Ninth Avenue

9th Avenue New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station house
Station statistics
Address	9th Avenue & 39th Street Brooklyn, NY 11232
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Borough Park, Sunset Park
Coordinates	40°38′48″N 73°59′41″W / 40.646575°N 73.994674°W / 40.646575; -73.994674Coordinates: 40°38′48″N 73°59′41″W / 40.646575°N 73.994674°W / 40.646575; -73.994674
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT West End Line BMT Culver Line (formerly)
Services	D  (all times)      M  (rush hours until 7:30 p.m.)
Connection	New York City Bus: B35
Structure	Open-cut
Levels	2 (Upper level is in service)
Platforms	4 island platforms (two on each level)
Tracks	6 (three on each level)
Other information
Opened	June 24, 1916
Traffic
Passengers (2008)	1.968 million[1][2] ▲ 5.72%
Rank	226 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	36th Street: D  M
Next south	Fort Hamilton Parkway (local): D  M  62nd Street (express): no regular service Fort Hamilton Parkway (Culver Line; demolished)
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)

9th Avenue is a bi-level express station on the BMT West End Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of 9th Avenue and 39th Street in Brooklyn. The upper level, which serves the BMT West End line, is the only level currently in service; the lower level was used by the now-defunct BMT Culver Line. The middle track of the upper level is also not used in revenue service.

The station house is on street level and there is a sealed entrance on the west side. The tablet grilles in the mezzanine are still intact and a newsstand once stood opposite to the current location of the station agent booth. On the upper level, the Manhattan-bound platform is slightly wider than the Coney Island-bound platform and a fourth track once existed at this station, but it is not known which level it served.

The lower level was used as a through route for the BMT Culver Line to the BMT Fourth Avenue subway and the BMT Fifth Avenue elevated lines until 1954, when service on the main portion of the BMT Culver Line route was "recaptured" to the Independent Subway System through the Culver Ramp, thus leaving the Culver Shuttle service from this station to Ditmas Avenue. (Some Culver trains continued to operate into Manhattan until May 1959.) Culver Shuttle service was discontinued on May 11, 1975; after which the 9th Avenue lower level was abandoned.

The dark, deteriorating lower level at 9 Avenue, and the partly dismantled elevated line gave it a mood of decay. There was just one track, the center at 9 Avenue and the west side on the El, and one train operated all the service. The end was obviously in sight, but somehow the station hung on until 1975.

The lower level has not been used since except for filming in the original Crocodile Dundee when it posed as the 59th Street – Columbus Circle station at the end of the movie. However, the "9" wall mosaics and the sunlight seen at the very end of the film made it clear it was Ninth Avenue. The level is dark and there are no safety plates on the two staircases to that level. A fluorescent light remains on the southbound side. The next stop for this shuttle to the south (east) was Fort Hamilton Parkway. The tracks on the lower level curves just east of the station before ending on bumper blocks, at the east end of the tunnel portal.

As the line rises from embankment to elevated east of this station, the Culver right-of-way on the Manhattan-bound side can be seen. There is also a platform present. This was installed in the late 1980s for New York City Transit employees only and is not part of the right-of-way.

To the west of the station is a complicated track layout complete with track connections from the 4th Ave line, ramps from the former 5th Avenue el, and ramps from the 36th–38th Street Yard, combining together to form the six tracks and two levels of the station. Detail of 9th Ave tracks The ramps for the now-demolished 5th Avenue El are still in place, just west (railroad north) of the station.

West of this station, as the line curves under the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, there are tracks that continues straight into the piers on the waterfront, which was once operated by the South Brooklyn Railway. Also at the curve, there are two tunnels that appears to be walled-up or sealed, that is visible from the right side of the train. One tunnel suggests room for a two track tunnel and other tunnel suggests room for a one track tunnel. One of those tunnels was supposed to be for a bypass tunnel for the South Brooklyn Railway. The tunnels were never constructed.

In the old brick tunnel between this station and 36th Street, there is an unused trackway that was supposed to connect to the South Brooklyn Railway. The tunnel connection was never built. This trackway merges to the southbound track. The trackway runs for a long distance and then ends at a wall.

References

External links

• nycsubway.org — BMT West End Line: Ninth Avenue
• nycsubway.org — BMT Culver Line: Ninth Avenue
• Station Reporter — D Train