DeKalb Avenue

DeKalb Avenue New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	DeKalb Avenue & Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11201
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Downtown Brooklyn
Coordinates	40°41′25″N 73°58′56″W / 40.690254°N 73.982277°W / 40.690254; -73.982277Coordinates: 40°41′25″N 73°58′56″W / 40.690254°N 73.982277°W / 40.690254; -73.982277
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Brighton Line BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	B  (weekdays until 11 p.m.)      D  (late nights)      M  (rush hours until 7:30 p.m.)      N  (late nights)      Q  (all times)      R  (all except late nights)
Connection	New York City Bus: B25, B26, B38, B52, B54
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	6 (2 bypass)
Other information
Opened	June 19, 1915 (Fourth Avenue) August 1, 1920 (Brighton)
Accessible
Traffic
Passengers (2008)	5.043 million[1][2] ▲ 4.13%
Rank	83 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	Canal Street (Broadway via bridge): Q  Lawrence Street – MetroTech (Broadway via tunnel): M  N  R  Grand Street (Sixth Avenue via bridge): B  D  Myrtle Avenue (closed)
Next south	Atlantic Avenue (Brighton): B  Q  Atlantic Avenue – Pacific Street (Fourth Avenue): D  M  N  R
Next north	14th Street – Union Square (Broadway via bridge): Q  14th Street – Union Square (Broadway via tunnel): N  R  West Fourth Street – Washington Square (Sixth Avenue via bridge): B  D  Marcy Avenue (via Jamaica Line): M
Next south	Atlantic Avenue (Brighton): B  Q  Atlantic Avenue – Pacific Street (Fourth Avenue): D  M  N  R
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

DeKalb Avenue is an express station shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line and the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of DeKalb and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn.

The station has six tracks, of which four serve the Fourth Avenue Line, and two serve the Brighton Line. There are island platforms between the first and second, and fifth and sixth tracks. The two center tracks bypass the station.

North of the station, the local and bypass tracks head towards the Manhattan Bridge, with a flying junction that allows trains to use either the north side of the bridge (to the IND Sixth Avenue Line) or the south side of the bridge (to the BMT Broadway Line). The express tracks continue north along the BMT Fourth Avenue Line into the Montague Street Tunnel towards the BMT Broadway Line. South of the station, the bypass tracks become the express tracks on the Fourth Avenue Line. The four remaining tracks split at a flying junction, where trains headed south can switch to either the Brighton Line or the local tracks of the Fourth Avenue Line. In the current service pattern, the tunnel route is not used for Brighton Line trains.

Since it opened, DeKalb Avenue has been a major transfer point between BMT services, with the lines splitting north and south of the station. DeKalb Avenue is fully handicapped-accessible.

Platform extensions were built into a curve south of the station in 1927 to allow for longer trains. It was closed and replaced by a straight extension to the north in 1960. The abandoned portions can be seen from the open platforms and trains.

North of this station, near the Manhattan Bridge, there is a provision for a never-built loop back to southern Brooklyn without crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Manhattan. Bellmouths for the unbuilt loop are visible from passing trains.

The station also has a shortened mezzanine because room was needed for a proposed Lafayette Avenue line. The subway connection was never built.

South of this station, a junction was built at Fulton St for a never-built branch to run via Lafayette Ave and Broadway.

History

The station has been reconfigured a number of times. The current configuration dates from a 1956–61 reconstruction project to straighten the platforms and eliminate a level junction north of the station that had caused a switching bottleneck. A station at Myrtle Avenue was closed as part of the renovation.

As originally configured, the extreme outside tracks in each direction hosted the Fourth Avenue Line local tracks and the next pair hosted the Brighton Line. The middle tracks, which bypassed the station, hosted the Fourth Avenue express tracks. A group of level crossovers at the northern end of the station allowed all tracks access to both sides of the Manhattan Bridge and to the Montague Street Tunnel.

The current configuration was started in 1956 and completed in April 1961. All switches immediately north of the station were eliminated. The junction towards the Manhattan Bridge was rebuilt. To make room for a new flying junction, the Myrtle Avenue station was closed. That station's northbound platform remains visible from passing trains, but the southbound platform was demolished.

The Chrystie Street Connection project was also tied to this improvement, as it resulted in more trains using the bridge. Over the years, as more of the business community shifted to midtown, the slower tunnel route became less popular, and it is now the least used of the three northbound routing options.

An earlier plan called the Ashland Place Connection would have allowed trains on the elevated BMT Fulton Street Line to run into the subway through DeKalb Avenue, making the bottleneck even worse. This was not built, in part because the city was more interested in building its own system, the IND.^[3] However, a whole new subway was also planned, splitting from this line and heading under the East River to the BMT Broadway Line at City Hall. This plan was considered in various forms between late 1916 and 1926.

The DeKalb Avenue station was built with provisions for a possible track connection to Nevins Street on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line; see that page for details.

Station ID mosaic

Station overhaul

After the 1961 reconstruction period, some adjustments were made to the station. In the late 1960s, the station platforms were extended northward at least 150 feet to accommodate for a full 8 or 10 car 600 foot length train set. It also added new 60's modern look tiling.

Dekalb Avenue received another overhaul in the 1970s where the station's structure and overhaul appearance were improved. The MTA fixed and replaced wall tiles, old signs, and incandescent lighting to the 70's modern look wall tiles, signs and fluorescent lights. Staircases and platform edges were also fixed.

The latest major overhaul was in 2004–2006. The station was repaired as well as upgraded for ADA compliance. The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiled the walls, added new tiles to the floors, upgraded the station's lights and public address system, installed ADA yellow safety threads along the platform edge and replaced the trackbeds for all trains entering or bypassing the station. It also installed elevators on both sides of the platform, as well as elevators to the street level.^{[citation needed]}

References

• "Better Fulton St. Transit", New York Times December 30, 1916; page 10 (the first mention of the Ashland Place Connection in the New York Times)
• "Plans New Transit Tube to Brooklyn", New York Times December 7, 1919; page E1
• "Wants Subway Pushed", New York Times December 20, 1926; page 16 (the last mention of the Ashland Place Connection in the New York Times)
• "Construction of New IND Tunnel for 6th Ave. Line Begins Today", New York Times April 19, 1961; page 41

External links

• nycsubway.org — BMT Brighton Line: DeKalb Avenue
• Station Reporter — B Train
• Station Reporter — Q Train
• Station Reporter — R Train
• The Subway Nut — DeKalb Avenue Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — DeKalb Avenue

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