Church Avenue station (BMT Brighton Line)

For other uses, see Church Avenue (disambiguation).

Church Avenue   ​
View of the southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Church Avenue & East 18th Street Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Flatbush
Coordinates	40°38′59″N73°57′49″W / 40.64966°N 73.963646°W / 40.64966; -73.963646
Division	B (BMT) [1]
Line	BMT Brighton Line
Services	B   (weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings) ​   Q   (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B16, B35
Structure	Open-cut
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	original station: July 2, 1878;147 years ago (1878-07-02)
Rebuilt	current station: 1907;118 years ago (1907)
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; currently undergoing renovations for ADA access
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2024	2,819,621 [2]   11.7%
Rank	109 out of 423 [2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Prospect Park B   toward 145th Street Express Newkirk Plaza B   toward Brighton Beach Parkside Avenue Q   toward 96th Street Local Beverley Road Q   toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Prospect Park to Parkside Avenue to Beverley Road to Newkirk Plaza
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops weekdays during the day

The Church Avenue station is an express station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway, located at Church Avenue near East 18th Street in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. The station is served by the Q train at all times and by the B train on weekdays only.

History

Early history

The original station at this location was a two-track side platform station that ran south from Church Avenue, whereas the current station runs to the north. At a point about 150 feet (46 m) south of Church Avenue, a clear difference in the form of the concrete retaining wall is visible on both sides of the right-of-way. This marks the point where the original Brighton Beach Line transitioned from an open-cut line depressed below ground level to a surface railroad for the remainder of the run to Coney Island. The line south of this point was converted from a two-track surface line to a four-track grade-separated line in 1907, and the portion north of this point was rebuilt from a two-track open cut to a four-track open cut in 1919.

On August 1, 1920, a tunnel under Flatbush Avenue opened, connecting the Brighton Line to the Broadway subway in Manhattan. ^{[3] [4]} At the same time, the line's former track connections to the Fulton Street Elevated were severed. Subway trains from Manhattan and elevated trains from Franklin Avenue served Brighton Line stations, sharing the line to Coney Island. ^{[4] [5]}

Renovations

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Church Avenue, along with those at six other stations on the Brighton Line, were lengthened to 615 feet (187 m) to accommodate a ten-car train of 60 foot (18 m)-long cars, or a nine-car train of 67 foot (20 m)-long cars. ^[6]

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. ^[7] In 1982, the MTA began renovating the station. ^[8]

In 2019, as part of an initiative to increase the accessibility of the New York City Subway system, the MTA announced that it would install elevators at the Church Avenue station as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program. ^[9] In November 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $965 million contract for the installation of 21 elevators across eight stations, ^[10] including Church Avenue. ^{[11] [12] : 81} A joint venture of ASTM and Halmar International would construct the elevators under a public-private partnership. ^{[11] [12] : 80} The project included two new stairs and two elevators. ^[13] To accommodate the work, all B trains were rerouted to run local between Prospect Park and Kings Highway. Also to accommodate the work, southbound trains bypassed the station from August 4 to November 23, 2024; northbound trains skipped the station until February 17, 2025. ^[14]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits, station house and agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Platform level	Northbound local	← toward 96th Street (Parkside Avenue)
	Island platform
	Northbound express	← weekdays toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (Prospect Park)
	Southbound express	← weekdays toward Brighton Beach (Newkirk Plaza) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Beverley Road) →

Station house

Church Avenue is an open-cut express station with short tunnels at each end to carry the line between cross streets. The station has four tracks and two island platforms. ^[15] Each platform has two staircases, leading to a station-house at each end. The Q stops here at all times and is local, while the B stops here only on weekdays during the day and is express. The next stop to the north is Parkside Avenue for local trains and Prospect Park for express trains, while the next stop to the south is Beverley Road for local trains and Newkirk Plaza for express trains. ^[16]

Exits

There are three exits and entrances to the station, both through stationhouses. ^[17]

The southern entrance is at the south end of the station on the north side of Church Avenue. The original station house at this entrance was demolished and replaced with the current structure. Plain white tiles dot the interior and exterior of this entrance. There are restrooms inside fare control to the right side. ^[17]

The northern entrance is at the north end of the station by Caton Avenue and St. Pauls Place. The stationhouse at this entrance retains the original c.1918 exterior. This end of the station originally had a part-time booth during the morning rush; a high-exit turnstile was open at all other times. ^[17]

A third entrance is at the center of the station on the east side of East 18th Street, between Caton and Church Avenues. ^[18] This entrance contains the ADA-accessible elevators to both platforms. ^[19] This entrance replaces a smaller exit that led only from the southbound platform. The exit had a small structure made from brick and stucco; it was added in the early 1960s, but was closed by the early 1980s. ^[20]

After the 1980s renovation, the station was converted to booth operations from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day. All of the platform columns were covered with steel supports during the renovation.

Exit location [17]	Number of exits	Platform served
NW corner of E 18th Street & Church Avenue	1	Both
SE corner of St Pauls Place & Caton Avenue	1	Both

See also

• Church Avenue (IRT Nostrand Avenue Line)
• Church Avenue (IND Culver Line)
• Church Avenue Line (surface)
• IND Church Avenue Line

References

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.
2. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
3. "New Subway Link Opens; Service Started Through Queens and Montague Street Tubes". The New York Times. August 1, 1920. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
4. "Montague Street Tube, Brighton Subway Operation Begun". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 1, 1920. p. 53. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018– via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
5. Kennedy, Randy (September 30, 2003). "Tunnel Vision; Short Line. Small Train. Little Graffiti". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
6. Annual Report 1964–1965. New York City Transit Authority. 1965.
7. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
8. Davila, Albert (October 7, 1982). "Rebuilding to shut Marcy Ave. station". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
9. "MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Press release). New York City. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
10. Nessen, Stephen (November 28, 2022). "MTA to spend more than $1B on accessibility upgrades". Gothamist. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
11. Brachfeld, Ben (November 29, 2022). "MTA to spend $1 billion on subway, commuter rail accessibility upgrades". amNewYork. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
12. "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting November 2022". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 29, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
13. Archer, Shniece (June 11, 2024). "Changes headed to the Church Avenue subway station". News 12 - Default. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
14. "Major construction at Church Avenue B & Q subway station kicks off August 5". Brooklyn Eagle. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
15. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC   49777633 – via Google Books.
16. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
17. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Flatbush" (PDF). mta.info . Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
18. "Accessibility Upgrades at Church B/Q Station". March 4, 2025.
19. "Accessibility Upgrades at Church B/Q Station". March 4, 2025.
20. "Minutes and Proceedings". 1965.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Brighton Line: Church Avenue
• Station Reporter — B Train
• Station Reporter — Q Train
• The Subway Nut — Church Avenue Pictures Archived 2017-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Church Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Caton Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View