62nd Street/New Utrecht Avenue station

History

Bath Junction

Bath Junction was located near the present site of the station. It took the name as a railroad junction of the New York & Sea Beach Railway (Sea Beach Line) with the Brooklyn, Bath Coney Island Railroad (West End Line). The NY&SB called the station at the junction Bath Junction, while the BB&CI called it Sea Beach Junction. Soon, however, they settled on the common name. Bath Junction was located at grade near the current intersection of New Utrecht Avenue and 62nd Street.

The junction included a switching track connecting the two lines, so that NY&SB trains might reach the Brooklyn Bridge via the BB&CI tracks. Both lines merged with the BMT Culver Line at Ninth Avenue and later the BMT Fifth Avenue Line and BMT Myrtle Avenue Line.

After both lines were rebuilt as rapid transit lines of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the name "Bath Junction" was dropped. A connector was no longer necessary, as the West End Line was able to reach Manhattan on its own, and was not even realistic to plan, as one line dropped into a cut and the other became elevated. The multi-level station complex was created to allow passenger transfer between the two lines.

Dual Contracts improvements

The West End Line platforms opened on June 24, 1916 along with the first portion of the BMT West End Line from 36th Street on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line to 18th Avenue station. The line was originally a surface excursion railway to Coney Island, called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad, which was established in 1862, but did not reach Coney Island until 1864. Under the Dual Contracts of 1913, an elevated line was built over New Utrecht Avenue, 86th Street and Stillwell Avenue.

Later history

, the complex had 4,673 paying riders on a typical weekday, equating to 1,503,742 total riders in 2018.

From October 2010 to May 2012, the West End Line station was renovated with two new fare controls, new canopy and platform edges, and repainted side roof and beams.

As part of a renovation project at nine stations along the Sea Beach Line, the Manhattan-bound platform at this Sea Beach Line station was closed from January 18, 2016 to May 22, 2017.

• The Coney Island-bound platform was closed from July 31, 2017 to July 1, 2019.

This entire station complex, along with eight other stations along the Sea Beach Line, underwent a rehabilitation involving the installation of 4 ADA-accessible elevators from 2015 to July 2019. The transfer between the two stations was closed until July 2019 for installation of the elevators; an out-of-system transfer was provided. The project to make the station ADA-accessible was originally proposed to be completed in spring 2019. At one point, construction was expected to continue until October, but the elevators entered service on July 19, 2019.

Plans for the Interborough Express, a light rail line using the Bay Ridge Branch right of way, were announced in 2023. As part of the project, a light rail station at New Utrecht Avenue has been proposed next to the existing subway station.

Station layout

BMT West End Line platforms

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The 62nd Street station is an express station on the BMT West End Line that has three tracks and two island platforms. Effective June 2025, the middle express track is used by one southbound R train and two southbound W trains during the morning rush hour. The next station to the north is 55th Street, while the next station to the south is 71st Street.

Exits

There are two fare control areas. The full-time side is at 62nd Street (south end of station) and has the transfer to the BMT Sea Beach Line. The part-time side is at 60th Street (north end). The 60th Street exit is where the famous chase scene in the 1971 film The French Connection ends. This side was renovated and is HEET access for most of the day. A booth formerly existed here, but is now mostly empty space in the station house. New windows and lighting restored this mezzanine to good condition. However, the staircases from the street still have wooden boards. The station-house for the BMT Sea Beach Line used to have a newsstand and two additional doors on the left side.

On the street, the southern station entrance is set back from New Utrecht Avenue. It is to the left when facing the Tomche Shabbos food pantry warehouse; there is a small, fenced-in overgrown area separating them, with a small MTA informational sign on the chain link. The station house is also visible from 62nd Street, but there is a small MTA lot for separating street from station, designated for bus turnarounds, MTA maintenance, and MTA employee parking only. A staircase leads to the second floor of the station house, where a covered, open-air passageway provides access the south ends of the elevated platforms.

BMT Sea Beach Line platforms

uxvSTR!~MFADEg\uvSTR!~MFADEg ~~ ~~ ~~ to \udSTRf\uevSTR\udSTRg\numN030 cPLT\uxvSTR\uvSTR\cPLT cPLT\uxvSTR\uvSTR\cPLT cPLT\uxvSTR\uvSTR\cPLT cPLT\uxvSTR\uvSTR\cPLT udSTRf\uevSTR\udSTRg uxvSTR!~MFADEf\uvSTR!~MFADEf ~~ ~~ ~~ to

The New Utrecht Avenue station on the BMT Sea Beach Line has four tracks and two side platforms. Platform extensions are to the north end of the station and beyond the main staircase. Although most of the station is in an open cut, both ends of both platforms are underneath tunnels. This segment of the station has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005.

Geographically east of the station, a track connection to a siding that served the Rubel Ice Company once existed; this connection was removed in the 1930s. The siding was connected to the Manhattan-bound track.

Exits

The north end has two staircases to the full-time booth, where the transfer to the elevated BMT West End Line is available. The south end at 15th Avenue and 63rd Street is HEET access and formerly had a booth. The north end has unusual bricks on the staircase walls, suggesting the staircases were redone when the platform was extended. The original entrance had only one staircase to platform level. After the platform extension, the staircase was redone in a T formation along with the installation of brick walls.

References

References

1. {{cite NYC bus map. B
2. (June 24, 1916). "Parade, Pageant Mark Celebration". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
3. (June 24, 1916). "Realty Boom Is Predicted for Borough Park Section". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
4. (June 9, 1864). "Opening of the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad". [[The New York Times]].
5. (September 1912). "The Dual System of Rapid Transit". New York State Public Service Commission.
6. (August 3, 1913). "618 Miles of Track In The Dual System; City Will Have Invested $226,000,000 When Rapid Transit Project Is Completed.". The New York Times.
7. (January 10, 1917). "Report of the Public Service Commission For The First District Of The State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1916 Vol. 1". New York State Public Service Commission.
8. {{NYCS const. riderref
9. Romano, Denise. (October 4, 2013). "Two elevators coming to the N line during massive rehabilitation".
10. (May 1, 2017). "New York City Subway Map". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
11. DeJesus, Jaime. (May 17, 2017). "Manhattan-bound service to return to N stations on Sea Beach Line".
12. (May 17, 2017). "Manhattan-Bound Service Returns to N Stations on Sea Beach Line". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
13. (July 1, 2019). "Planned Service Changes for: Monday, July 1, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
14. (October 4, 2013). "Two elevators coming to the N line during massive rehabilitation".
15. (November 23, 2017). "Transfer passageway will be closed for elevator installation". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
16. (July 2023). "Planned Service Changes for: Monday, November 27, 2017". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
17. "T6041317 ADA Accessibility at New Utrecht Avenue Station on the Sea Beach Line and 62 St Station on the West End Line". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
18. (November 13, 2018). "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting November 2018". [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]].
19. (July 19, 2019). "MTA Installs Four Elevators, Other ADA Features at New Utrecht Av/62 St Station Complex". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
20. Brachfeld, Ben. (January 10, 2024). "Interborough Express light rail project, which will connect Bay Ridge and Jackson Heights, inches forward".
21. Gannon, Michael. (August 24, 2023). "MTA says progress on IBX plan is A-OK".
22. (January 2023). "The Interborough Express: Planning & Environmental Linkages Study". MTA.
23. {{NYCS const. timetable. R
24. {{NYCS const. timetable. W
25. (April 2018). "62nd Street Neighborhood Map". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
26. (June 22, 1915). "Through Tube to Coney, 48 Minutes: First Train on Fourth Avenue Route Beats West End Line Eleven Minutes". [[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]].
27. "NPS Focus". [[National Park Service]].
28. [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/NY/Kings/state2.html Kings County Listing at the National Register of Historic Places (Structure #05000678)]
29. Kathleen A. Howe. (September 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York MPS New Urecht Avenue Station (Dual System BRT)". National Archives and Records Administration.
30. (June 2001). "Sea Beach Line Track Plans". Electric Railroaders' Association, Incorporated.