Myrtle Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)

Myrtle Avenue
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Lower platforms (in operation)
Station statistics
Address	Myrtle Avenue & Broadway Brooklyn, NY 11206
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick
Coordinates	40°41′49″N 73°56′07″W / 40.696941°N 73.935285°W / 40.696941; -73.935285Coordinates: 40°41′49″N 73°56′07″W / 40.696941°N 73.935285°W / 40.696941; -73.935285
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Jamaica Line
Services	J  (all times)       M  (all times)       Z  (rush hours, peak direction)
Connection	MTA New York City Bus: B15, B46, B47, B54
Structure	Elevated
Levels	2 (upper level abandoned)
Platforms	3 island platforms (2 in service (lower level), 1 disused (upper level)) cross-platform interchange (lower level)
Tracks	3 (lower level), 2 (upper level)
Other information
Opened	September 16, 1888 (1888-09-16) (lower level) December 19, 1889 (1889-12-19) (upper level)
Closed	October 4, 1969 (1969-10-04) (upper level)
Former/other names	Myrtle Avenue – Broadway
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	3,523,740[1]  1.1%
Rank	144 out of 421
Station succession
Preceding station   New York City Subway   Following station Sumner Avenue toward Park Row BMT Myrtle Avenue Line (demolished) Central Avenue toward Metropolitan Avenue Terminus M  Flushing Avenue toward Chambers Street, Broad Street, Essex Street, or 71st Avenue BMT Jamaica Line (local) M  BMT Jamaica Line (local) J  Kosciuszko Street toward Parsons/Archer Park Avenue toward Broadway Ferry BMT Jamaica Line (demolished) Marcy Avenue toward Chambers Street, Broad Street, Essex Street, or 71st Avenue BMT Jamaica Line (express & skip-stop) J  BMT Jamaica Line (express & skip-stop) Z  Gates Avenue toward Parsons/Archer (express) no regular service Broadway Junction toward Parsons/Archer
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)

Myrtle Avenue (announced as Myrtle Avenue – Broadway in the R160 cars to distinguish it from the nearby Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues station) is a two-level express station on the BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Broadway in Brooklyn, it is served by J and M trains at all times and the Z during rush hours in peak direction. All service is on the lower level of the station. The upper level, previously serving the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line to Downtown Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, carries no tracks and is abandoned. Just east of the station is an at-grade junction with slip switches between the BMT Myrtle Avenue and BMT Jamaica Lines.

Station layout

3F	Former southbound Myrtle Avenue El	Trackbed
	Island platform, disused
	Former northbound Myrtle Avenue El	Trackbed
2F	Westbound local[note 1]	← toward Broad Street (off-peak weekdays) or Chambers Street (weekends) (Flushing Avenue) ← toward 71st Avenue (weekdays), Essex Street (weekends) (Flushing Avenue)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Center track[note 2]	← toward Broad Street (AM rush) (Marcy Avenue) → toward Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer (PM rush) (Kosciuszko Street (J local) or Gates Avenue (Z skip-stop local); no service to Broadway Junction (express)) → → toward Metropolitan Avenue (late nights) (Central Avenue) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Eastbound local[note 1]	→ toward Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer (off-peak) (Kosciuszko Street) → → toward Metropolitan Avenue (all except late nights) (Central Avenue) →
1F	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent
G	Street Level	Exit / Entrance

Lower level

This elevated station, opened on September 16, 1888 on the lower level, has three tracks and two island platforms. J and Z trains use the middle track for peak-direction express service on weekdays while M trains use it as a terminal track for their late night shuttle service to Middle Village – Metropolitan Avenue. For the rest of the time, all trains are on the local tracks. East of this station, J and Z trains use the local track, continuing on the Jamaica Line to Queens; M trains use an "S" curve that connects the Jamaica Line to the Myrtle Avenue Line and continue to Metropolitan Avenue. This is one of the few remaining level junctions in the subway as well as one of the few places on revenue tracks with slip switches.^[2][3] This can be a bottleneck for any arriving train around here in either direction.

Both platforms have brown canopies with green support columns and frames for their entire length except for a small section at either ends. The station signs are in the standard black plates in white lettering.

This station has an elevated station house to the west underneath the skeletal remains of the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line. Two staircases from each platform go down to an elevated crossunder, where a shorter staircase on the Queens-bound side leads to the station house's waiting area. Outside the turnstile bank, there is a token booth and two staircases going down to either western corners of Myrtle Avenue and Broadway.

The 1999 artwork here is called Jammin' Under the El by Verna Hart. It consists of stained glass windows on the platforms' sign structures as well as the station house depicting various scenes related to music.

Upper level

The upper level station (which was marked on signs as Broadway) opened on April 27, 1889, and created a transfer opportunity to the BMT Jamaica Line. The previous station located nearby at Stuyvesant Avenue was then closed. The upper level station contained two tracks and an island platform, with stairs to both of the existing platforms on the lower level. The Myrtle Avenue upper level was extended to Wyckoff Avenue on July 21, 1889.^[4] The BMT Myrtle Avenue Line from Broadway to Bridge–Jay Streets closed on October 4, 1969 and was replaced via transfer to the B54 bus toward Jay Street.

Gallery

• 

  The abandoned upper level

• 

  A weekend R160A M shuttle train on the center track prior to the extension of weekend M service from Myrtle Avenue to Essex Street

• 

  South stair

Notes

References

External links

• nycsubway.org—BMT Jamaica Line: Myrtle Avenue
• Station Reporter — J Train
• Station Reporter — M Train
• The Subway Nut — Myrtle Avenue Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Myrtle Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)
• Myrtle Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View