Newkirk Plaza (BMT Brighton Line)

Newkirk Plaza is an express station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway in Flatbush, Brooklyn, served by the Q train at all times and the B train on weekdays. It is located on an open-cut at the center of the pedestrian-only Newkirk Plaza shopping mall, which bounded by Newkirk Avenue on the north, Foster Avenue on the south, Marlborough Road to the west, and East 16th Street to the east.

This open cut station has four tracks and two island platforms. Q trains normally use the outer local tracks while B trains stop at the inner express tracks. The Manhattan-bound local track is completely underneath the east side of the mall while the Coney Island-bound one is underneath the west side of the mall except for a section at the north end. The express tracks are in open view except in the center (where the station's only entrance is) and at either ends (where the Newkirk Avenue and Marlborough Road overpasses are).

The station's only entrance is a station house at the center of the plaza. It has a token booth, turnstile bank, and a staircase leading to a short landing above both platforms that separate into two staircases facing the opposite directions going down to the platforms themselves. The station house was renovated in 1988, which included installation of white tiles and a stained-glass artwork titled Transit Skylight by David Wilson.

The station and above-ground shopping plaza has been under reconstruction since 2009. This included installation of yellow warning strips on the platform edges and repainting of the columns from red to green.

The station opened around 1900 as a two-track surface station named South Midwood, a reference to its location at the southern end of the former Town of Flatbush, which was also historically known as Midwood. Currently, Midwood is considered to be the area south of where the station now stands, so it would now more correctly be described as being in South Flatbush or North Midwood.

When on the surface, the station was a division point at which short turned elevated trains of the Fulton Street El terminated. After grade crossings were eliminated in 1908 the station became a through stop for all services; at this time it was given the name Newkirk Avenue. The station was renamed Newkirk Plaza in August 2011.

On the eastern side of the station entrance building there is a plaque which reads "The Depression and Elevation of this railroad to abolish grade crossings was authorized by the Legislature May 9th, 1903. A joint undertaking between the City Of New York and the Brooklyn Heights R.R. Co. under the direction of the Brooklyn Grade Crossing Commission. ..... Work commenced August 1st 1904 - Completed July 1st 1908"

This station appeared in the Futurama episode The Luck of the Fryrish and was portrayed as being in Fry's old neighborhood of Ditmas Park, considering his old home is a detached albeit run-down Victorian house. It also appeared in the films Next Stop, Greenwich Village^[2] and Man Push Cart.

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References

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Newkirk_Plaza_(BMT_Brighton_Line) Newkirk Plaza (BMT Brighton Line)] at Wikimedia Commons

• nycsubway.org — BMT Brighton Line: Newkirk Avenue
• Station Reporter — B Train
• Station Reporter — Q Train
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Newkirk Plaza (BMT Brighton Line)
• The Subway Nut — Newkirk Plaza Pictures