Lexington Avenue–63rd Street (63rd Street Lines)

Lexington Avenue–63rd Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Upper level platform
Station statistics
Address Lexington Avenue & East 63rd Street
New York, NY 10065
Borough Manhattan
Locale Upper East Side, Lenox Hill
Coordinates 40°45′53″N 73°57′59″W / 40.764649°N 73.966398°W / 40.764649; -73.966398Coordinates: 40°45′53″N 73°57′59″W / 40.764649°N 73.966398°W / 40.764649; -73.966398
Division B (BMT/IND)
Line IND/BMT 63rd Street Lines
Services       F  (all times)
System transfers With MetroCard only:
      4  (all times)
      5  (all except late nights)
      6  (all times) <6> (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
      N  (all times)
      R  (all except late nights)
      W  (weekdays only) at Lexington Avenue / 59th Street
(Transfer stations are not accessible)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: M101, M102, M103
MTA Bus: BxM1
Structure Underground
Depth 100 feet (30 m)
Levels 2
Platforms 2 island platforms (1 on each level, half of each in passenger service)
cross-platform interchange (future)
Tracks 4 (2 on each level; 1 in service on each level)
Other information
Opened October 29, 1989 (1989-10-29)[1]
Accessible
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 4,718,159[2] Increase 5.3%
Rank 102 out of 422
Station succession
Next north Roosevelt Island (63rd): F 
72nd Street (2nd Ave): under construction
Next south 57th Street (6th Avenue): F 
57th Street–Seventh Avenue (Broadway): no regular service
Next north Roosevelt Island (63rd): F 
72nd Street (2nd Ave): under construction
Next south 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center (6th Avenue): F 
Times Square–42nd Street (Broadway): no regular service

Lexington Avenue–63rd Street is a New York City Subway station in Lenox Hill, Manhattan, shared by the IND and BMT 63rd Street Lines. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street, it is served by the F train at all times. The station has two platform levels; trains headed southbound to downtown and Brooklyn use the upper level, while trains headed northbound, to Queens, use the lower level.

The station is currently being expanded as part of the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. Q trains, and some rush-hour N trains, to and from the Second Avenue Subway will also stop here starting in December 2016. Because of the construction, the station's original red-orange wall tiles have been removed, and new beige-white wall tiles have been installed.

History

Construction

The current 63rd Street Line was the final version of proposals for a northern midtown tunnel from the IND Queens Boulevard Line to the Second and Sixth Avenue Lines, which date back to the IND Second System of the 1920s and 1930s.[3][4][5][6] The current plans were drawn up in the 1960s under the MTA's Program For Action.[7]

Track layout
Legend
to Roosevelt Island
Future Phase 3
Two levels split
below this point
to 72 St
Superimposed tracks section
 (Left tracks above right ones)
to 57 St–7 Av
to 57 St–6 Av
Lower level
 Upper level
Upper platform in 2010, prior to reconstruction for a connection to the Second Avenue Subway
Second Avenue Subway work on BMT side in 2012

Construction on the 63rd Street Line, including the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station, began on November 25, 1969.[8] About US$1,230,000,000[9] was spent to create three tunnels and a half-dozen holes as part of construction on the Second Avenue and 63rd Street Lines. The station was built using a combination of cut-and-cover construction and tunneling machines.[10][11] However, after the construction of the Second Avenue Subway ceased in 1975 due to the city's severe fiscal crisis, the BMT side basically led to a non-existent subway line, so the BMT side was abandoned and walled off with a temporary orange brick wall, and a false ceiling was placed on the upper level's IND side. Finishing touches were only applied to the IND side of the station.[12][13][14] The tracks on the closed-off BMT side were used only to store trains outside of rush hour.[15][16]

Original station opens

The IND side of the station was completed in 1983,[1] when it was named the Construction Achievement Project of the Year by the Metropolitan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers;[17] however, it did not open for passenger service until October 29, 1989,[18] when the upper levels of the multi-level 63rd Street Tunnel were completed for subway use.[14][1] Upon the station's opening, it operated as a typical one-track, one-side platform station on each level, with only the IND side in use, while the BMT side of each level was hidden beyond an orange tiled false wall. Switches on both levels connected the lines to the west of the station.[19]

East of this station on the IND side are turnouts for a connection to Phase 3 of the Second Avenue Subway, clearly visible from a moving train,[20] which would allow future service from Queens towards Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. Also to the east, the eastbound track of the IND line rises to the upper level of the tunnel, as both IND tracks are located on the upper level of 63rd Street Tunnel for the trip under the East River. The two tracks on the lower level of that tunnel are being connected to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) via the East Side Access project. The project will bring trains from the LIRR's Main Line to Grand Central Terminal, but the lower level currently unused.

East of this station on the BMT side, the planned track connections to the Second Avenue Subway curved slightly north. After the tracks ended, the roadbed went on for a few hundred feet before ending. With the Second Avenue Subway connection, these tunnels now merge into the tunnels of Phase 1 of the IND Second Avenue Line, which is under construction as of November 2016.[14][21]

Expansion for the Second Avenue Subway

In 2007, the Second Avenue Subway resumed construction.[22] The station is undergoing renovation to finish the BMT side, which will serve Second Avenue Line trains. The renovation includes installation of a platform new staircase, new wall tiles, new columns and column cladding, new platform paving, new entrances/exits, as well as new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and communication systems.[23][24] The contract for renovation of the station was awarded to Judlau Contracting in January 2011.[25][26]

Unused tracks on BMT side under construction in 2013, to be used by the Q and the N in the future.

On September 22, 2011, a Second Avenue Subway tunnel-boring machine completed its run to the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station's bellmouth.[27][28] Controlled blasting for the section of tunnel between Third Avenue/63rd Street and Second Avenue/65th Street was completed in March 2012.[29]

The orange false walls at platform level were removed in 2012 as part of construction, but the orange tiles at the Lexington Avenue mezzanine, as well as on the corridors to platform level, were kept for the time being.[30] Temporary blue walls separating most of the IND and BMT sides were erected in Spring 2012.[31][32][33][34][35] Holes within the blue walls on both levels allow passengers to see the BMT tracks from the IND side, and both sides have large white and grey panels on the track side, as well as "temporary" wall tiles that say "Lex 63" every couple columns of tiles.[36] This differs vastly from the small beige tiles that were on the IND side of the tracks from 1989 to 2013.[31]

When the contract was awarded, renovation was estimated to be finished by May 2014, but the completion date has been pushed back constantly, and as of August 2015, the completion date is Spring 2016,[37] though this was later pushed back to Summer 2016.[38] As of July 2015, the renovation is 91% complete,[39][40][41][42] and as of June 2016, 98% complete with only cosmetic finishes and power upgrades to be completed.[38]

To accommodate the increase patronage expected after the beginning of Second Avenue Subway service, the MTA is constructing four new entrances at the intersection of Third Avenue and 63rd Street, leading to a new mezzanine at the eastern end of the station. Passengers will travel between the new mezzanine and the platforms using four high-speed elevators, similar to the layout of several other stations deep underground. These elevators are the most space-efficient means of transporting people.[43][38] As part of Second Avenue Subway renovations, the artwork of Jean Shin will also be installed in the new station areas, decorating the station walls with a ceramic and glass photographic installation that will include archival photos from the New York Transit Museum.[44] The MTA plans to inaugurate Phase 1 of Second Avenue Subway service in December 2016.[45][46]

Service history

This station opened on October 29, 1989 along with the entire IND 63rd Street Line.[1][47] The Q train served the station on weekdays and the B train stopped there on the weekends; both services used the Sixth Avenue Line.[1] For the first couple of months after the station opened, the JFK Express to Kennedy Airport also served the station until it was discontinued in 1990.[48] The tunnel had gained notoriety as the "tunnel to nowhere" both during its planning and after its opening.[1][6] Lexington Avenue–63rd Street was the third-to-last stop before 21st Street–Queensbridge, the line's northern terminus; the 21st Street station was not connected to any other subway station or line in Queens.[1][6]

Station sign describing the out-of-system transfer to Lexington Avenue–59th Street station.

On July 22, 2001, concurrent with the closure of the IND Sixth Avenue Line tracks of the Manhattan Bridge, B and Q train service to this station ceased and was replaced with a full-time shuttle. On December 16, 2001, the 63rd Street Connector officially opened, and the F train was rerouted to serve this station at all times, which it still does to this day.[8][49][50][51][52][53] When this happened, a free MetroCard out-of-system transfer to the Lexington Avenue–59th Street station was added. This was to provide a transfer to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line for F train customers as such a connection had been provided at the Lexington Avenue–53rd Street station along the previous routing of the F train.[54]

The MTA's plans for Second Avenue Subway service will extend the Q train (and selected rush-hour N train short turn trips), now running via the BMT Broadway Line, along the BMT 63rd Street Line to serve this station, beyond which it will turn north and run along the Second Avenue Line to 96th Street.[55][56]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/Entrance, MetroCard connection to    trains at Lexington Avenue / 59th Street
B1 Lexington Avenue Mezzanine Fare control, station agent, MetroCard vending machines, elevator to platform
(Elevator on north side of 63rd Street west of Lexington Avenue)
Third Avenue Mezzanine Fare control, station agent, MetroCard vending machines, elevators to platforms
(Elevator at NW corner of Third Avenue and 63rd Street. Note: Not open to the public)
B2 - Escalator/stairway landing
B3 - Escalator/stairway landing, transfer between platforms
B4 Southbound ← ( rush hours) (under construction) toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Q via Brighton, N via Sea Beach) (57th Street–Seventh Avenue)
Island platform, doors will open on the right
Southbound ← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (via Culver) (57th Street)
B5 Northbound → ( rush hours) (under construction) toward 96th Street (72nd Street) →
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Northbound → toward Jamaica–179th Street (Roosevelt Island) →
B6 Track 1 ← LIRR East Side Access (under construction)
Track 2 → LIRR East Side Access (under construction) →
Elevator to Lexington Avenue on the upper platform, before (top) and after (bottom) renovation

From the street, there are two short escalators and a stair from the northwest corner, a staircase from the southwest corner, and a short elevator hidden around the corner from the escalators. From the fare control, there are two long escalators and a stair to an intermediate level, and then two shorter escalators and a pair of stairs to a lower mezzanine. Here, the bank splits and there are two separate tubes of two escalators and a stair each to each platform. The platform elevator has its own two turnstiles, and makes three stops (mezzanine, upper platform, lower platform).

The station's upper and lower levels are about 140 feet (43 m) and 155 feet (47 m) deep respectively, making the station among the system's deepest. This depth is because it has to go under the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and other existing infrastructure, in addition to the IND tunnels having to go under the East River a short distance to the east.[14] At the original (1989) mezzanine at Lexington Avenue, there are a total of eight escalators, four staircases and two elevators from the fare mezzanine to platform level. There is an in-building entrance with two escalators and a staircase, and another, stand-alone entrance with a staircase, from the street to the Lexington Avenue fare mezzanine.[14] Two additional staircases between the platform levels are at the eastern end of platforms, past the elevator. A third staircase between the platform levels is currently under construction.[14]

An eastern mezzanine at Third Avenue, along with stairwells to the platforms, was partially completed in the 1980s but not opened along with the rest of the station. A shaftway, identical to the one on the Lexington Avenue side, contained a sole stairway, as well as beams that may have been intended to support escalators. The stairway led up to an upper mezzanine whose street entrance was sealed off.[16] This area was renovated as part of the Second Avenue Subway construction, and the shaftway demolished.[57] The new entrances under construction for the Second Avenue Subway will add two new staircases, two new escalators, and five new elevators (one elevator from street level to mezzanine, and four elevators from the mezzanine to the platforms).[24] As of April 2016, the new entrances, escalators, and elevators have been completed. The bank of four elevators leads from the Third Avenue mezzanine to both platform levels at the eastern ends of both platforms, replacing the originally planned escalators due to being more space-efficient.[58] On each platform level, both waiting areas have an outline of the New York City skyline along the sets of windows that face onto the IND tracks. There is also a pattern of the city skyline within the escalator entrance's wall. This entrance remains closed as of November 2016.[59]

Entrances and exits

1980s-era outdoor station entrance at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street
1980s-era in-building station entrance at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street

There are currently 3 entrances and exits leading to Lexington Avenue, along with 4 new entrances to Third Avenue under construction.[23] The elevator between the street level and mezzanine was replaced in August 2015.[60][61]

Exit location Exit Type Number of exits Status
Within building, NW corner of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street Escalator and Staircase 1 Open
Next to 135 E 63rd Street
NW corner of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street		 Elevator 1 Open
SW corner of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street Staircase 1 Open
Entrance 1
Within building at SE corner of Third Avenue and 63rd Street		 Escalators 1 Under construction
Entrance 2
NW corner of Third Avenue and 63rd Street		 Elevator 1 Under construction
Entrance 3
NE corner of Third Avenue and 63rd Street		 Staircase 1 Under construction
Entrance 4
SW corner of Third Avenue and 63rd Street 		Staircase 1 Under construction

Ancillary buildings

As with the three Second Avenue Subway stations under construction, this station will have two ancillary buildings:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lorch, Donatella (October 29, 1989). "The 'Subway to Nowhere' Now Goes Somewhere". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  2. ↑ "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  3. ↑ Joseph B. Raskin (1 November 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 12 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (23 August 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
  5. ↑ Project for Expanded Rapid Transit Facilities, New York City Transit System, dated July 5, 1939
  6. 1 2 3 Knowles, Clayton (December 16, 1964). "Proposed Subway Tube Assailed As 'Nowhere‐to‐Nowhere' Link". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Full text of "Metropolitan transportation, a program for action. Report to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York."". Internet Archive. November 7, 1967. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "63rd St Tunnel Connector". Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
  9. ↑ nycsubway.org—The New York Transit Authority in the 1970s
  10. ↑ "Despite Protests, Judge Allows Work on 63d St. Subway Station". The New York Times. May 18, 1976. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  11. ↑ Burks, Edward C. (September 24, 1976). "Coming: Light at End Of the 63d St. Tunnel". The New York Times. p. 29. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  12. ↑ "The Line That Time Forgot – Second Avenue Subway". Nymag.com. April 5, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ FAQ: Completed Portions of the 2nd Avenue Subway. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brennan, Joseph (2002). "Abandoned Stations: Lexington Ave (63 St) north side". Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  15. ↑ "F'ing mirror image.". ltvsquad.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Abandoned 63rd street platform & Mezzanine, Circa 2004". ltvsquad.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "Construction Achievement Project of the Year Award". ASCE Metropolitan Section. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  18. ↑ "MTA - news - 63 St Subway Extension Opened 25 Years Ago this Week". Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "www.nycsubway.org: New York City Subway Track Maps". www.nycsubway.org. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGx0HlxYFKw The provision for the future 2nd Avenue Subway can be seen toward the left, at the 5:18 mark into the video.
  21. ↑ Solis, Julia (2005). New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City. New York: Routledge. p. 93. ISBN 0-415-95013-9. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  22. ↑ "Second Avenue subway groundbreaking: Is 4th time the charm?". The Journal News. April 12, 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2007.
  23. 1 2 3 4 mta.info—February 2012 Newsletter
  24. 1 2 mta.info—June 2015 Newsletter
  25. ↑ "The Launch Box". Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  26. ↑ mta.info-Quarter 1 2011 Report
  27. ↑ Greg B. Smith (June 2, 2013). "Second Avenue subway plagued with dangerous conditions and safety violations". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  28. ↑ "Second Avenue Subway has a breakthrough moment; several billion more are all the M.T.A. wants". Capital NY. September 23, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  29. ↑ mta.info—March 2012 Newsletter
  30. ↑ Subway Disruptions Continue – All in the Name of Progress. November 23, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  31. 1 2 Cuozzo, Steve (December 7, 2014). "First look at a Second Avenue Subway station". Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  32. ↑ http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_pdf/SAS%20Lex-63rd%20Station%20Area%20CAC%20Meeting%20No.4_2012May29%20v3.pdf
  33. ↑ "mta.info - Capital Programs Second Avenue Subway". Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "The Launch Box". Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  35. ↑ "090924_C1C2AC5ACombined_CB8_final+-+p.3.jpg (image)". bp.blogspot.com.
  36. ↑ "PHOTOS: No Rats, No Pillars, No People in This Peek at the 2nd Ave. Subway". Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  37. ↑ mta.info—August 2015 Newsletter
  38. 1 2 3 mta.info—June 2016 Newsletter
  39. ↑ "New Photos Show Second Avenue Subway Stations Nearing Completion". Gothamist. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  40. ↑ March 2015 report from Transit & Bus Committee
  41. ↑ mta.info—April 2015 Newsletter
  42. ↑ http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_pdf/CB8%20SAS%20Task%20Force%20meeting%202015July14_Final_sm.pdf#page=5
  43. ↑ Media:63rd St Reconstruction.png
  44. ↑ Ben Yakas (2014-01-22). "Here's What The Second Avenue Subway Will Look Like When It's Filled With Art". Gothamist. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  45. ↑ MTA releases Second Avenue subway images, says project on track NY Daily News, November 5, 2013
  46. ↑ MTA.info—Second Avenue Subway Quarterly Report Q4 2013
  47. ↑ Kershaw, Sarah (December 17, 2001). "V Train Begins Service Today, Giving Queens Commuters Another Option". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  48. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (November 25, 2009). "If You Took the Train to the Plane, Sing the Jingle". Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  49. ↑ "Review of F Line Operations, Ridership, and Infrastructure" (PDF). nysenate.gov. MTA New York City Transit Authority. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-31. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  50. ↑ "Review of the G Line" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 10, 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  51. ↑ O'Neill, Natalie (April 13, 2012). "History shows it's not the G train 'extension' — it's the G train renewal". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  52. ↑ "E,F Detour in 2001, F trains via 63 St, E no trains running, take R instead". The Subway Nut. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  53. ↑ Kennedy, Randy (May 25, 2001). "Panel Approves New V Train but Shortens G Line to Make Room". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  54. ↑ "mta.info – Facts and Figures". mta.info.
  55. ↑ "mta.info – Capital Programs Second Avenue Subway". mta.info.
  56. ↑ "MTA | Press Release | NYC Transit | MTA Advances Work On Second Avenue Subway Service". www.mta.info. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  57. ↑ "Map of mezzanine construction work posted outside the construction site". Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  58. ↑ mta.info—April 2016 Newsletter
  59. ↑ mta.info—October 2016 Newsletter
  60. ↑ "METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (MTA) NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  61. ↑ "mta.info - Accessibility". Retrieved 29 April 2016.

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