First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line)

1 Avenue
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	First Avenue & East 14th Street New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	East Village, Stuyvesant Park, Stuyvesant Town
Coordinates	40°43′53″N73°58′57″W / 40.731324°N 73.982577°W / 40.731324; -73.982577
Division	B (BMT) [1]
Line	BMT Canarsie Line
Services	L   (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M14A/M14D Select Bus Service, M15 (northbound), M15 Select Bus Service (northbound)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	June 30, 1924;100 years ago (1924-06-30)
Rebuilt	July 1, 2019;5 years ago (2019-07-01) to December 31, 2020;3 years ago (2020-12-31)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2023	5,745,700 [2]   7.7%
Rank	38 out of 423 [2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Third Avenue toward Eighth Avenue Bedford Avenue toward Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Third Avenue to Bedford Avenue
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

The First Avenue station is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of First Avenue and East 14th Street at the border of Stuyvesant Park, Stuyvesant Town, and the East Village in Manhattan, ^[3] it is served by the L train at all times.

History

Contract 4 of the Dual Contracts, adopted on March 4, 1913 between New York City and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, included a subway route under 14th Street, to run to Canarsie in Brooklyn; this became the BMT's Canarsie Line. ^{[4] : 203–219  [5]}

Booth and Flinn was awarded the first contract for the line, namely a tunnel under the East River, in January 1916. ^[6] At the time, the Public Service Commission was completing plans for the rest of the line; ^[7] the commission began accepting bids for two parts of the line within Manhattan, sections 1 and 2. in April 1916. ^[8] The next month, Booth and Flinn won the contract for section 1, which was to cost $2.528 million (equivalent to $70.784 million in 2023). ^[9] By early 1919, the section of the line under 14th Street was about 20 percent completed. ^[10]

In 1922, the Charles H. Brown & Son Corporation was contracted to build out the Canarsie Line's stations in Manhattan, including the First Avenue station. ^[11] Track-laying in the tunnels between Sixth and Montrose Avenues started in the last week of October 1922. ^{[12] [13]} The First Avenue station at Union Square opened on June 30, 1924, as part of the 14th Street–Eastern Line, which ran from Sixth Avenue under the East River and through Williamsburg to Montrose and Bushwick Avenues. ^{[14] [15]}

In September 1983, this station was the site of the arrest of Michael Stewart, a notable case in the history of police brutality. ^[16]

The station originally had entrances only at its western end, on First Avenue. Its eastern entrances at Avenue A were built as part of the wide scope in the 2019–2020 rebuilding of the Canarsie Tubes that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy, and to improve service for people living in Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, the East Village, and Alphabet City. Work on the entrances began in July 2017, ^{[17] [18]} necessitating the relocation of bus stops at that intersection. ^[19] The entrances to the Brooklyn-bound platform were opened on November 4, 2019. The entrance to the Eighth Avenue-bound platform was expected to be opened by the end of 2019, ^{[20] [21]} but the opening date was postponed to February 10, 2020. This was followed by the temporary closure of the entrances at First Avenue. ^[22] New elevators were built at the new eastern entrances ^{[23] [24]} and were opened on August 6, 2020. ^[25] Substantial completion of the entrances occurred in November 2020. ^{[26] [27]}

In June 2024, ^[28] the MTA installed low platform-edge fences at the First Avenue station and several others on the Canarsie Line to reduce the likelihood of passengers falling onto the tracks. ^[29] The barriers, spaced along the length of the platform, do not have sliding platform screen doors between them. ^[30]

Station layout

Old entrance structure (since remodeled)

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance Elevators located: Northwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street Southwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street
Mezzanine	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines Elevators located: Northwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street Southwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street
Platform level	Side platform
	Westbound	← toward Eighth Avenue (Third Avenue)
	Eastbound	→ toward Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway (Bedford Avenue) →
	Side platform

This underground station has two side platforms and two tracks. It is the easternmost Canarsie Line station in Manhattan. East of here, the line travels under the East River to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The platforms are columnless and have the standard BMT style trim-line and name tablets. The former contains "1" tablets in standard intervals, while the latter consists of "FIRST AVE" in white seriffed lettering.

Exits

The station's western entrances are at the (railroad north) end of the station; from each platform, a single staircase goes up to a small mezzanine that contains a turnstile bank, token booth. Two street stairs to the Eighth Avenue-bound platform lead to the northeastern corner of First Avenue and 14th Street, while the ones to the Brooklyn-bound platform lead to the southeastern corner. The mezzanine on the Brooklyn-bound side had a florist shop outside fare control; the shop closed in 2019. There is no free transfer between directions at this station. ^[31]

The station's eastern entrances are at the railroad south end of the station; there are platform-level turnstile banks from each platform. Two street stairs to the Eighth Avenue-bound platform lead to the northwestern corner of Avenue A and 14th Street, while two more to the Brooklyn-bound platform lead to the southwestern corner. Each eastern entrance has an elevator between the platform and the street.

Art

The station contains two sets of mosaic artwork by Katherine Bradford. ^{[32] [33]} The eastern entrances include three large works collectively titled Queens of the Night, which depict figures in dancelike poses against a sapphire blue background. In addition, the First Avenue mezzanines contain two smaller works of flying superheroes, titled Superhero Responds. ^{[33] [34]} The mosaics cover 400 square feet (37 m²) in total. When the artworks were commissioned, Bradford used the L train on her daily commute, passing through the First Avenue station. ^[32]

Image gallery

• 
  Name Tablet
• 
  Trim-line Tablet
• 
  Station wall

Nearby points of interest

• Beth Israel Medical Center ^[31]
• Stuyvesant High School Old Campus (High School for Health Professions and Human Services, Institute for Collaborative Education, and PS 226) ^[31]
• Stuyvesant Square ^[31]
• Stuyvesant Town ^[31]

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. "East Village, Manhattan Senior Pedestrian Crashes 2001-2006" (PDF). NYC.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2018.
4. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
5. "Subway Contracts Solemnly Signed; Cheers at the Ceremonial Function When McCall Gets Willcox to Attest" (PDF). The New York Times. March 20, 1913. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
6. "East River Tunnel Contract Awarded; Booth & Flinn, Who Will Do the Work for $6,639,023, to Use the Shield Method". The New York Times. January 14, 1916. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
7. "Public Service Commission Promises to Complete Contract Awards This Year". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 16, 1916. p. 40. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
8. "E. D. Tube Trains Will Run in 1918". Times Union. April 8, 1916. p. 15. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
9. "Award Subway Contracts". Times Union. May 26, 1916. p. 6. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
10. "When Will Dual Subway Be Finished?: Completed Work Cost 188,332,000--unfinished Contracts Amount to 20,000,000 Two Bodies Responsible for Construction Lack Mutual Confidence and Team-work". New-York Tribune. January 5, 1919. p. D10. ISSN   1941-0646. ProQuest   575999620.
11. "Long Delayed E. D. Transit Relief Move Announced". The Standard Union. October 29, 1922. pp. 9, 11. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
12. "Laying of Tracks Starts New Action for Thru Tubes". The Chat. November 4, 1922. p. 18. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
13. "Long Delayed E. D. Transit Relief Move Announced". The Standard Union. October 29, 1922. pp. 9, . Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
14. "Celebrate Opening of Subway Link" (PDF). The New York Times. July 1, 1924. p. 23. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
15. "Pushing Throng Christens Spur Of B. M. T. Tube: Hylan Runs the First Train From Brooklyn to 14th Street, Then Assails "Interests'" at Luncheon Yearns to Boss System Transit Commission Heads Remind Mayor Epithets Won't Solve Problems". The New York Herald, New York Tribune. July 1, 1924. p. 12. ISSN   1941-0646. ProQuest   1112998377.
16. Wilkerson, Isabel (November 25, 1985). "Jury Acquits All Transit Officers in 1983 Death of Michael Stewart". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 28, 2020.
17. Hobbs, Allegra (July 11, 2017). "MTA Begins Work on New L Train Entrance at Avenue A as Bus Stops Relocate". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
18. "Project Description, Budget and Scope". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 31, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
19. Mollot, Sabina (July 7, 2017). "Bus stop shelters on East 14th Street removed, will be relocated". Town & Village. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
20. "Press Release - NYC Transit - MTA Opens New Entrance at 1 Av L Station, Announces Early Completion of Street Restoration on 14th Street". MTA. November 4, 2019. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
21. "Fast Forward - Q4 2019 Customer Commitments". MTA. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
22. Hallum, Mark (February 10, 2020). "Avenue A subway entrance for L train users now open with elevators to follow in June". amNewYork. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
23. "MTA - Press Release - NYC Transit - MTA Seeks Federal Funds to Increase Capacity on Canarsie L Line". mta.info. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
24. "mta.info | Superstorm Sandy: One Year Later". web.mta.info. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
25. MTA Press Conference - 08/06/2020. YouTube . Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
26. "Governor Cuomo Announces Completion of Nation-leading L Project Tunnel Rehabilitation With No Shutdown" (Press release). Albany, NY: New York State - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. April 26, 2020. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
27. "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting November 2018" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 13, 2018. p. 92. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
28. Platform Edge Safety Barrier Installation at 1st Ave L Train Station #shorts . Retrieved August 19, 2024– via www.youtube.com.
29. Nessen, Stephen (August 29, 2024). "MTA installs platform barriers at 10 subway stations to prevent fatal slips and shoves". Gothamist. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
30. Roberts-Grmela, Julian; Seiwell, Emma (January 21, 2024). "MTA testing subway platform barriers in Manhattan, Brooklyn aimed at preventing track falls". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
31. MTA neighborhood map
32. Schulz, Dana (September 24, 2021). "MTA unveils colorful new subway mosaics at Bedford and 1st Avenue L train stations". 6sqft. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
33. Di Liscia, Valentina (September 23, 2021). "Katherine Bradford Mosaic Murals Make a Manhattan Subway Station Shine". Hyperallergic. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
34. Hoeffner, Melissa Kravitz (September 23, 2021). "These gorgeous new mosaics are coming to L train stations". Time Out New York. Retrieved March 22, 2022.

External links

• nycsubway.org – nycsubway.org BMT Canarsie Line: 1st Avenue
• Station Reporter — L Train
• The Subway Nut — 1st Avenue Pictures
• First Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View
• East end of platforms under construction for "Avenue A" entrance from Google Maps Street View