, eliminating a "double fare" that formerly was required to transfer between the IRT and BMT sides of the station.^[7][8]

The station complex underwent another major overhaul from 1999 to 2003, using funds from the 1987 capital program;^[9] the $49 million in funding from that program had been delayed in 1994 due to the MTA's budget issues.^[10] This time the station received state of the art repairs and was updated for ADA-accessibility, with the installation of eight elevators in the station, as well as the widening or construction of fifteen staircases.^[5] The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiled the walls and floors, upgraded the station's lights and the public address system, installed ADA yellow safety threads along the platform edge, installed new trackbeds for local and express trains entering the IRT station, and widened the 100-year-old passageways between the stations. To achieve this, the entire IRT station had to be supported by large 36-foot-long (11 m) crossbeams hanging from the roof of the station box, a construction technique that had never been used previously; the station was also supported by conventional columns from below. The entire feat raised the subway infrastructure under Flatbush Avenue, as well as the avenue itself, by less than an inch while the 350-foot-long (110 m) passageways were widened from 15 to 42 feet (4.6 to 12.8 m).^[5] In 2004, the entire station was made a NRHP landmark.^[3] Late that year, the MTA installed elevators on both sides of the platform and street level to accommodate wheelchairs and those with disabilities.

In June 2009, the MTA sold the naming rights of the station complex to Forest City Ratner Companies for 20 years at $200,000 per year, one of the few such renames in the system (Willets Point–Shea Stadium, in Queens, was another example of a station with such naming rights, until the MTA simply renamed it to Mets–Willets Point following Shea Stadium's demolition).^[11] Barclays Center, whose naming rights were bought by Barclays Bank, opened September 2012 and is part of Forest City Ratner Companies' Pacific Park project. As a result, the station was renamed from Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street to Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center in May 2012. A new mezzanine and fare control area was built near the sports complex.^[12][13] Following this rename and the addition of a new exit, the MTA has considered selling the naming rights of other subway stations.^[11]

Station layout

G	Street Level	Entrances/Exits (Elevators at: SE corner of Pacific Street and Fourth Avenue. customers should use Pacific Street elevator At Hanson Place and Flatbush Avenue. and LIRR customers should use Hanson Place elevator)
		Barclays Center
		Connection to Atlantic Terminal
B1 Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Northbound local	← toward Wakefield–241st Street (Nevins Street) ← toward Harlem–148th Street (all except nights) (Nevins Street) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (Nevins Street)
	Northbound express	← toward Woodlawn (all except nights) (Nevins Street) ← toward Nereid Avenue PM rush hours, Dyre Avenue weekdays till 8:45pm (Nevins Street)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Southbound express	→ toward Utica Avenue (all except nights) (Franklin Avenue) → → toward Flatbush Avenue (weekdays) (Franklin Avenue) →
	Southbound local	→ toward Flatbush Avenue (Bergen Street) → → ( late nights) toward New Lots Avenue (Bergen Street) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
B2	Mezzanine	Passageway between platforms
B3 Platform level (Atlantic Avenue)	Northbound	← toward Bedford Park Boulevard (rush hours) or 145th Street (other times) (DeKalb Avenue) ← toward 57th Street–Seventh Avenue (DeKalb Avenue)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Southbound	→ toward Brighton Beach (Seventh Avenue) → → toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Brighton (Seventh Avenue) →
B3 Platform level (Pacific Street)	Northbound local	← toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Whitehall Street late nights) (DeKalb Avenue) ← toward Norwood–205th Street late nights (DeKalb Avenue) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard late nights (DeKalb Avenue)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound express	← toward Norwood–205th Street (all except nights) (Grand Street) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard (all except nights) (Canal Street)
	Southbound express	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via West End (all except nights) (36th Street) → → toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Sea Beach (all except nights) (36th Street) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound local	→ toward Bay Ridge–95th Street (all except nights) (Union Street) → → toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue late nights (D via West End, N via Sea Beach) (Union Street) →

The station consists of three levels. The shallowest below ground, the IRT Eastern Parkway Line platforms, is at the same level as the LIRR's Atlantic Terminal railway platforms and are only 20 feet (6.1 m) below street level. The second level below ground is the BMT Fourth Avenue Line platforms, which are 40 feet (12 m) deep and have a mezzanine, and a connecting passageway to the IRT Eastern Parkway Line and BMT Brighton Line, above the platforms. The deepest is the BMT Brighton Line platform, which are 50 feet (15 m) deep and have a mezzanine above them, which serves both the Brighton Line platform and the Eastern Parkway Line platforms.

IRT Eastern Parkway Line platforms

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Southbound local platform
Station statistics
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services	2  (all times)       3  (all except late nights)       4  (all times)       5  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m.)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms (local) 1 island platform (express)
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	May 1, 1908
Accessible
Former/other names	Atlantic Avenue
Station succession
Next north	Nevins Street: 2  3  4  5
Next south	Bergen Street (local): 2  3  4  Franklin Avenue (express): 4  5
Next north	Borough Hall (local): 2  3  Borough Hall (express): 4  5  (northbound only)
Next south	Church Avenue (via Nostrand Avenue): 2  5  Crown Heights–Utica Avenue (via Eastern Parkway): 2  3  4  5
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops weekdays only Stops late nights only

Track layout
Legend
to Nevins St to Bergen St to Franklin Av

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (originally Atlantic Avenue) is an express station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line which has four tracks, one island platform, and two side platforms. On the center platform, there are two old indicator signs which mark the next train, formerly used for non-rush hour short turn trains. An old style sign to the Brooklyn Academy of Music also exists. The trackway to the Long Island Rail Road Atlantic Branch is still visible at the north end of the northbound local track, although much of it is behind corrugated wall; more information about this and other unused trackways is at Bergen Street. The LIRR Atlantic Terminal platforms, slightly lower, are clearly visible through floor-to-ceiling railings.

This station has been completely renovated. The northbound local trackway and track have been completely redone with concrete base and welded rail.

A passageway to the BMT Fourth Avenue and Brighton Lines lies under the platforms, with the Fourth Avenue Line to the southwest and the Brighton Line to the northeast. Another passageway to the Brighton Line is present at the south end of the station, which also leads to an exit immediately adjacent to Barclays Center. The Barclays Center exit features a part-time booth that is staffed during events at the arena and two escalators.

Although the station is wheelchair accessible, the Eastern Parkway Line express platform was formerly too narrow in some areas to accommodate wheelchairs. Passengers were notified of this fact by announcements on trains before reaching the station. The stairs have since been trimmed in width to allow full wheelchair access.

North of this station, there is an unused trackway, splitting from the southbound local track for a proposed subway under Fourth Avenue (later built as the BMT Fourth Avenue Line). It merges with the Manhattan-bound express track and ends on a bumper block between the two express tracks at Nevins Street. When this station originally opened in 1908 it was the terminal for the line, and had two side platforms, an island platform, and two tracks. All the platforms were connected together at their southern ends.

This station is one of three express stations to have side platforms for local services and a center island platform for express services, the other two being the 34th Street–Penn Station stops on the IND Eighth Avenue Line and the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line respectively. The reason for this is that the station is connected to Atlantic Terminal, and the next station west from Atlantic Avenue, Nevins Street, is also an express station with the more common two island platform configuration. This limits overcrowding by preventing cross-platform interchanges between local and express services.

BMT Fourth Avenue Line platforms

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Manhattan-bound platform
Station statistics
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	D  (all times)       N  (all times)       R  (all times)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	June 22, 1915[14]
Accessible
Former/other names	Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street Pacific Street
Station succession
Next north	DeKalb Avenue (local): D  N  R  Canal Street (express via Broadway): N  Grand Street (express via 6th Avenue): D
Next south	Union Street (local): D  N  R  36th Street (express): D  N
Next north	DeKalb Avenue (local): D  N  R  14th Street–Union Square (express via Broadway): N  Broadway–Lafayette Street (express via 6th Avenue): D
Next south	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (via Sea Beach Line): N  Bay Parkway (via West End Line): D  none: R
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only

Track layout
Legend
to Canal St or Grand St to DeKalb Av to Union St to 36 St

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (originally Pacific Street then Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street) is an express station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line that has four tracks and two island platforms. It opened on June 22, 1915.^[14]

At the north end of the platforms, two staircases and one elevator go up to the main fare control area, where a turnstile bank provides access to/from the station and two staircases going up to either northern corners of Pacific Street and Fourth Avenue. The northeast corner also has an elevator going down to the mezzanine. A pathway connects to the rest of the complex. A wall separates the two platforms.

BMT Brighton Line platform

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Manhattan-bound train of R68 cars arrives at the station
Station statistics
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Brighton Line
Services	B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)       Q  (all times)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	August 1, 1920[15]
Accessible
Former/other names	Atlantic Avenue
Station succession
Next north	DeKalb Avenue: B  Q
Next south	Seventh Avenue: B  Q
Next north	DeKalb Avenue: B  Q
Next south	Prospect Park: B  Q
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops weekdays only

Track layout
Legend
to DeKalb Av to 7 Av

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (originally Atlantic Avenue) on the BMT Brighton Line has two tracks and an island platform. The platform has seven staircases, three to the main mezzanine, two to the Hanson Place exit at the north end, which is an escalator that leads to a separate mezzanine with no transfers to the other lines and two at the south end, which leads to both an exit immediately adjacent to Barclays Center and another mezzanine that connects to the IRT. The Barclays Center exit features a part-time booth that is staffed during events at the arena and two escalators.

The street staircase on the Hanson Place mezzanine leads to the Williamsburgh Savings Bank. The exit at Hanson Place once had a booth that has since been removed. The lower level of this mezzanine had a passageway, now sealed, that ran above the platform from Hanson Place. The "To Hanson Place" and other signs are covered up. This area is now space used by MTA employees with the entrance at the other side.

The main mezzanine also has an out-of-system passageway to the LIRR's Atlantic Terminal and the full-time fare control at the IRT side of the station. Two of the street staircases lead to the Atlantic Terminal Mall. There is a removed staircase in between the two sets of stairs. The northernmost staircase was added during renovation, while the other two staircases were narrowed in order to comply with ADA guidelines regarding minimum 36-inch width clearances.

The platform extension is clearly visible at the south end of the platform, while the name tablets and "A" are authentic replicas on the northbound platform wall, while the southbound wall was tiled around them. The area on the southbound wall where the platform extends out is made of replicas as well. Since there were no mosaics built, only a green wall was present prior to renovation, which indicates where the platform was extended in the 1964–1965 to fit ten car trains.^[6]

North of this station, a bellmouth is visible from a Manhattan-bound train.^[16] The bellmouth was for the proposed Ashland Place Connection which would have connected to the now-demolished BMT Fulton Street El.

BMT Fifth Avenue Line station

Atlantic Avenue (closed)
Former New York City Subway rapid transit station
The Fifth Avenue Line station was located right above the headhouse for this station complex
Station statistics
Address	Fifth Avenue and St. Marks Place Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Services	BMT Fifth Avenue Line BMT Culver Line
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	November 5, 1888
Closed	June 1, 1940
Station succession
Next north	Fulton Street
Next south	St. Mark's Avenue

The station complex formerly had an elevated portion on the BMT Fifth Avenue Line, called Atlantic Avenue. It was served by trains of the BMT Culver Line and BMT Fifth Avenue Line and had two tracks and one island platform. It was located at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, right above the headhouse for the current complex. It also served the St. Johns Place Line, Flatbush Avenue Line, Third Avenue Line, and Seventh Avenue Line streetcars.

On June 25, 1923 two cars of a train coming from 65th Street Terminal derailed and fell towards Flatbush Avenue. Eight passengers died and many were injured.^[17][18] With increased use of the subways compared to the elevated lines, and the completion of the unification of the city's three subway systems, the Fifth Avenue Line was closed at midnight on June 1, 1940, and was demolished in 1941.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Gallery

• 

  Looking southwest at the head-house. Fifth Avenue Line has been demolished

• 

  Stair from IRT mezzanine to Fourth Avenue mezzanine and exit, directly below the former headhouse

• 

  Tilework

• 

  Close-up

• 

  Street stair at the NW corner of Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street.

• 

  BMT Fourth Avenue southbound platform in 2007 bearing the old Pacific Street name.

References

1. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
2. "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
3. "National Register of Historical Places – NEW YORK (NY), Kings County". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com.
4. "Brooklyn Joyful Over Its Tunnel". The New York Times. January 10, 1908. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
5. Luo, Michael (2003-12-27). "How to Hold Up a Subway Tunnel: Get a Big Hanger; An Unusual Feat of Engineering Makes the Renovation of a Brooklyn Station Possible". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
6. Annual Report 1964–1965. New York City Transit Authority. 1965.
7. "Double Fare to Be Eliminated At 3 Subway Transfer Points". The New York Times. 1977-12-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
8. "www.nycsubway.org: The New York Transit Authority in the 1970s". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
9. "www.nycsubway.org: The New York Transit Authority in the 1980s". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
10. Jr, James C. Mckinley (1994-11-15). "Subway Work In Flushing Is Restored". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
11. Flegenheimer, Matt (2013-07-19). "M.T.A. Considers Selling Rights to Name Subway Stations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
12. McShane, Larry (2009-06-24). "MTA signs off on sweet Atlantic Yards deal Bruce Ratner: Money down drops from $100M to $20M". Daily News. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
13. Grynbaum, Michael M. (2009-06-23). "M.T.A. Sells Naming Rights to Subway Station". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
14. "Through Tube to Coney, 48 Minutes: First Train on Fourth Avenue Route Beats West End Line Eleven Minutes". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 22, 1915. Retrieved 29 June 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "New Subways Add Seven More Miles to BRT on Aug 1". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 25, 1920. Retrieved August 19, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR6b5KhAtFA&feature=related The provision of the never-built connection north of Atlantic Avenue can be seen towards the right, at the 1:13 mark in the video.
17. Under the Sidewalks of New York The Story of the Greatest Subway System By Brian J. Cudahy
18. "The Forgotten Brooklyn Elevated Train Crash Of 1923". Stuff Nobody Cares About. Forgotten New York. June 25, 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
19. Sparberg, Andrew J. (2014-10-01). From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823261901.
20. "Photo of the Week: Elevated Train Station |". www.brooklynhistory.org. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
21. "1940: What's Going On". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
22. "B.M.T. 'El' Lines to Shift Service; City to Close 2 Sections This Week; New Schedules Affect Fulton St., Lexington Ave. and Culver Roads--Free Transfers to the Independent System at Some Stations". The New York Times. 1940-05-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-02.

Further reading

• Lee Stokey. Subway Ceramics : A History and Iconography. 1994. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0

External links

• nycsubway.org – Brooklyn IRT: Atlantic Avenue
• nycsubway.org – BMT Brighton Line: Atlantic Avenue
• nycsubway.org – BMT 4th Avenue: Pacific Street
• nycsubway.org – Brooklyn IRT Contract 2 map: (includes current and former track configurations, and provisions for future connections)
• nycsubway.org — Hook, Line, and Sinker Artwork by George Trakas (2004)
• nycsubway.org — Steps to the Subway Artwork by Tim Connor (unknown date)
• Station Reporter — Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street Complex
• The Subway Nut — Pacific Street (D,M,N,R) Pictures
• The Subway Nut — Atlantic Avenue (B,Q) Pictures
• The Subway Nut — Atlantic Avenue (2,3,4,5) Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street
• Hanson Place entrance (new station building) from Google Maps Street View
• Williamsburg Savings Bank entrance to Brighton Line on Hanson Place from Google Maps Street View
• Now decorative headhouse from Google Maps Street View
• Pacific Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Entrance in front of the Barclays Center from Google Maps Street View
• IRT platforms from Google Maps Street View