168th Street station (BMT Jamaica Line)

History

Early years

168th Street was part of two Dual Contracts extensions of the BMT Broadway-Jamaica Line east of Cypress Hills and the "S-Curve" from Fulton Street to Jamaica Avenue. It opened on July 3, 1918,

• replacing 111th Street as the line's terminus.

Decline and closure

In 1937, the Queens Boulevard Line of the city-owned Independent Subway System was extended to a new terminal at 169th Street and Hillside Avenue, four blocks away. The opening of the IND terminal drew passengers away from the BMT lines.

Many groups had called for the removal of the extension in the Jamaica Business district since shortly after it opened, and by the 1960s the city planned to close the station and significant portions of the line in Jamaica. Many merchants blamed the line for causing blight and hurting business in the neighborhood.

The line was also torn down in preparation for the completion of the Archer Avenue Subway one block south, which would serve the Jamaica Line and a spur of the IND Queens Boulevard Line, and due to political pressure in the area. Construction of that line began in 1972. 168th Street closed at midnight on September 10, 1977, and the elevated structure from 168th Street to Sutphin Boulevard was torn down by 1979. The line was truncated to Queens Boulevard, with the Q49 bus replacing the demolished portion of the line until December 11, 1988.

Current status

In spite of the support of local business owners for the demolition of the line, stores continued to suffer and several establishments closed due to the absence of the El. This included the large Macy's location in the 165th Street Pedestrian Mall near the bus terminal.

Unlike the 160th Street and Sutphin Boulevard stations, which were completely demolished in 1979, still remains standing on the southeast corner of 165th Street and Jamaica Avenue. It sits inactive atop a block of storefronts. The exit stairways for the station were purchased by a private citizen to be used on their estate in Nissequogue on the Long Island Sound.

The Archer Avenue Line was completed in 1988, nearly ten years after the closure of the station, but it does not extend east to 168th Street. The closest subway stations to this former station are Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer, at Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue, which is nine blocks west and one block south,

Station layout

This elevated station had two tracks and one island platform. It was constructed with a diamond crossover switch west of the station, and a large signal and switch tower built to the south side of the elevated structure at 165th Street. Past the crossover, the line expanded to three tracks, with the middle track ending at 160th Street. While reports say the station had a concrete platform, It served trains from the BMT Jamaica-Nassau Street Line to Manhattan (the predecessors to today's and trains) and from the BMT Lexington Avenue Line.

References

References

1. (July 7, 1918). "New Subway Line: Affords a Five-Cent Fare Between Manhattan and Jamaica, L.I.". [[The New York Times]].
2. [http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_New_York_Transit_Authority_in_the_1970s The New York Transit Authority in the 1970s], nycsubway.org
3. (July 2, 1918). "Open "L" Extension to Jamaica Today". [[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]].
4. (September 9, 1977). "A Sentimental Journey on the BMT...". The New York Times.
5. (July 8, 1937). "New Lines Shift City Travel". [[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]].
6. (July 4, 1979). "For Jamaica, Redevelopment Is a Promise Unfulfilled; Projects Are Thwarted". The New York Times.
7. (July 27, 1975). "Proposal to End Jamaica Ave. El at Queens Blvd. Is Opposed". The New York Times.
8. (May 22, 1983). "After A Long Slide, Hope For Jamaica". The New York Times.
9. (July 3, 1930). "Business Property to Let". [[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]].
10. (July 23, 1978). "Topics; In Transit Tendentious Traveler Stylish Stairs Clamped Cars". The New York Times.
11. (December 9, 1988). "Big Changes For Subways Are to Begin". The New York Times.
12. (March 17, 1989). "Queens Merchants Win More Bus Service". The New York Times.
13. (2015). "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Jamaica". [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]].
14. (August 16, 1936). "Stores Now Leasing! In the New Long Island Bus Terminal at 165th Street, Jamaica". [[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]].