Grand Street station (BMT Canarsie Line)

For other uses, see Grand Street.

Grand Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Grand Street & Bushwick Avenue Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Williamsburg
Coordinates	40°42′43″N73°56′27″W / 40.711906°N 73.940735°W / 40.711906; -73.940735
Division	B (BMT) [1]
Line	BMT Canarsie Line
Services	L   (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: Q54, Q59
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	June 30, 1924;100 years ago (1924-06-30)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2023	1,499,646 [2]   6.5%
Rank	215 out of 423 [2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Graham Avenue toward Eighth Avenue Montrose 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 Graham Avenue to Montrose Avenue
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

The Grand Street station is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Grand Street and Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, it is served by the L train at all times.

History

Planning and opening

In the Dual Contracts, adopted on March 4, 1913, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT; after 1923, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation or BMT ^[3] ) was selected to operate a subway route from 14th Street in Manhattan to Montrose Avenue in Brooklyn. This became the 14th Street–Eastern District Line (later the Canarsie Line. ^{[4] : 203–219  [5]} In late 1915, the Public Service Commission began receiving bids for the construction of the 14th Street Line. ^{[6] [7]} MacArthur Brothers Co. had received a $1.336 million contract for the construction of section 5 in Brooklyn, which included a station at Grand Street, by June 1916. ^[8] Organizations such as the Grand Street Board of Trade and the Grand Street Improvement Association were supportive of the project. ^[9]

The 14th Street Tunnel under the East River had been fully excavated by August 1919. ^[10] The line's opening was delayed by several years. In 1922, Mayor John Francis Hylan blocked some construction contracts, claiming that the costs were excessively high. ^[11] The Station Finish Corporation was contracted to build the stations in Brooklyn, including Grand Street. ^[12] Track-laying in the tunnels between Sixth and Montrose Avenues started in the last week of October 1922. ^{[13] [14]} This station opened on June 30, 1924, as part of the initial segment of the Canarsie Line from the Sixth Avenue station in Manhattan to the Montrose Avenue station. ^{[15] [16]}

Later improvements

In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program. ^[17] A contract for two elevators at the station was awarded in December 2020 ^[18] with funding that was originally earmarked for the Penn Station Access project. ^[19] The new elevators were almost complete by early 2023, ^[20] and they were finished on August 31, 2023. ^{[21] [22]} In 2024, the MTA installed low platform-edge fences at the Grand Street station and several others on the Canarsie Line to reduce the likelihood of passengers falling onto the tracks. ^[23] The barriers, spaced along the length of the platform, do not have sliding platform screen doors between them. ^[24]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance Elevators at: Northeast corner of Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street for westbound trains Northwest corner of Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street for eastbound trains
Platform level	Side platform
	Westbound	← toward Eighth Avenue (Graham Avenue)
	Eastbound	→ toward Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway (Montrose Avenue) →
	Side platform

This underground station has two side platforms with two tracks. The mosaic band on both platforms features greys along with aqua, orange, ochre, light blue, and light green. Near the south end of the station, there are gratings near the ceiling, with the tile band cut out to fit around them. A historically correct section of replacement tile can also be seen in this area. The name tablets read "GRAND ST." in serif font on a brown background, yellow inner border, and green outer border. There are no columns on the platforms since they are on a curve except for some blue i-beam ones at the center where fare control is.

As part of the MTA Arts & Design program, an artwork titled Gratitudes off Grand, by Glendalys Medina, was installed in the station in 2023. ^{[25] [26]} It is composed of two mosaic-glass panels made by Miotto Mosaic Art Studios, each measuring 40 feet (12 m) wide and placed on opposite platforms. ^[25] The panel on the eastbound platform depicts various ethnicities who have lived in the Bushwick and East Williamsburg neighborhoods, including the native Lenape, Pan-Africans, Italians, Irish, Dominicans, and Puerto Ricans. The westbound platform's panels contain colored motifs, which represent places in the area during each of the four seasons. ^[26] The colors of the artwork are inspired by Medina's strolls in the neighborhood surrounding the station, while the artwork itself features elements from several cultures, such as Latin American, Taíno, and hip hop culture. ^{[25] [26]}

Exits

Station stair

Because of its proximity to street level due to cut-and-cover construction, there is no free transfer between directions, and fare control is at platform level. Both sides have a turnstile bank, token booth, and two staircases to the streets. The ones on the Manhattan-bound side go up to either eastern corners of Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street, while the ones on the Canarsie-bound side go up to either western corners. ^[27] There are two elevators from street level to platform level. The elevator at the northwestern corner of Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street goes down to the eastbound platform, while that at the northeastern corner goes down to the westbound platform. ^[28]

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. State of New York Transit Commission Third Annual Report for the Calendar Year 1923. New York State Transit Commission. 1924. p. 501. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
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. "Progress of Work on New Branches of the Dual Subway System". The New York Times. November 21, 1915. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
7. "$182,000,000 Being Spent on Subways in New York City". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 26, 1915. p. 10. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
8. "Service Board Lets $3,626,653 Contracts; Degnon Co. Gets a $1,972,349 Job on Manhattan End of the Eastern District Line". The New York Times. June 2, 1916. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 16, 2023.
9. "Silver Spade Breaks Ground for E. D. Tube". Times Union. April 8, 1916. p. 15. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
10. "Subway Tunnel Through". The New York Times. August 8, 1919. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
11. "Hylan Again Blocks Work On Subway: Miller's Warning Falls on Deaf Ears, but Estimate Board Asks for Bids at Current Prices". New-York Tribune. April 25, 1922. p. 1. ProQuest   576578070.
12. "Long Delayed E. D. Transit Relief Move Announced". The Standard Union. October 29, 1922. pp. 9, 11 . Retrieved June 11, 2021.
13. "Laying of Tracks Starts New Action for Thru Tubes". The Chat. November 4, 1922. p. 18. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
14. "Long Delayed E. D. Transit Relief Move Announced". The Standard Union. October 29, 1922. pp. 9, . Retrieved July 16, 2023.
15. "Subway Tunnel Through". The New York Times. August 8, 1919. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
16. "Celebrate Opening of Subway Link". The New York Times. July 1, 1924. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
17. "MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan" (Press release). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
18. "MTA Announces Accessibility Projects at Eight Stations Throughout the Five Boroughs" (Press release). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
19. Martinez, Jose (December 16, 2020). "Some NYC Subway Stations Getting Elevators While Others Get the Shaft Amid Budget Crunch". The City. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
20. Brachfeld, Ben (February 23, 2023). "Going Up: MTA will start installing elevators at 15 more subway stations this year, 12 others to open in 2023". amNewYork. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
21. Mocker, Greg (August 31, 2023). "M line riders experience delays amid track construction". PIX11. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
22. "New elevator opens at Grand Street subway station in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn". CBS New York. August 31, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
23. Nessen, Stephen (August 29, 2024). "MTA installs platform barriers at 10 subway stations to prevent fatal slips and shoves". Gothamist. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
24. 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.
25. Saraniero, Nicole (September 1, 2023). "New Mosaic Subway Art Unveiled at Grand Street Station in Brooklyn". Untapped New York. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
26. "Gratitudes Off Grand". MTA. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
27. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Williamsburg & Bedford Stuyvesant" (PDF). mta.info . Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
28. "MTA Accessible Stations". MTA. August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Canarsie Line: Grand Street
• Station Reporter — L Train
• The Subway Nut — Grand Street Pictures
• Grand Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (2015)
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (2018)