59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)

59th Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Western street stairs
Station statistics
Address	59th Street & Fourth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11220
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Sunset Park
Coordinates	40°38′27.88″N 74°1′5.45″W / 40.6410778°N 74.0181806°W / 40.6410778; -74.0181806Coordinates: 40°38′27.88″N 74°1′5.45″W / 40.6410778°N 74.0181806°W / 40.6410778; -74.0181806
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	N  (all times)       R  (all times)
Connection	New York City Bus: B9, B63 (on Fifth Avenue)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	June 22, 1915 (1915-06-22)
Other entrances/ exits	Fourth Avenue & 60th Street, Fourth Ave & 59th Street
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	4,094,658[1]  3.2%
Rank	121 out of 421
Station succession
Next north	53rd Street (local): N  R  36th Street (express): N  R
Next south	Bay Ridge Avenue: R  Eighth Avenue (Sea Beach local): N  Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (Sea Beach express): no regular service
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekdays only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekends and weekend late nights Stops weekdays and weekday late nights Stops weekdays only Stops weekends only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays in the peak direction Stops daily except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

59th Street is an express station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 59th Street and Fourth Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park, it is served by the N and R trains at all times.

This is the southernmost four-track express station with two island platforms. The outer local tracks continue along Fourth Avenue to Bay Ridge – 95th Street while the center express tracks turn east to become the BMT Sea Beach Line. South of the station are two diamond crossovers, allowing trains to cross from the outer track to the center track or vice-versa.

The street-level entrance is at the southern end of the station, at 60th Street. There is also an exit at the north end of the station. This station was overhauled in the late 1970s.

Immediately south of the station, one can see tunnel stub headings running straight from the local tracks. They run for about 150 feet and would have been for a line to Staten Island via the Staten Island Tunnel under The Narrows, which was aborted by Mayor Hylan before it was completed.^[2] There is a Maintenance of Way shed that was built on the southbound trackway.^[3] The northbound trackway is unobstructed, albeit much darker.^[4] The northbound trackway ends on a brick wall, with evidence of some sort of space beyond. South of this station, the bridge over the LIRR Bay Ridge Branch has four trackways, with the outer tracks occupying the two western ones. The tracks of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line are under the western half of Fourth Avenue at this point so that two additional tracks could be laid in the future if traffic ever warranted it.

Portions of what was to be two additional tracks for the Fourth Avenue subway south of this station were constructed by the then Brooklyn Edison Company initially for use as circuit breaker chambers.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a major architectural landmark of Brooklyn, is nearby.

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent
B	Northbound local	← toward Forest Hills – 71st Avenue (53rd Street) ← toward Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard late nights (53rd Street)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound express	← toward Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard (36th Street) ← toward 36th Street (late nights) (Terminus)
	Southbound express	→ toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (Eighth Avenue) → (No service: Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound local	→ toward Bay Ridge – 95th Street (Bay Ridge Avenue) → → toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue late nights (Eighth Avenue) →

References

External links

Northbound platform

• Media related to 59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) at Wikimedia Commons
• nycsubway.org—BMT 4th Avenue Line: 59th Street
• Station Reporter — N Train
• Station Reporter — R Train
• The Subway Nut — 59th Street Pictures
• 59th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 60th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View