Ninth Avenue station

The Ninth Avenue station is a bi-level express station on the BMT West End Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and 39th Street in Brooklyn. Each level has three tracks and two island platforms. The upper level serves the BMT West End Line while the lower level formerly served the BMT Culver Line. Only the upper level is still in service and is served by the D train at all times.

9 Avenue
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Ninth Avenue station in September 2018
Station statistics
Address	Ninth Avenue & 39th Street Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Sunset Park, Borough Park
Coordinates	40.646575°N 73.994674°W / 40.646575; -73.994674
Division	B (BMT)[1]
Line	BMT West End Line BMT Culver Line (formerly)
Services	D  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B35
Structure	Open-cut
Levels	2 (upper level is in revenue service)
Platforms	4 island platforms (2 on each level) cross-platform interchange
Tracks	6 (3 on each level)
Other information
Opened	June 24, 1916; 108 years ago (1916-06-24)
Closed	BMT Culver Line platforms: May 11, 1975; 49 years ago (1975-05-11)
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	1,263,578[2]  5.1%
Rank	244 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 36th Street toward Norwood–205th Street Local Fort Hamilton Parkway toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 36th Street West End express no service 62nd Street West End express 36th Street Culver; demolished Fort Hamilton Parkway Culver; demolished
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend West End Line/upper level to 36th Street to SBK Railway Long tunnel section ramps to former Fifth Avenue el to 36th–38th Street Yard to lower level to Fort Hamilton Parkway to 62nd Street Culver Line/lower level to upper level Storage tracks of former Culver el
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times
9th Avenue Station (Dual System BRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	05000676[3]
Added to NRHP	March 3, 2005

History

The Ninth Avenue station opened on June 24, 1916, along with the first portion of the BMT West End Line from 36th Street on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line to 18th Avenue station.^[4][5] The line was originally a surface excursion railway to Coney Island, called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad, which was established in 1862, but did not reach Coney Island until 1864.^[6] Under the Dual Contracts of 1913, an elevated line was built over New Utrecht Avenue, 86th Street and Stillwell Avenue.^[7][8][9]

The platforms were extended in the 1950s to accommodate the current standard B Division train length of 615 feet (187 m).^[10]

The station was renovated in 2012 with new platform edges, a new dispatcher room and a new stairway that leads to the 36th Street Yard.

Station layout

G	Street Level	Station house, entrances/exits, station agent, MetroCard machines
P Upper platforms	Northbound local	← toward Norwood–205th Street (36th Street)
	Island platform
	Peak-direction express	→ No regular service (36th Street or 62nd Street)
	Island platform
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Fort Hamilton Parkway) →
P Lower platforms	Former northbound local	→ Trackbed
	Island platform, not in service
	Former peak-direction express	→ No regular service
	Island platform, not in service
	Former southbound local	→ Trackbed

Both levels of the station have three tracks and two island platforms.

Upper level

The upper level is the only one in use. The center express track is not normally used, and thus only the local tracks are in regular service. On the upper level, the Manhattan-bound platform is slightly wider than the Coney Island-bound platform. Towards the west end of the upper level platforms is an employee-only pedestrian bridge that leads to the entrance of the 36th–38th Street Yard via a high turnstile. A control tower for line is at the south end of the yard.^[11] The east end of the station is slightly below ground level.

Lower level

The lower level was used as a through route for the BMT Culver Line to the BMT Fourth Avenue subway and the BMT Fifth Avenue elevated lines until 1954, when service on the main portion of the BMT Culver Line route was recaptured by the Independent Subway System via the Culver Ramp. A Culver Shuttle service from this station to a new single track terminal at Ditmas Avenue began at the same time. Some Culver trains continued to operate into Manhattan until May 1959. Culver Shuttle service was discontinued on May 11, 1975.^[12] The lower level was abandoned afterwards and has not been used for passenger service.

The level is dark and there are no safety plates on the two staircases to that level. A fluorescent light remains on the southbound side. The next stop for this shuttle to the south (east) was Fort Hamilton Parkway. The tracks curve just east of the station before the center and southbound local end at bumper blocks, at the east end of the tunnel portal. The northbound local continues past the portal and runs along another track coming from the 36th–38th Street Yard, but does not connect with it.^{[clarification needed]} This track was the track used during Ninth Avenue–Ditmas Avenue shuttle operation from 1959 until 1975.

Use as filming location

The lower level was used for the filming of the original Crocodile Dundee (1986) movie when it posed as the 59th Street–Columbus Circle station at the end of the movie. The "9" wall mosaics and the sunlight seen at the very end of the film made it clear it was Ninth Avenue.^[13] The abandoned lower level also appeared in a pivotal violent scene from the film Joker (2019).^[14] In the Heights (2021) used the abandoned subway platform for a key musical sequence, with vintage subway cars rented from the New York Transit Museum.^[15] Additionally, these platforms were featured in the March 3, 2024 episode of CBS's The Equalizer. A “9TH AVE” mosaic wall tablet was seen twice, while there was a ceiling-hung “Lexington-53rd St” sign. During this scene, a short train passes through, but does not stop.

Exits

The station house is at street level near the intersection of 9th Avenue and New Utrecht Avenue, and there is a sealed entrance on the west side. The tablet grilles in the mezzanine are still intact and a newsstand once stood opposite the current location of the station agent booth.^[16]

Track layout

As the West End line rises from embankment to elevated east of this station, the BMT Culver right-of-way can be seen leaving the tunnel on the Manhattan-bound side. Only one track leaves the tunnel, dead-ending approximately 750 feet (230 m) later before Fort Hamilton Parkway with no further connections. There is also a platform present. The platform was installed in the late 1980s for New York City Transit employees only and is not part of the right-of-way.

To the west of the station is a complicated track layout complete with track connections from the Fourth Avenue Line, ramps from the now-demolished Fifth Avenue El, and ramps from the 36th–38th Street Yard, combining together to form the six tracks and two levels of the station.^[17]

Beyond the ramps, as the line curves under the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, there are tracks that continue straight into the piers on the Sunset Park waterfront that were once operated by the South Brooklyn Railway.^[17] In the tunnel approaching 36th Street station, there is an unused trackway that was supposed to connect to the South Brooklyn Railway. The tunnel connection was never built. This trackway merges to the southbound track and runs for a long distance before ending at a wall.

Gallery

• 
  Station house
• 
  Coney Island bound platform
• 
  Manhattan bound platform
• 
  The express track
• 
  Staircase to the lower level
• 
  Detail of decorative gate by Christopher Russell

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. "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
4. "Parade, Pageant Mark Celebration". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 24, 1916. p. 8. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
5. "Realty Boom Is Predicted for Borough Park Section". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 24, 1916. p. 8. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
6. "Opening of the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad" (PDF). The New York Times. June 9, 1864. p. 2. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
7. "The Dual System of Rapid Transit". New York State Public Service Commission. September 1912. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
8. "618 Miles of Track In The Dual System; City Will Have Invested $226,000,000 When Rapid Transit Project Is Completed". The New York Times. August 3, 1913. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
9. Report of the Public Service Commission For The First District Of The State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1916 Vol. 1. New York State Public Service Commission. January 10, 1917. pp. 47–49.
10. "For Release Sunday, July 12, 1964" (PDF). New York City Office of the Mayor. July 12, 1964. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
11. McKinley Jr, James C. (August 16, 1994). "Subway Car Derails in Brooklyn, Injuring 11 Passengers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
12. Kelly, John (May 9, 1975). "End of Line for Culver Shuttle". New York Daily News. p. KL7. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2019 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
13. Final scene of Crocodile Dundee, retrieved July 19, 2022
14. "The Star Of Joker Is New York As Gotham City". Gothamist. October 3, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
15. Mitchell, Alex (June 8, 2021). "Yes, you can visit the NYC filming locations from 'In the Heights'". NY Post. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
16. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Sunset Park" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
17. "INVENTORY OF DECKING OPPORTUNITIES OVER TRANSPORTATION PROPERTIES Final Report: 6.7: TRANSIT AND RAILROAD YARDS: BROOKLYN" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. September 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT West End Line: Ninth Avenue
• nycsubway.org – BMT Culver Line: Ninth Avenue
• Station Reporter — D Train
• The Subway Nut — Ninth Avenue Pictures
• Detail of area tracks
• Ninth Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View