Grand Street (IND Sixth Avenue Line)

Not to be confused with Grand Street (BMT Canarsie Line).
Grand Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address Grand Street & Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
Borough Manhattan
Locale Chinatown
Coordinates 40°43′05″N 73°59′38″W / 40.718119°N 73.993864°W / 40.718119; -73.993864Coordinates: 40°43′05″N 73°59′38″W / 40.718119°N 73.993864°W / 40.718119; -73.993864
Division B (IND)
Line       IND Sixth Avenue Line
Services       B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)
      D  (all times)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: M103
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened November 26, 1967 (1967-11-26)
Wireless service [1]
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 8,010,864[2]Decrease 1.5%
Rank 48 out of 422
Station succession
Next north Broadway–Lafayette Street: B  D 
Next south DeKalb Avenue (local): B  D 
Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (express): D 
Myrtle Avenue (closed): no regular service

Grand Street is a station in Chinatown, Manhattan, on the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Opened on November 26, 1967, it was one of two stations added as part of the Chrystie Street Connection (the other being 57th Street–Sixth Avenue, in 1968). The station, located at the intersection of Grand Street and Chrystie Street, is served by the D at all times and the B on weekdays. It is a proposed station on the Second Avenue Subway, whose phase 4 would include new platform(s) connecting to the existing platforms.

History

Track layout
Legend
to Bway–Lafayette St
to DeKalb Av
or Atlantic Av

The station was built as part of the Chrystie Street Connection, which started construction on the connection between the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges and the Sixth Avenue Line in 1962. This segment, the Chrystie Street Connection, was first proposed in the 1947 plan as the southern end of the Second Avenue Subway (SAS), which would feed into the two bridges. The first part of the connection opened on November 26, 1967, when the connection between the Sixth Avenue Line and the Manhattan Bridge north tracks open, with the Grand Street station opening as part of the connection.[3][4] The connection was fully opened on July 1, 1968 with the opening of the 57th Street and the opening of the connection between the Sixth Avenue Line and the Williamsburg Bridge.[3] With the connection completed, the most significant service changes ever carried out in the subway's history were introduced.[5][6]

Upon this station's opening the routes of the B and D were rerouted via the new connection. BB trains were relabled the B, and began to run to Coney Island via the Chrystie Street Connection, the Manhattan Bridge north tracks, Fourth Avenue Line express tracks, and the West End Line. D trains were rerouted from the Culver Line to run to Coney Island via the new Sixth Avenue express tracks, the Chrystie Street Connection, the Manhattan Bridge north tracks, and the Brighton Line.[3][4][7][6]

When the north Manhattan Bridge tracks were closed for repairs from 1986 to 1988, in 1995, and from 2001 to 2004, this station was served by the Grand Street Shuttle to the Sixth Avenue Line and there was no subway service to Brooklyn.[8] A shuttle bus replaced service to Brooklyn from 2001 to 2004.[9][10][11]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/ Entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
P
Platforms
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Northbound toward Bedford Park Boulevard rush hours, 145th Street other times (Broadway–Lafayette Street)
toward 205th Street (Broadway–Lafayette Street)
Southbound toward Brighton Beach (DeKalb Avenue)
toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center all except nights; DeKalb Avenue late nights)
Side platform, doors will open on the right
1960s-era entrance at the northeast corner of Chrystie Street and Grand Street

The station has two tracks and two narrow side platforms. They are column-less, except at staircases, and have a blue trim line with "GRAND ST" in white sans-serif font on it at regular intervals.[9][12] In the original plan for the station, this would have been a four-track, two-island platform station; the Second Avenue Subway would have served the outer tracks while the Sixth Avenue Line served the inner tracks, providing a cross-platform interchange between these two lines.[9][12][13][7]:216–217[14] Although the connection only served Sixth Avenue Line trains, it was essentially the first part of the Second Avenue line that had been constructed.[13][7] There is a sole mezzanine at the center of the station which has two staircases to each platform, a turnstile bank, token booth, and access to the street exits.[15]

On the Brooklyn-bound side, there is a small sign reading "Change Radio Channel to B1", indicating that train operators must change the channel on the route destination box from B2 (IND) to B1 (BMT) before crossing the Manhattan Bridge. Southbound trains leaving this station cross over the north side of the bridge and arrive at DeKalb Avenue or Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (via the DeKalb Avenue bypass tracks).[16] As the tracks curve onto the bridge, trackways from Canal Street on the Manhattan Bridge branch of the BMT Broadway Line are visible.[17] The north side of the bridge originally led to that station before the current alignment was completed in 1967.[9]

Entrances and exits

There are three staircase exits: two going up to the northeastern corner of the intersection of Grand and Chrystie Streets, and one going up to the northwestern corner.[15] The station originally only had the two street stairs to the northeastern corner of the intersection, but due to growing ridership over the years—mainly by commuters from various Brooklyn neighborhoods to Manhattan's Chinatown—the third staircase to the northwestern corner was added in 1999.[18]

Artwork

Musicians playing huqin for passengers in the station; behind them is the Trains of Thought frieze

A painted frieze called Trains of Thought by Andrea Gardner and Sally Heller was installed at the mezzanine and platforms in the late 1990s as the "Creative Stations" program sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. It features red clay models of R62s mounted on wood.[19]

Second Avenue Subway plans

In addition to connecting the BMT Nassau Street and IND Sixth Avenue Lines, as well as the Sixth Avenue Line to the Manhattan Bridge, the Chrystie Street Connection is one of the few completed sections of the SAS. The Grand Street station was built to serve as a transfer point between the Sixth Avenue and Second Avenue lines.[9] The connection was built this way because the original 1960s plans for the SAS had Second Avenue and Sixth Avenue Line trains sharing two island platforms in a four-track layout, with connections from the Second Avenue Line to the Sixth Avenue Line and the Manhattan Bridge.[9] Because Second Avenue Subway construction was halted in 1975, this station has only served Sixth Avenue Line trains since its opening. As part of the contemporary Second Avenue Subway construction, a new station is planned for construction below the current station during the fourth and final phase of the project;[20] Phase 1 of the project on the Upper East Side is scheduled to be opened in December 2016, with the other three phases still in planning and with no funding committed.[21][22][23][24]

During modern planning, it was considered to utilize the cross-platform provision, known as the "Shallow Chrystie Option", or to place the tracks under Forsyth Street one block east (the Forsyth Option); both of which could tie into an existing tunnel near the Chatham Square station site south of Canal Street. This tunnel, known as the Confucius Plaza Tunnel, was built in the 1970s along with several sections in Upper Manhattan used for Phases 1 and 2 of the SAS.[9][25][26][27][28] Both these options would require extensive usage of cut-and-cover construction methods, creating large amounts of disturbances to the local community, environmental issues, and possibly requiring the demolition of existing structures.[25][29]

Current plans, however, have the Second Avenue platform to be built below the current one, though a free transfer will still be provided.[9][30][26] The "Deep Chrystie Option", as the selected proposal is called, would instead place the Second Avenue Subway platform below the Sixth Avenue Line tracks, to create the least amount of community disturbance by utilizing tunnel boring machines. Cut-and-cover methods would be utilized only at the station site.[25][31][9] The current platforms would be widened to create space for staircases to a new intermediate mezzanine between the two levels. This new mezzanine level will also include a new fare control area with staircases, escalators and elevators leading to two new station entrances/exits, with one on either side of Grand Street between Chrystie and Forsyth Streets.[31][32][25] Although the Second Avenue Subway platform and the new entrances/exits would be ADA accessible,[32] it is currently unknown if the Sixth Avenue Line platforms will also become ADA accessible. However, the widening of the platforms and additional entrances would likely trigger ADA requirements for adding elevators.[33]

References

  1. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  2. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Perlmutter, Emanuel (November 16, 1967). "SUBWAY CHANGES TO SPEED SERVICE: Major Alterations in Maps, Routes and Signs Will Take Effect Nov. 26". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Perlmutter, Emanuel (November 27, 1967). "BMT-IND CHANGES BEWILDER MANY; Transit Authority Swamped With Calls From Riders as New System Starts". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  5. Brian J. Cudahy (January 1995). Under the Sidewalks of New York: The Story of the Greatest Subway System in the World. Fordham University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-8232-1618-5.
  6. 1 2 Gershowitz, Mike (November 24, 1967). "Subway Land Turned Upsidedown" (PDF). Greenpoint Weekly Star. p. 4. Retrieved August 14, 2016 via fultonhistory.com.
  7. 1 2 3 Joseph B. Raskin (November 1, 2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-5369-2. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  8. "1987 system map". nycsubway.org. 1987. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Appendix B: Development of Alternatives" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  10. Dewan, Shaila K. (July 23, 2001). "For Riders, Many Riddles, Written in Q's, D's and W's". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  11. Jacobs, Andrew (January 28, 1996). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: CHINATOWN/DOWNTOWN;Experiment Fails As Peddlers Vote With Their Feet". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "The Subway Compromise". The New York Times. July 28, 1969. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "2nd Avenue Subway – Tentative track plan, Manhattan portion". nycsubway.org. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  14. "Full text of "Metropolitan transportation, a program for action. Report to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York."". Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority. November 7, 1967. Retrieved October 1, 2015 via Internet Archive.
  15. 1 2 "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Lower East Side" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  16. Marrero, Robert (2015-09-13). "469 Stations, 846 Miles" (PDF). B24 Blog, via Dropbox. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  17. "Grand Street". nycsubway.org. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  18. Lee, Denny (February 18, 2001). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: CHINATOWN; Will a Shuttered Subway Lead to Shuttered Stops?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  19. "Artwork: Trains of Thought (Andrea Gardner and Sally Heller)". nycsubway.org. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  20. "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Proposed Phase 4" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  21. Donohue, Pete (January 20, 2013). "Second Ave. subway on track to open in 2016: MTA". Daily News. New York. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  22. "Second Avenue Subway Quarterly Report Q4 2013" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  23. "Capital Programs Second Avenue Subway". mta.info. MTA Capital Construction. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  24. "Fewer Than 1,000 Days to Go!". The Launch Box. April 8, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Chapter 2: Project Alternatives" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  26. 1 2 "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Deep Chrystie Option" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  27. Donohue, Pete (June 24, 2013). "Underground subway party could put organizers in hot water: MTA: Gothamist website printed pictures of the bash. MTA says it'll turn over case to NYPD.". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  28. Kabak, Benjamin (June 25, 2015). "Abandoned SAS segment party prompts NYPD inquiry". secondavenuesagas.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  29. "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Chapter 3: Description of Construction Methods and Activities" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  30. "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Track Diagram, South of 57th Street" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  31. 1 2 "Second Avenue Subway: Tunnel Construction Techniques" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2002. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  32. 1 2 "Second Avenue Subway Station Entrances: Community Board 3" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, DMJM HARRIS, ARUP. May 20, 2003. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  33. Kabak, Benjamin (February 2, 2016). "Feds, MTA at odds over ADA compliance efforts". Second Avenue Sagas. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
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