34th Street – Herald Square (New York City Subway)

34th Street – Herald Square
New York City Subway rapid transit station complex
Station statistics
Address	Intersection of West 34th Street, Broadway & Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10001
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Herald Square, Midtown Manhattan
Coordinates	40°44′58″N 73°59′17″W / 40.749338°N 73.987985°W / 40.749338; -73.987985Coordinates: 40°44′58″N 73°59′17″W / 40.749338°N 73.987985°W / 40.749338; -73.987985
Division	B (BMT/IND)
Line	IND Sixth Avenue Line       BMT Broadway Line
Services	B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)       D  (all times)       F  (all times)       M  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)       N  (all times)       Q  (all times)       R  (all except late nights)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M4, M5, M7, M34 SBS, M34A SBS, Q32, X1 MTA Bus: BxM2, QM1, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM5, QM6, QM10, QM11, QM12, QM15, QM16, QM17, QM18, QM20, QM24 Academy Bus: X23, X24 PATH: JSQ–33, HOB–33, JSQ–33 (via HOB) (at 33rd Street)
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Other information
Opened	July 1, 1948 (1948-07-01)[1]
Accessible
Wireless service	[2][3]
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	39,285,568 (station complex)[4]  2.8%
Rank	3 out of 421
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops weekdays only

34th Street – Herald Square is an underground station complex on the BMT Broadway Line and the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, and is the third busiest station in the system with 39,285,568 passengers entering the station in 2014.^[4] It is located at Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan where 34th Street, Broadway and Sixth Avenue intersect, and is served by the:

• D, F, N, and Q trains at all times
• R train at all times except late nights
• B and M trains weekdays

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agents, transfer to PATH trains at 33rd Street (MTA elevator at Herald Center building on west side of Broadway south of 34th Street; PATH elevator on west side of Sixth Avenue north of 32nd Street)
B2	Southbound local	← toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue via Sea Beach ( toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue via Brighton late nights) (28th Street) ← toward Bay Ridge – 95th Street (28th Street)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound express	← toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue via Brighton (all except late nights) (14th Street – Union Square)
	Northbound express	→ toward Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard (weekdays except late nights) or 57th Street (weekends except late nights) (Times Square – 42nd Street) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound local	→ toward Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard ( toward 57th Street late nights) (Times Square – 42nd Street) → → toward Forest Hills – 71st Avenue (Times Square – 42nd Street) →
B3	Southbound local	← toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue via Culver (23rd Street) ← toward Middle Village – Metropolitan Avenue (weekdays) (23rd Street)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound express	← toward Brighton Beach (West 4th Street – Washington Square) ← toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue via West End (West 4th Street – Washington Square)
	Northbound express	→ toward Bedford Park Boulevard rush hours, 145th Street other times (42nd Street – Bryant Park) → → toward Norwood – 205th Street (42nd Street – Bryant Park) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound local	→ toward Jamaica – 179th Street (42nd Street – Bryant Park) → → toward Forest Hills – 71st Avenue (weekdays) (42nd Street – Bryant Park) →

This station complex has a long mezzanine above the platforms. Three staircases and two elevators lead to each of the two Broadway line platforms. Three pairs of escalators lead to the Sixth Avenue line platforms (two to the northbound one and one to the southbound one). There is a non-ADA-compliant ramp that leads to an intermediate level. This level has two sets of staircases leading to each of the Sixth Avenue platforms. The elevators to this level are at the north end of the mezzanine by the 35th Street exit (which contains a bank of turnstiles, token booth, and three staircases leading to Broadway and Sixth Avenue).

In addition to this exit, the mezzanine has connections with the two entrances at Broadway/Sixth Avenue and 34th Street. The entrance on the west side is staffed full-time and has two staircases to 34th Street. The northwest staircase has an entrance to an underground Burger King. There is a long passageway containing a single street elevator that leads to PATH at 33rd Street. The entrance on the east side of 34th Street is staffed part-time and when the token booth is closed, only two HEET turnstiles provide access to the mezzanine. This entrance has a passageway that connects to the 35th Street exit and has two pairs of exit-only turnstiles from the mezzanine.

There is another mezzanine at the south end of the Sixth Avenue level that has two staircases leading to each platform. It is directly underneath the PATH station mezzanine (two levels from street level) and has a passageway leading to the entrance at Broadway and 32nd Street. Outside of fare control, there is an entrance leading directly to the two basement levels of J. C. Penney in the Manhattan Mall. There are also escalators that lead to the front entrance of the mall. The entrance at Broadway and 32nd Street is unstaffed, has two street stairs, and one stair to each of the two Broadway platforms on the very south end.

Passageways

There are closed passageways (but not free transfers) to the adjacent 42nd Street – Bryant Park station to the north and to 34th Street – Penn Station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line.

There was once an out-of-system passageway to Pennsylvania Station one block west. During the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway had high rates of crime, as did the rest of the city; the passageway similarly experienced high crime rates. The passageway, with only two exits – one at each end – was located under 32nd Street and was so named because it was next to the basements of the Gimbels department store and the Hotel Pennsylvania. This passageway was closed in the 1990s and passengers now must walk at street level to connect to the commuter railroads.^[5] A real estate developer, Vornado Realty Trust, proposed in 2010 to reopen the passageway in exchange for variances to build office towers replacing existing structures in the area.^[6]

The pathway to Bryant Park was outside of fare control, but was intended to relieve passenger flow at the 42nd and 34th Street stations.^[7] In the 1980s, the passageway became a gathering spot for homeless people and drug users. The passageway was closed on March 23, 1991, after a rape.^[8]

Renovations

This complex was overhauled in the late 1970s. The Transit Authority fixed the station's structure and renovated its appearance. The overhaul replaced the original wall tiles, old signs, and incandescent lighting to the '70s modern look wall tile band and tablet mosaics, signs and fluorescent lights. It also fixed staircases and platform edges. In the early 1990s, the station received another major repair, which included an upgrade for ADA-accessibility and modernized wall tiling. The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiling for the walls, installed new tiling on the floors, upgraded the station's lights and the public address system, installing ADA safety threads along the platform edge, new signs, and new track-beds in both directions.

BMT Broadway Line platforms

34th Street – Herald Square
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Broadway Line
Services	N  (all times)       Q  (all times)       R  (all except late nights)
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	January 5, 1918 (1918-01-05)[9]
Accessible
Station succession
Next north	Times Square – 42nd Street: N  Q  R
Next south	28th Street (local): N  Q  R  14th Street – Union Square (express): Q
Next north	Times Square – 42nd Street: N  Q  R
Next south	14th Street – Union Square: N  Q  R
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only

Girl using the REACH New York, An Urban Musical Instrument rack

34th Street – Herald Square on the BMT Broadway Line is an express station that has four tracks and two island platforms. This level opened several years after the opening of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson station; the Sixth Avenue line platforms were built later.

Each platform has three staircases and one elevator to the main mezzanine on the north half and another staircase at the extreme south end to 32nd Street. North of the station are diamond crossovers in both directions that are used by Q trains on weekdays when they operate to and from Queens.

Because Queens-bound Q trains switch from the express to the local track north of this station, trains are often held here until another train arrives on the opposite track. Depending on the schedule, they may not leave in the same order in which they arrived. This causes confusion among riders as they run back and forth on the northbound platform trying to catch the train that will leave first. This is also true at other stations where two services that run to the same destination stop at the same platform but do not stop on the same side of the platform, such as Franklin Avenue (southbound 2 and 5 trains), Canal Street (A, C and E trains), 59th Street – Columbus Circle (southbound B and D trains), Queens Plaza (E, M and R trains) and Essex Street (outbound J/Z and M trains). The New York Times calls this The Subway Shuffle.^[10]

In 1996, artist Christopher Janney installed "REACH New York, An Urban Musical Instrument." The piece consists of green racks with sensors hanging along the platforms. Waving one's hands in front of the sensors creates a corresponding sound from the rack.

IND Sixth Avenue Line platforms

34th Street – Herald Square
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Sixth Avenue Line
Services	B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)       D  (all times)       F  (all times)       M  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	December 15, 1940 (1940-12-15)
Accessible
Station succession
Next north	42nd Street – Bryant Park: B  D  F  M
Next south	23rd Street (local): F  M  West Fourth Street – Washington Square (express): B  D
Next north	47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center: B  D  F  M
Next south	West Fourth Street – Washington Square: B  D  F  M
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops weekdays only

Elevator from northbound platform

34th Street – Herald Square on the IND Sixth Avenue Line is an express station that has four tracks and two island platforms. The mezzanine elevators are at the north end of the station while the staircases to the Manhattan Mall entrance are at the south end. The platforms have numerous stairs and escalators leading to the main mezzanine. Stairs on both platforms lead to a non-accessible ramp leading to the mezzanine.

The platforms are not equal in length, as the northbound one is longer than the southbound one. North of this station are numerous crossovers and switches that allow trains from uptown to terminate here on the express tracks during construction and closures.

During construction on the IND portion of this station, contractors had to counter problems in their path. For one, the BMT and PATH platforms existed decades before this portion of the station was completed. Constructors had to dig deeper in order to pass the original platforms without interference, as well as avoiding wires and pipes.

Prior to the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection in 1967, the express tracks only extended to bumper blocks about 140 feet south of this station, though the tunnels extended for another 260 feet beyond that.

Bombing plot

On August 28, 2004, Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay were arrested for planning to bomb the Herald Square station during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Elshafay cooperated with prosecutors and received a plea deal; Siraj was convicted of conspiracy on four counts, the most serious of which was plotting to bomb a public transportation system, in 2006 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2007.^[11][12][13]

Notable places nearby

• Empire State Building, one block east of the 34th Street entrances
• Manhattan Mall, in which the 32nd Street entrance is located
• Herald Square, directly in between the 34th Street entrances
• Macy's Herald Square, near the northwestern entrance at 34th Street
• Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, both one block west of the 32nd Street entrance

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 34th Street – Herald Square (New York City Subway).

• nycsubway.org—BMT Broadway Subway: 34th Street/Herald Square
• nycsubway.org—IND 6th Avenue: 34th Street/Herald Square
• nycsubway.org — Yab-Yum Artwork by David Provan (1992)
• nycsubway.org — Radiant Site Artwork by Michele Oka Doner (1991)
• nycsubway.org — Halo Artwork by Nicholas Pearson (1991)
• nycsubway.org — REACH New York, An Urban Musical Instrument Artwork by Christopher Janney (1996)
• Station Reporter — Herald Square Complex
• MTA's Arts For Transit — 34th Street – Herald Square
• Broadway & 35th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Sixth Avenue & 35th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Broadway/Sixth Avenue & 34th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Manhattan Mall entrance (west side of Sixth Avenue) from Google Maps Street View
• Broadway & 32nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• BMT platforms from Google Maps Street View