Second Avenue (IND Sixth Avenue Line)

Second Avenue
"F" train
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Station platform
Station statistics
Address East Houston Street & Second Avenue
New York, NY 10002
Borough Manhattan
Locale East Village, Lower East Side
Coordinates 40°43′25″N 73°59′28″W / 40.723616°N 73.991117°W / 40.723616; -73.991117Coordinates: 40°43′25″N 73°59′28″W / 40.723616°N 73.991117°W / 40.723616; -73.991117
Division B (IND)
Line       IND Sixth Avenue Line
Services       F  (all times)
      M  (selected rush-hour trips)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: M15, M15 SBS, M21
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 island platforms
cross-platform interchange
Tracks 4 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened January 1, 1936 (January 1, 1936)
Station code 232[1]
Wireless service [2]
Former/other names Lower East Side–Second Avenue
Traffic
Passengers (2016) 5,772,537[3]Decrease 1.3%
Rank 76 out of 422
Station succession
Next north Broadway–Lafayette Street: F  M 
Next south (Terminal): M 
Delancey Street: F 

Second Avenue is a station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Second Avenue and Houston Street on the border between the East Village and the Lower East Side, in Manhattan. It is served by the F train at all times. Limited M train service also stops here during rush hours.

History

Track layout
to Bway–Lafayette
to Delancey St

The station opened on January 1, 1936, as part of the portion of the Sixth Avenue Line between West Fourth Street–Washington Square and East Broadway.

From December 2001 to June 2010, this station was known on transit maps and announced on digital announcements as Lower East Side–Second Avenue, when it served as the southern terminal for V trains, which arrived and departed on either center track. From the V's elimination until July 2017, the center tracks were not used in revenue service, when they were reactivated to accommodate limited rush-hour short turns of southbound M trains.

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/ Entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
P
Platforms
Northbound local "F" train toward Jamaica–179th Street (Broadway–Lafayette Street)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Termination track "m" train toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (limited rush-hour trips) (Broadway–Lafayette Street)
Termination track "m" train toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (limited rush-hour trips) (Broadway–Lafayette Street)
Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
Southbound local "F" train toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Delancey Street)
Riders crowd the platform following the last trip of 2012's nostalgia special

Second Avenue has two island platforms and four tracks. F trains run on the outer tracks, while the inner tracks are used by short turn M trains. When the station opened, all four Sixth Avenue tracks ran continuously from West Fourth Street through Second Avenue. During the construction of the Chrystie Street Connection in the 1950s and 1960s, the center express tracks at Broadway–Lafayette Street were severed from the tracks at Second Avenue and rerouted to the Chrystie Street subway, running through Grand Street station to the north side of the Manhattan Bridge.

West (railroad north) of the station, the inner tracks are connected by a diamond crossover before merging with the outer local tracks; this allows the station to be used as a terminal for southbound trains. East (railroad south) of the station, the local tracks continue along Houston Street before curving south into Essex Street and continuing through Delancey Street station.

The wall tiling is purple with dark purple border and lacks name tablets; the columns are concrete, and there are especially large columns with built-in benches at the centers of the platforms. Despite the station's name, the exit and mezzanine at Second Avenue is only open part-time. The full-time booth is located at the First Avenue mezzanine.

Exits

All entrances/exits are single-wide street stairs serving both platforms via the mezzanine.

Provisions for other lines

View across the platforms at Second Avenue

Express tracks

East of the station, the center tracks also continue disused along Houston, but rise to an upper level and stub-end near Avenue A at bumper blocks. Near the end, these tail tracks begin to separate to create a provision for a center track which only extends about 10 or 15 feet and stops at the bulkhead at the end of the tunnel. It was planned that these tracks would continue under the East River to the South Fourth Street Line, part of a never-built system expansion.[5] These tracks east of the station were previously used for train storage but became an oft-frequented spot for the homeless due to its location near local missions and soup kitchens.[5][6] The area was cleared out in 1990, and corrugated metal walls with bumper blocks were installed just past the east end of the platforms to seal the tunnels.

Second Avenue Subway service

As part of the 1929 plans for the Second Avenue Subway—which would have run directly above the existing Second Avenue station—room was left for the anticipated right-of-way above the Sixth Avenue trackways and between the two mezzanines. A large, open space is still visible over the tracks and platforms.[7]

The current plans for the Second Avenue Subway, made in the 2000s, will not use this space; the new Houston Street station will instead be built below the existing one, with a free transfer between them.[8][9] The decision to use a deeper alignment under Chrystie Street was made to simplify construction and lessen impact to the community.[lower-alpha 1][10][11][12][13] Second Avenue service will be tentatively provided by the T train once Phase 3 of construction is complete. When this happens, the station will become a terminal station for southbound service. There will be a double crossover north of the station.[12] However, Phase 4 of construction will extend the line south, below Houston Street, in the direction of Hanover Square.[14][15]

In addition to the current entrances, the Second Avenue Subway station will utilize a new entrance to be constructed at Second Avenue and Third Street.[16] In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Second Avenue Subway platform will be wheelchair-accessible;[16] however, it is unknown if the Sixth Avenue Line platforms will also become accessible.

Notes

  1. See the Grand Street article for more information

References

  1. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  2. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  3. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2011–2016". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 31, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Lower East Side" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Maykuth, Andrew (February 26, 1992). "A Nether World They Call Home Under The Streets Of Manhattan, The Homeless Huddle In Remote Crannies Of The Subway Amid Crack Vials And The Reek Of Human Waste. Retreating Underground In A Search For". Philly.com. New York: The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  6. Kaaufman, Michael T. (November 14, 1992). "ABOUT NEW YORK; Walking the Beat in the Subway's Nether World". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  7. http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/2Ave.ceilw.jpg
  8. "Construction Methods, November 2002" MTA Capital Construction; Retrieved on May 18, 2008
  9. http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figure8-15.pdf
  10. "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Appendix B: Development of Alternatives" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  11. "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Chapter 2: Project Alternatives" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Track Diagram, South of 57th Street" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  13. "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Deep Chrystie Option" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  14. http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figures-06.pdf
  15. http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figures-07.pdf
  16. 1 2 "Second Avenue Subway Station Entrances: Community Board 3" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, DMJM HARRIS, ARUP. May 20, 2003. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
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