Gates Avenue station

Gates Avenue
Gates Avenue
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
	Eastern end of the southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Gates Avenue & Broadway; Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Bedford–Stuyvesant, Bushwick
Coordinates	40°41′22″N 73°55′19″W / 40.68949°N 73.922067°W
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Jamaica Line; BMT Lexington Avenue Line (formerly)
Services	J (all except rush hours, peak direction); Z (rush hours, peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B52, Q24
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	May 13, 1885; 139 years ago
Opposite-; direction; transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	1,458,035 11%
Rank	218 out of 423
Services
Services
Non-revenue services and lines
Non-revenue services and lines
Location
Track layout
	Legend
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
	Stops all times except late nights

The Gates Avenue station is a local station on the elevated BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Gates Avenue and Broadway at the border of Bedford–Stuyvesant and Bushwick, Brooklyn. It is served by the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction and by the J train at all other times.

History

Gates Avenue is the oldest station in the subway system to have been built as a rapid transit station; it has been serving BMT trains since 1885. While Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue is the oldest station currently in operation in the New York City Subway system, having originally opened in 1869 as a Long Island Rail Road station, that station had an 8-year disruption in service while being converted to subway loading gauge, meaning that Gates Avenue is the system's oldest station in continuous operation.

Gates Avenue was originally opened by the Union Elevated Railroad on May 13, 1885 for the BMT Lexington Avenue Line, and has been in continuous operation since then. The BMT Jamaica Line connected to the station on June 25, 1888.^[4] Prior to the Dual Contracts, trains either operated down Broadway to Broadway Ferry (which closed upon the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge tracks to Essex Street) or Lexington Avenue, eventually merging onto the Myrtle Avenue El.^[5] The Dual Contracts expanded the BMT Jamaica Line, including Gates Avenue, to three tracks, allowing for express service, as well as expanding service in Manhattan down Nassau Street. In 1950, the Lexington Avenue El closed, resulting in the redirection of all trains to the Williamsburg Bridge.

In 2024, the MTA announced that the Gates Avenue station would become fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[6]^[7] The renovation of the station was to be funded by congestion pricing in New York City.^[7] The project, which was to begin in late 2026, is to include two elevators and four rebuilt staircases.^[6]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Westbound local	← toward Broad Street (Kosciuszko Street) ← AM rush toward Broad Street (Myrtle Avenue) ← AM rush does not stop here
	Peak-direction express	→ No regular service
	Eastbound local	→ toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Halsey Street) → → PM rush toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Chauncey Street) → → PM rush does not stop here →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Ground	Street Level	Entrance/exit

This station has two side platforms and three tracks with the center express track not normally used. Each platform has beige windscreens and red canopies (both with green frames) that run along the entire length except for a small section at both ends.

The 2002 artwork here is called Dream Train by Chris Robinson and features mass transit-related stained glass windows in the station house and the windscreens.

South of this station, the BMT Jamaica Line connected to the BMT Lexington Avenue Line before it ceased operation on October 13, 1950 and some remains are visible. The next stop on the Lexington Avenue El was Reid Avenue on its way to Downtown Brooklyn and Park Row, Manhattan.

Exits

The station has exits on both the west (railroad north) end and the east (railroad south) end of its platforms. Despite the station's name, there is no longer an open exit to Gates Avenue.

On the west end, each platform has a single staircase leading to an elevated station house beneath the tracks. It has a turnstile bank and token booth. Outside fare control, two staircases lead to both eastern corners of Quincy Street and Broadway.^[8]

The eastern exits are now emergency exits leading to both western corners of Palmetto Street and Broadway, just east of Gates Avenue. These exits were closed in the 1980s due to high crime.^[9]^[10] There is a closed station house around the intermediate level of the staircases.

References

^ "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.
^ "Done at Last". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 13, 1885. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ "The Broadway Line Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. June 25, 1888. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1912 BMT service map" (PDF). NYCSubway. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "MTA announces Gates Ave. accessibility upgrades". Brooklyn Eagle. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
^ ^a ^b Russo-Lennon, Barbara (December 12, 2024). "Queensboro Plaza subway station becomes fully accessible, marking major milestone for MTA – QNS". QNS. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Bushwick" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
^ Harshbarger, Rebecca; De La Hoz, Felipe (October 12, 2015). "Williamsburg, Bushwick subway entrances sealed despite ridership spike". AM New York. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
^ "Closed subway entrances". WNYC (AM). October 31, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

External links

nycsubway.org – BMT Jamaica Line: Gates Avenue
Station Reporter — J train
The Subway Nut — Gates Avenue Pictures Archived May 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
MTA's Arts For Transit — Gates Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)
Quincy Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
Platforms from Google Maps Street View
Gates Avenue Tower at Broadway Elevated Junction: Lexington Avenue Line (BMT) (New York Transit Museum; Flickr)

[SASDEIS-DIVISION-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.

[Gates-2] "Done at Last". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 13, 1885. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.

[riderref-3] "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.

[Driggs-4] "The Broadway Line Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. June 25, 1888. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.

[1912_map-5] "1912 BMT service map" (PDF). NYCSubway. Retrieved June 1, 2011.

[Brooklyn_Eagle_u692-6] "MTA announces Gates Ave. accessibility upgrades". Brooklyn Eagle. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.

[Russo-Lennon_l252-7] Russo-Lennon, Barbara (December 12, 2024). "Queensboro Plaza subway station becomes fully accessible, marking major milestone for MTA – QNS". QNS. Retrieved December 13, 2024.

[8] "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Bushwick" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.

[AMny-BMTJamaicaentrances-Oct2015-9] Harshbarger, Rebecca; De La Hoz, Felipe (October 12, 2015). "Williamsburg, Bushwick subway entrances sealed despite ridership spike". AM New York. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

[WNYC-ClosedSubwayEntrances-10] "Closed subway entrances". WNYC (AM). October 31, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

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v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by service
Nassau Street Local	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport 121st Street 111th Street 104th Street Woodhaven Boulevard 85th Street–Forest Parkway 75th Street–Elderts Lane Cypress Hills Crescent Street Norwood Avenue Cleveland Street Van Siclen Avenue Alabama Avenue Broadway Junction Chauncey Street Halsey Street Gates Avenue Kosciuszko Street Myrtle Avenue Flushing Avenue Lorimer Street Hewes Street Marcy Avenue Essex Street Bowery Canal Street Chambers Street Fulton Street Broad Street
Nassau Street Express	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport 121st Street 104th Street Woodhaven Boulevard 75th Street–Elderts Lane Crescent Street Norwood Avenue Van Siclen Avenue Alabama Avenue Broadway Junction Chauncey Street Gates Avenue Myrtle Avenue Marcy Avenue Essex Street Bowery Canal Street Chambers Street Fulton Street Broad Street
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.