Cypress Hills station

Cypress Hills
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View from the northbound platform with an R42 J train
Station statistics
Address	Hemlock Street & Jamaica Avenue Brooklyn, NY
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Cypress Hills
Coordinates	40°41′23″N73°52′23″W / 40.68972°N 73.87306°W / 40.68972; -73.87306
Division	B (BMT) [1]
Line	BMT Jamaica Line BMT Lexington Avenue Line (formerly)
Services	J   (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B13, Q56
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	May 30, 1893;130 years ago (1893-05-30) [2]
Rebuilt	May 28, 1917;106 years ago (1917-05-28) [3]
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Cypress Hills Cemetery City Line
Traffic
2023	286,484 [4]   8.8%
Rank	412 out of 423 [4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Crescent Street J   toward Broad Street 85th Street–Forest Parkway J   skip-stop 75th Street–Elderts Lane J   toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer does not stop here
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 75th Street–Elderts Lane to Crescent Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops all times

The Cypress Hills station is a skip-stop station on the BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway, located on Jamaica Avenue in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of northeastern Brooklyn. It is served by the J train at all times. The Z train skips this station when it operates.

History

This station was opened on May 30, 1893 as part of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad's four stop extension of the Lexington Avenue Line to Cypress Hills. ^[2] The original Cypress Hills station had two tracks and one island platform and was located along Crescent Street, reaching the cemetery. This station was the terminal for both the Jamaica Line and the BMT Lexington Avenue Line when it opened. ^[5] It formerly had an island platform and stub-end located directly along Crescent Street just south of Jamaica Avenue that can still be seen approaching the cemetery east of the station. ^[2]

The rebuilt station was constructed under the Dual Contracts and was opened on May 28, 1917. ^[3] The rebuilt station has two tracks and two side platforms. The removal of the island platform resulted in a space between the tracks. This space would allow for an express third track, but one was never built.

In October 1950, Lexington Avenue Line trains ceased to serve this station.

In February 2023, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would temporarily close for renovations as part of a station renewal contract at four stations on the Jamaica Line. The Queens-bound platforms at Cypress Hills and 85th Street-Forest Parkway will close in late winter of 2024. The closure will shift to the Manhattan-bound platforms at these stations in the summer of 2024. Work includes platform renewals, replacement of stairs, canopies, and windscreens, installation of artwork, and minimizing the gaps between the train and the platform edge. ^[6] The work will be performed by Gramercy PJS Joint-Venture. ^[7]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Westbound local	← toward Broad Street (Crescent Street) ← does not stop here
	Peak-direction express	No track or roadbed
	Eastbound local	→ toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (85th Street–Forest Parkway PM rush, 75th Street–Elderts Lane other times) → → does not stop here →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits

South end of northbound platform

It is the northernmost station in Brooklyn on the BMT Jamaica Line, since the next stop, 75th Street–Elderts Lane, is in Queens. Both platforms have beige windscreens and green canopies with brown roofs that run along the entire length. Just west of this station are two sharp curves that trains must navigate at less than 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). For this reason, a train must take more time to transverse this section than other sections of the line.

The 1990 artwork here is called Five Points of Observation, by Kathleen McCarthy. It affords a view of the street from the platforms and resembles a face when seen from the street. This artwork is also located in four other stations on the Jamaica Line.

Exits

The station's main entrance is at the south end. A single staircase from each platform leads to an elevated station house beneath the tracks. Inside are three turnstiles and a token booth. Outside of fare control, two street stairs lead to the corners of Hemlock and Crescent Streets. ^[8]

On the north end of each platform, a single staircase leads to a landing outside of a now closed station house. On the Queens-bound platform, a single exit-only turnstile provides exit from the system and a street stair perpendicular to the line leads to Autumn Avenue, which ends at Jamaica Avenue. ^[8] The exit on the Manhattan-bound platform was closed, and the street stair was removed.

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. "Trains Running This Morning The Elevated Road to Cypress Hills Still in Operation". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 30, 1893. p. 10. Retrieved October 2, 2016– via Brooklyn Newspapers.
3. • "TO OPEN JAMAICA AV. LINE.; Nearly Two and a Half Miles Ready for Operation Tonight". No. May 27, 1917. New York Times Company. May 27, 1917. p. 24. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
   • "Jamaica Avenue 'L' is an Old Story Already" (PDF). No. May 31, 1917. Leader Observer (Queens/Brooklyn, NY). May 31, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved April 20, 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
   • Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York, Volume 1. New York State Public Service Commission. January 15, 1918. pp. 73, 81, 312–314. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
4. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
5. "Showing Image 113358".
6. "MTA Announces Upcoming Station Renovations at Cypress Hills, 75 St, and 85 St Stations on the J and Z Line". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
7. Bardolf, Deirdre (February 16, 2023). "J train work starting in Woodhaven: MTA". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
8. • "MTA Neighborhood Maps: East New York" (PDF). mta.info . Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
   • "MTA Neighborhood Map: Woodhaven" (PDF). mta.info . Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Jamaica Line: Cypress Hills
• Station Reporter — J Train
• The Subway Nut — Cypress Hills Pictures Archived July 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Cypress Hills (BMT Jamaica Line)
• Crescent Street and Hemlock Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Autumn Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View