Beach 67th Street station

The Beach 67th Street station (signed as Beach 67th Street–Arverne By The Sea station) is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Beach 67th Street and Rockaway Freeway in Arverne, Queens, it is served by the A train at all times. The station is adjacent to Kohlreiter Square, a public green space on the north side of the station.

Beach 67 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Beach 67th Street & Rockaway Freeway Queens, New York
Borough	Queens
Locale	Arverne
Coordinates	40.59092°N 73.79681°W / 40.59092; -73.79681
Division	B (IND, formerly LIRR Far Rockaway Branch)[1]
Line	IND Rockaway Line
Services	A  (all times)
Transit	MTA Bus: Q22, Q52 SBS, QM17
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	1888; 136 years ago (1888) (LIRR station)
Rebuilt	June 28, 1956; 68 years ago (1956-06-28) (as a Subway station)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Beach 67th Street–Arverne By The Sea Beach 67th Street–Gaston
Traffic
2023	474,975[2]  8.9%
Rank	391 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Broad Channel toward Inwood–207th Street Beach 60th Street toward Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Beach 90th Street Hammels Wye no service
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Arverne-Straiton Avenue toward Valley Stream Far Rockaway Branch Hammels Terminus Arverne-Straiton Avenue toward Gibson Rockaway Beach Division Beach Channel toward Woodside
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Broad Channel Hammels Wye to Beach 90th Street to Beach 60th Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

History

Before renovation

The station was originally built as Arverne for the Long Island Rail Road in 1888 at Gaston Avenue, by New York lawyer and developer Remington Vernam. The station and the development were named by his wife who admired the way he signed his checks. The station had a large tower, was shaped like a Victorian hotel and had a connection to the Ocean Electric Railway.^{[citation needed]}

Due to a quarrel between the LIRR and Vernam, another Arverne station was built at Straiton Avenue in 1892. From then on, it was known as Arverne–Gaston Avenue to distinguish it from the Straiton Avenue station. Arverne station was rebuilt on a new site with a simpler structure in May 1912.^[3] The station was rebuilt as an elevated station named Gaston Avenue, which opened on April 10, 1942.^[4] The station was purchased by New York City on October 3, 1955, along with the rest of the Rockaway Beach Branch and Far Rockaway Branch west of Far Rockaway, after a fire on the line's crossing over Jamaica Bay in 1950.^[5] Now operated by the New York City Transit Authority, it reopened as a subway station along the IND Rockaway Line on June 28, 1956.^[5][6]

In March 2010, Queens Community Board 14, which represents Arverne, voted in favor of renaming the station from Beach 67th Street–Gaston to Beach 67th Street–Arverne By The Sea.^[7] New signs with this name were installed in July 2011.

In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[8] A contract for two elevators at the station was awarded in December 2020.^[9] The elevators were finished on January 11, 2024,^[10] and dedicated on January 19.^[11]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound	← toward Inwood–207th Street (Broad Channel) ← (No service: Beach 90th Street)
	Southbound	→ toward Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue (Beach 60th Street) →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance

There are two tracks and two side platforms.^[12] The station is served by the A train at all times^[13] and is between Beach 60th Street to the east (railroad south) and Broad Channel to the west (railroad north).^[14]

Trains that leave the station northbound reach the Hammels Wye, where it is possible to head north to Broad Channel (the usual service pattern) or traverse a short single-track segment onto the southbound Rockaway Park-bound branch of the line. This connection was used for the temporary H shuttle from Far Rockaway to Beach 90th Street following Hurricane Sandy, and was used by the Rockaway Park Shuttle for several months in 2018.^[12]

Exits

Street stair entrances to mezzanine prior to elevator and street-to-platform staircase installation

The only active station house beneath the platforms and tracks at the east end has four staircases: two to the street (one to each western corner of Beach 67th Street and Rockaway Freeway) and one to each platform. The mezzanine layout gives evidence that there were originally separate turnstiles for entry and exit. The entry turnstiles are all on one side of the booth while the exit turnstiles are on the opposite side. Since the elimination of the double fare, steel gates have replaced the turnstiles.^[15]

A second exit is located at the west end of the Far Rockaway-bound platform which leads to the southeast side of Beach 69th Street and Rockaway Freeway.^[15] A third exit is located to the west of the main entrance behind the elevator which leads to the Brooklyn-bound platform from the street level.

The station has an elevator that connects to the mezzanine, westbound platform, and street levels, outside of fare control, at northwest corner of Beach 67th Street and Rockaway Freeway. A second elevator inside fare control connects to the mezzanine and eastbound platform levels.^[16]

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. LIRR Station History Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
4. "Last Grade Crossing In Rockaways Ends" (PDF). The New York Times. April 11, 1942. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
5. Freeman, Ira Henry (June 28, 1956). "Rockaway Trains to Operate Today". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
6. "First Train On Rockaway Line Runs This Afternoon". Wave of Long Island. Fultonhistory.com. June 28, 1956. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2016.

   • "First Train On Rockaway Line Runs This Afternoon". Wave of Long Island. Fultonhistory.com. June 28, 1956. p. 6. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
   • "TA's New Line To Rockaways Begins Today: Fifty Piece Band To Play as Special Train Makes First Run". The Leader-Observer. Fultonhistory.com. June 28, 1956. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
   • "To Rockaways: Beach Trains In Operation". Greenpoint Weekly Star. Fultonhistory.com. June 29, 1956. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
7. ""Beach 67 Street Station – Arverne By The Sea," by Nicholas Briano (The Wave; March 12, 2010)". Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
8. "Press Release - MTA Headquarters - MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". MTA. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
9. "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.
10. "Station accessibility projects". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 11, 2024. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024.
11. Andres, Czarinna (January 19, 2024). "Revamp of Beach 67th Street subway station completed in the Rockaways – QNS.com". QNS.com. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
12. "Tracks of the New York City Subway". Tracks of the New York City Subway. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
13. "A Subway Timetable, Effective December 17, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
14. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
15. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: The Rockaways" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
16. "MTA Announces Beach 67 St A Station in Queens Now Fully Accessible". MTA. Retrieved January 22, 2024.

External links

• Media related to Beach 67th Street (IND Rockaway Line) at Wikimedia Commons
• nycsubway.org – IND Rockaway: Beach 67th Street/Gaston Avenue
• Station Reporter — A Rockaway
• The Subway Nut — Beach 67th Street – Gaston Pictures Archived 2017-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
• Beach 67th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View