Myrtle Avenue station (BMT Jamaica Line)

Non-revenue services and lines
Sumner Avenue Myrtle Ave Line; demolished

Services
Flushing Avenue J M via Essex Street	Kosciuszko Street J toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer

Myrtle Avenue
Myrtle Avenue
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
	Station platforms, facing west
Station statistics
Address	Myrtle Avenue & Broadway; Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Bushwick / Bedford–Stuyvesant
Coordinates	40°41′49″N 73°56′7″W / 40.69694°N 73.93528°W
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Jamaica Line; BMT Myrtle Avenue Line (formerly)
Services	J (all times); M (all times); Z (rush hours, peak direction)
Transit	NYCT 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; removed)
Other information
Opened	June 25, 1888; 136 years ago (lower level); April 27, 1889; 135 years ago (upper level)
Closed	October 4, 1969; 55 years ago (upper level)
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Accessibility	Cross-platform wheelchair transfer available
Opposite-; direction; transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Myrtle Avenue–Broadway
Traffic
2023	2,654,490 24.3%
Rank	132 out of 423
Services
Services
Flushing Avenue J M via Essex Street	Kosciuszko Street J toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer
Non-revenue services and lines
Non-revenue services and lines
Sumner Avenue Myrtle Ave Line; demolished
Location
Track layout
	Legend
Lower level
	to Gates Avenue
	or Kosciuszko Street
Upper level (abandoned)
Street map
Station service legend
Symbol	Description
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
	Stops late nights only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

The Myrtle Avenue station (announced on New Technology Trains as Myrtle Avenue–Broadway station) is a New York City Subway express station on the BMT Jamaica Line. Located at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Broadway in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It is served by the J and M trains at all times, and by the Z during rush hours in peak direction.

The station has two platform levels, but all regular passenger service is on the lower platform level of the station. The station has an abandoned upper platform level which previously served the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line to Downtown Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge. Just east of the station, the remaining section of the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line diverges from the BMT Jamaica Line via slip switches in an at-grade junction.

History

The lower level of the station opened on June 25, 1888, when the Union Elevated Railroad (leased to the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad) extended its elevated line above Broadway from Gates Avenue northwest to Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg.^[2] The Broadway Elevated was extended to Broadway Ferry on July 14, 1888.^[4] Upon the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge tracks in 1908, trains were rerouted across the bridge west of Marcy Avenue.^[5]

The upper level station, which was marked on signs as Broadway, opened on April 27, 1889, when the Myrtle Avenue Line was extended east along Myrtle Avenue to Broadway. A transfer opportunity was created to the BMT Jamaica Line station.^[6]^[7]^[8] The previous station located nearby at Stuyvesant Avenue was then closed.^[9] The Myrtle Avenue Line was extended from this station to Wyckoff Avenue on July 21, 1889.^[10]

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.^[11]

Station layout

Fourth floor Myrtle Avenue platform	Former southbound	No track or roadbed
	Island platform, disused
	Former northbound	No track or roadbed
Third floor Jamaica platforms	Westbound local^{[note 1]}	← toward Broad Street (Flushing Avenue) ← toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue weekdays, Essex Street weekends (Flushing Avenue)
	Island platform
	Center track	← weekday mornings toward Broad Street (Marcy Avenue) ← weekday afternoons toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Kosciuszko Street) → ← PM rush toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Gates Avenue) → ← late night termination track → late nights toward Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue (Central Avenue) → ← (No express service: Broadway Junction) →
	Island platform
	Eastbound local^{[note 1]}	→ toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Kosciuszko Street) → → toward Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue (Central Avenue) →
Second floor	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits

Lower level

This elevated station on the lower level, has three tracks and two island platforms.^[12] The center track is used by J and Z trains when they run express between this station and Marcy Avenue in the peak direction on weekdays during rush hours and middays, as well as by late night M shuttle trains from Metropolitan Avenue. East of this station, J and Z trains continue along Broadway, while M trains branch off through an S curve towards the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line. The connection to the Myrtle Avenue Line 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.^[12] From June 2017 until April 2018, this connection was closed due to long-term construction on the Myrtle Avenue Line.^[13]^[14]^[15]

This station is announced as Myrtle Avenue–Broadway station on New Technology Train cars to distinguish it from the nearby Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues station.^[16]

Both platforms have brown canopies with green support columns and frames for their entire length except for a small section at either end.^[17] The station signs are in the standard black plates in white lettering.^[18]

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.^[19]

As part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2015–2019 Capital Program, a station entrance will be rebuilt at the northwestern corner of Jefferson Street and Broadway, and a second mezzanine will be reopened.^[20]^[21] In 2019, the MTA announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[22]

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

Exits

The lower level 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 cross-under, 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 of the western corners at Myrtle Avenue and Broadway.^[23]

In popular culture

In the 1990 drama Ghost, Patrick Swayze follows his killer, Rick Aviles, leaving the J train onto the station's platform and entrance.^[24] In 1994, it was shown in the music video for Here Comes the Hotstepper by Jamaican dancehall artist Ini Kamoze.

Notes

^ ^a ^b This is a wrong-way concurrency in railroad direction.

References

^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "The Broadway Line Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 25, 1888. p. 6. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ "When the Union Road will be Finished". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. July 13, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ "Mayor Runs a Train Over New Bridge". The New York Times. September 17, 1908. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
^ Report. January 1, 1890.
^ Roess, Roger P.; Sansone, Gene (August 23, 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642304842.
^ "Will Open on Saturday". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. April 25, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ "Brooklyn Daily Eagle: It Reaches Broadway (April 5, 1889)". bklyn.newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Lost the Second Game". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. July 21, 1889. p. 2.
^ ^a ^b "Service Changes For Myrtle Avenue "El" Riders". www.thejoekorner.com. New York City Transit Authority. October 1969. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
^ Rivoli, Dan (March 17, 2016). "M line to be shut down next year for repairs". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
^ Brown, Nicole (March 18, 2016). "MTA: M line will shut down for part of next year". am New York. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
^ "Myrtle Avenue Line Infrastructure Projects". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
^ NovaBus5189 (November 12, 2016), On Board R160 (M) Train From Middle Village Metropolitan Avenue to Myrtle Avenue-Broadway, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved February 18, 2018{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Cox, Jeremiah (July 26, 2013). "The doors close on a R42 J train that will have to leave first because the R160 M train must crossover the other three tracks". subwaynut.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 25, 2008). "A close-up of a Myrtle Avenue column sign". subwaynut.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ "Myrtle Avenue Verna Hart Jammin' Under the EL, 1999". web.mta.info. MTA Arts & Design. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ "Station Capacity Enhancements at Myrtle Avenue on the Jamaica Line". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 31, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
^ https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/BMT_Nassau_Street ^{[dead link]}
^ "Press Release - MTA Headquarters - MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". MTA. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Bushwick" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
^ "Ghost Film Locations - On the set of New York". onthesetofnewyork.com. On The Set of New York. Retrieved April 19, 2020.

External links

Station Reporter — J Train
Station Reporter — M Train
MTA's Arts For Transit — Myrtle Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)
Myrtle Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
Platform and unused upper level from Google Maps Street View

[direction-12] This is a wrong-way concurrency in railroad direction.

[SASDEIS-DIVISION-1] "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.

[Driggs-2] "The Broadway Line Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 25, 1888. p. 6. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[riderref-3] "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.

[Ferry-4] "When the Union Road will be Finished". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. July 13, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[5] "Mayor Runs a Train Over New Bridge". The New York Times. September 17, 1908. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2020.

[:0-6] Report. January 1, 1890.

[:3-7] Roess, Roger P.; Sansone, Gene (August 23, 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642304842.

[Broadway-8] "Will Open on Saturday". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. April 25, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[9] "Brooklyn Daily Eagle: It Reaches Broadway (April 5, 1889)". bklyn.newspapers.com.

[:1-10] "Lost the Second Game". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. July 21, 1889. p. 2.

[:2-11] "Service Changes For Myrtle Avenue "El" Riders". www.thejoekorner.com. New York City Transit Authority. October 1969. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[tracks-13] Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.

[14] Rivoli, Dan (March 17, 2016). "M line to be shut down next year for repairs". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 23, 2016.

[15] Brown, Nicole (March 18, 2016). "MTA: M line will shut down for part of next year". am New York. Retrieved July 23, 2016.

[16] "Myrtle Avenue Line Infrastructure Projects". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 23, 2016.

[17] NovaBus5189 (November 12, 2016), On Board R160 (M) Train From Middle Village Metropolitan Avenue to Myrtle Avenue-Broadway, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved February 18, 2018{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[18] Cox, Jeremiah (July 26, 2013). "The doors close on a R42 J train that will have to leave first because the R160 M train must crossover the other three tracks". subwaynut.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[19] Cox, Jeremiah (June 25, 2008). "A close-up of a Myrtle Avenue column sign". subwaynut.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[20] "Myrtle Avenue Verna Hart Jammin' Under the EL, 1999". web.mta.info. MTA Arts & Design. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[21] "Station Capacity Enhancements at Myrtle Avenue on the Jamaica Line". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 31, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

[22] ttps://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/BMT_Nassau_Street ^{[dead link]}

[23] "Press Release - MTA Headquarters - MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". MTA. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.

[24] "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Bushwick" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.

[25] "Ghost Film Locations - On the set of New York". onthesetofnewyork.com. On The Set of New York. Retrieved April 19, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[note 1]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by service
Nassau Street Local	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport 121st Street 111th Street 104th Street Woodhaven Boulevard 85th Street–Forest Parkway 75th Street–Elderts Lane Cypress Hills Crescent Street Norwood Avenue Cleveland Street Van Siclen Avenue Alabama Avenue Broadway Junction Chauncey Street Halsey Street Gates Avenue Kosciuszko Street Myrtle Avenue Flushing Avenue Lorimer Street Hewes Street Marcy Avenue Essex Street Bowery Canal Street Chambers Street Fulton Street Broad Street
Queens Boulevard/ Sixth Avenue Local	Forest Hills–71st Avenue 67th Avenue 63rd Drive–Rego Park Woodhaven Boulevard Grand Avenue–Newtown Elmhurst Avenue Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue 65th Street Northern Boulevard 46th Street Steinway Street 36th Street Queens Plaza Court Square–23rd Street Lexington Avenue–53rd Street Fifth Avenue/53rd Street 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center 42nd Street–Bryant Park 34th Street–Herald Square 23rd Street 14th Street West Fourth Street–Washington Square Broadway–Lafayette Street Essex Street Marcy Avenue Hewes Street Lorimer Street Flushing Avenue Myrtle Avenue Central Avenue Knickerbocker Avenue Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues Seneca Avenue Forest Avenue Fresh Pond Road Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue
Nassau Street Express	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport 121st Street 104th Street Woodhaven Boulevard 75th Street–Elderts Lane Crescent Street Norwood Avenue Van Siclen Avenue Alabama Avenue Broadway Junction Chauncey Street Gates Avenue Myrtle Avenue Marcy Avenue Essex Street Bowery Canal Street Chambers Street Fulton Street Broad Street
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by line (physical trackage)
Jamaica Line	Demolished stations Broadway Ferry Driggs Avenue [← to Essex Street, Nassau St. Line] Marcy Avenue Hewes Street Lorimer Street Flushing Avenue Park Avenue Myrtle Avenue Kosciuszko Street Gates Avenue Halsey Street Chauncey Street Broadway Junction [~~to Atlantic Avenue, Canarsie Line →~~] Alabama Avenue Van Siclen Avenue Cleveland Street Norwood Avenue Crescent Street Cypress Hills 75th Street–Elderts Lane 85th Street–Forest Parkway Woodhaven Boulevard 104th Street 111th Street 121st Street [to Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport, Archer Ave. lines →] Demolished stations Metropolitan Avenue Queens Boulevard Sutphin Boulevard 160th Street 168th Street
Myrtle Ave. Line	Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue Fresh Pond Road Forest Avenue Seneca Avenue Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues Knickerbocker Avenue Central Avenue [to Myrtle Avenue, Jamaica Line →] Broadway Demolished stations Sumner Avenue Tompkins Avenue Nostrand Avenue Franklin Avenue Grand Avenue Washington Avenue Vanderbilt Avenue Navy Street Bridge–Jay Streets Adams Street Sands Street
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Stations and line segments in italics are closed, demolished, or planned (temporary closures are marked with asterisks). Track connections to other lines' terminals are displayed in brackets. ~~Struck through~~ passenger track connections are closed or unused in regular service.