New Brighton station (Staten Island Railway)

Last updated

New Brighton
Former Staten Island Railway station
General information
LocationWestervelt Avenue & Richmond Terrace
Staten Island
Coordinates 40°38′49″N74°05′21″W / 40.6469°N 74.0893°W / 40.6469; -74.0893 (New Brighton station)
Line(s) North Shore Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
History
OpenedFebruary 23, 1886;137 years ago (1886-02-23)
ClosedMarch 31, 1953;70 years ago (1953-03-31)
Previous namesWestervelt Avenue [1]
Former services
Preceding station Staten Island Railway Following station
Sailors' Snug Harbor
toward Port Ivory
North Shore Branch St. George
Terminus

New Brighton was a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. It was located in the New Brighton section of Staten Island, at the north end of Westervelt Avenue and Richmond Terrace (near Jersey Street). [2] It was the closest original North Shore station to the Saint George Terminal, 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from the station. [3]

History

The station opened on February 23, 1886 along with the rest of the North Shore branch west to Elm Park. [2] [4] [5] The station was located near the edge of the Kill Van Kull, several feet below street level. [2] [6] [7] [8] The southernmost (St. George-bound) platform was constructed directly at the rear of apartment buildings. A wooden stationhouse, signed "NEW BRIGHTON R.R. STATION," was located at street level at the foot of Westervelt Avenue between the buildings. The stationhouse led to an overpass and stairs down to the northern (west-bound) platform. Canopies were located at the eastern end of the station. West of the station, the line crossed Jersey Street at-grade. [2]

The New Brighton station is referred to as Westervelt Avenue on the map of the 1939 IND Second System plan, which would have connected the SIRT to subway lines in Brooklyn via the incomplete Staten Island Tunnel; New Brighton would have been the last stop on the North Shore Branch before entering the tunnel. [1] [9]

The station was closed and abandoned on March 31, 1953, along with the other passenger stations on the North Shore Branch. [2] [4] No trace of the station exist today. In the late 1990s, the Bank Street Bridge, which crossed over the line from Richmond Terrace near Jersey Street, [2] was eliminated due to safety issues. [10] Around that same time, Bank Street was extended east of Jersey Street adjacent to the former SIR right-of-way and parallel to Richmond Terrace, to provide access to the parking lot for the Richmond County Bank Ballpark. [10] As of 2015, there are plans to reconstruct the bridge. [11]

New Brighton is one of the stations to be returned to operation under the proposals for reactivation of the North Shore branch for rapid transit, light rail, or bus rapid transit service. The potential station site has been moved farther west between Franklin and Lafayette Avenues, currently used by a farmer's market and the Atlantic Salt corporation; the latter owns the North Shore right-of-way east to Bank Street. [12] [6]

Related Research Articles

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The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit line in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and operated by the New York City Transit Authority Department of Subways. SIR operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing local service between St. George and Tottenville, along the east side of the island. There is currently only one line on the island, and there is no direct rail link between the SIR and the New York City Subway system, but SIR riders do receive a free transfer to New York City Transit bus and subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps. Commuters on the railway typically use the Staten Island Ferry to reach Manhattan. The line is accessible from within the Ferry Terminal, and most of its trains are timed to connect with the ferry. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 3,757,700, or about 15,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George, Staten Island</span> Neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City

St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, along the waterfront where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond County. The St. George Terminal, serving the Staten Island Ferry and the Staten Island Railway, is also located here. St. George is bordered on the south by the neighborhood of Tompkinsville and on the west by the neighborhood of New Brighton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Brighton, Staten Island</span> Neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City

New Brighton is a neighborhood located on the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City. The neighborhood comprises an older industrial and residential harbor front area along the Kill Van Kull west of St. George. New Brighton is bounded by Kill Van Kull on the north, Jersey Street on the east, Brighton and Castleton Avenues to the south, and Lafayette Avenue and Snug Harbor Cultural Center to the west. It is adjacent to St. George to the east, Tompkinsville to the south, and West New Brighton to the west.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George Terminal</span> Transit center in Staten Island, New York

St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Hall, SIUH Community Park and Richmond County Supreme Court. St. George is one of the few remaining rail-boat connections in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond County Bank Ballpark station</span>

Richmond County Bank Ballpark, styled simply as BallPark on station signage, is a disused station on the Staten Island Railway, located at Wall Street and Richmond Terrace.

Arlington was a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway, in Staten Island, New York. Located in an open-cut 5.2 miles (8.4 km) from the St. George Terminal, it had two tracks and one island platform. For a few years before its closure in 1953, it was the western terminus of the North Shore Line; before then, the terminus was the Port Ivory station to the west, though most trains terminated at Arlington. It was located in the Arlington and Mariners Harbor sections of Staten Island, near the Arlington Yard, under the South Avenue overpass, between Arlington Place and Brabant Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sailors' Snug Harbor station</span>

Sailors' Snug Harbor is a former station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. Located in the Livingston section of Staten Island north of Richmond Terrace, the station was approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from Saint George Terminal. It is at the northernmost end of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West New Brighton station</span>

West New Brighton, also referred to as West Brighton, is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two side platforms and two tracks. It was located at-grade in the West New Brighton section of Staten Island, north of Richmond Terrace between North Burgher Avenue and Broadway. The station site is 2.4 miles (3.9 km) from the Saint George terminus. No trace of the station exists today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Richmond station</span>

Port Richmond is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. Located in Port Richmond on a concrete trestle at Park Avenue and Church Street, it has two tracks and an island platform. The station is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) from Saint George Terminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariners' Harbor station</span>

Mariners' Harbor is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and one island platform. It is located in an open cut in the Staten Island neighborhood of Mariners Harbor at Van Pelt Avenue, about 4.6 miles (7.4 km) from the Saint George terminal.

Harbor Road was a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York. The station, located under the overpass at the highest point of Harbor Road, was built in an open-cut with two tracks and one island platform. It was located 4.9 miles (7.9 km) from the Saint George terminal. The station was opened during the SIRT grade crossing elimination project of 1935 – 1937. It closed on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch. The station was demolished in 2004 during a reconstruction of the rail system for reactivated freight service by the nearby Howland Hook Marine Terminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower Hill station (Staten Island Railway)</span> Closed train station

Tower Hill is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway, located in Tower Hill between the Port Richmond and Elm Park neighborhoods. The station lies between Treadwell and Sharpe Avenues about 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the Saint George Terminal, with two tracks and an island platform. It is one of the three best-preserved stations on the line, the other two being Port Richmond and the line's western terminus at Arlington, in Mariners Harbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elm Park station (Staten Island Railway)</span>

Elm Park is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway (SIR). The station is located in an open cut under the Bayonne Bridge approach in Elm Park, Staten Island, at Morningstar Road between Innis Street and Newark Avenue. It has two tracks and two side platforms. The station is approximately 3.9 miles (6.3 km) from the Saint George terminal of the SIR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Avenue station</span>

Lake Avenue is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York. It has two tracks and two side platforms. It is located in an open cut, approximately 4.3 miles (6.9 km) from Saint George Terminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingston station (Staten Island Railway)</span>

Livingston is a former station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. Located north of Richmond Terrace at Bard Avenue in the Livingston section of Staten Island, it had two tracks and two side platforms. The site is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) from the Saint George terminal. Closed in 1953, the station was demolished, with few remnants of the site today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staten Island Tunnel</span> Abandoned and incomplete subway tunnel in New York City

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Shore Branch</span> Railroad branch in Staten Island, New York

The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore from Saint George to Port Ivory. The line continues into New Jersey via the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge to Aldene Junction in Cranford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Staten Island Railway</span> Aspect of history surrounding the Staten Island Railway

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pitanza, Marc (2015). Staten Island Rapid Transit Images of Rail. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4671-2338-9.
  3. Office of Diane J. Savino (2013). "State Senator Diane J. Savino's 2013 Staten Island Railway Rider Report" (PDF). nysenate.gov . New York State Senate . Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Leigh, Irvin; Matus, Paul (January 2002). "State Island Rapid Transit: The Essential History". thethirdrail.net. The Third Rail Online. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  5. Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences (1916). Proceedings - Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, Volumes 5-6. New Brighton, New York: Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "North Shore Alternatives Analysis: Rail Alignment Drawings Arlington-St. George" (PDF). mta.info . Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  7. "North Shore Alternatives Analysis: Public Meeting THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010 7:00 p.m." (PDF). zetlin.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 22, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  8. "NORTH SHORE 2030: Improving and Reconnecting the North Shore's Unique and Historic Assets" (PDF). nyc.gov . New York City Economic Development Corporation, New York City Department of City Planning. December 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  9. Project for Expanded Rapid Transit Facilities, New York City Transit System, dated July 5, 1939
  10. 1 2 "BANK STREET BRIDGE". forgotten-ny.com. Forgotten New York. December 21, 1999. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  11. Office of the Mayor of New York City (2015). "The City of New York Executive Budget Fiscal Year 2016: Bill de Blasio, Mayor" (PDF). Government of New York City . Government of New York City . Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  12. "NYCT NORTH SHORE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS: Alternatives Analysis Report" (PDF). mta.info . Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2015.