Avenue I station

The Avenue I station is a local station on the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Avenue I and McDonald Avenue in Midwood, Brooklyn,^[6] it is served by the F train at all times and the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction.^[7]

Avenue I  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Avenue I & McDonald Avenue Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Midwood, Mapleton
Coordinates	40°37′33.32″N 73°58′34.39″W
Division	B (IND, formerly BMT)[1]
Line	IND Culver Line BMT Culver Line (formerly)
Services	F  (all times) <F>  (two rush hour trains, peak direction)​
Transit	NYCT Bus: B11[2][3]
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	March 16, 1919 (105 years ago) (1919-03-16)[4]
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Parkville
Traffic
2023	381,174[5]  8.1%
Rank	404 out of 423[5]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 18th Avenue F  <F> ​ toward Jamaica–179th Street Local Bay Parkway F  <F> ​ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 18th Avenue to Bay Parkway
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops rush hours in the peak direction only (limited service) Stops weekdays and weekday late nights

History

This station opened at 3:00 a.m. on March 16, 1919, as part of the opening of the first section of the BMT Culver Line. The initial section began at the Ninth Avenue station and ended at the Kings Highway station.^[4][8] The line was operated as a branch of the Fifth Avenue Elevated line, with a free transfer at Ninth Avenue to the West End Line into the Fourth Avenue Subway. The opening of the line resulted in reduced travel times between Manhattan and Kings Highway. Construction on the line began in 1915, and cost a total of $3.3 million.^{[9][10][11][12]} Trains from this station began using the Fourth Avenue Subway to the Nassau Street Loop in Lower Manhattan when that line opened on May 30, 1931.^[13] The Fifth Avenue Elevated was closed on May 31, 1940, and elevated service ceased stopping here.^[14][15] On October 30, 1954,^[14][16] the connection between the IND South Brooklyn Line at Church Avenue and the BMT Culver Line at Ditmas Avenue opened. With the connection completed, all service at the stations on the former BMT Culver Line south of Ditmas Avenue, including this one, were from then on served by IND trains.^[17]

A Coney Island-bound F train at the station

From June 1968^[18] to 1987, express service on the elevated portion of the line from Church Avenue to Kings Highway operated in the peak direction (to Manhattan AM; to Brooklyn PM), with some F trains running local and some running express. During this time period, this station was used as a local station.^[19][20] Express service ended in 1987, largely due to budget constraints and complaints from passengers at local stations. Express service on the elevated Culver Line was ended due to necessary structural work, but never restored.^[19][20][21]

From June 7, 2016, to May 1, 2017, the southbound platform at this station was closed for renovations.^[22] The Manhattan-bound platform was closed for a longer period of time, from May 22, 2017 until July 30, 2018.^[23][24]

In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[25] The MTA received $254 million from the Federal Transit Administration in 2023 for accessibility upgrades to four subway stations, including the Avenue I station.^[26] Work on new elevators began in December 2024.^[27]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Jamaica–179th Street (18th Avenue)
	Peak-direction express	→ No regular service
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Bay Parkway) →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Ground	Street level	Entrance/exit

Western street stair

This station has two side platforms and three tracks with the middle track normally unused.^[28][29][20] The two platforms have beige windscreens and green canopies that run for nearly the entire length. The north end contains black waist-level fences only.^[30]

Exits

This station has two entrances with the full-time one at the north end. From each platform, one staircase leads down to an elevated stationhouse beneath the tracks, where a bank of turnstiles and token booth is present. Outside fare control are two street stairs to the two northern corners Avenue I and McDonald Avenue.^[6][30]

At the south end of the station are unstaffed exits leading to Avenue J.^[6] From each platform, a single staircase goes down to a short landing outside of a sealed mezzanine where a full-height turnstile and emergency gate provide exit from the system. Another staircase then goes down to the street. The Coney Island-bound side is exit-only while the Manhattan-bound side is HEET turnstile access. The mezzanine, now used as a station facility, once had a booth.^[30]

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. MTA Regional Bus Operations. "B11 bus schedule".
3. "Brooklyn Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
4. Legislative Documents. J.B. Lyon Company. January 1, 1920.
5. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
6. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Borough Park" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
7. "F Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
8. Eisenstadt, Peter R.; Moss, Laura-Eve (January 1, 2005). The Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815608080.
9. "B.R.T. Will Open Culver Line Elevated Road as Far as Kings Highway on Sunday Next" (PDF). The New York Times. March 9, 1919. p. 23. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
10. "Culver Line Open Today" (PDF). The New York Times. March 16, 1919. p. 8. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
11. Kracke, Frederick J.H. (March 16, 1919). "New Rapid Transit Link in Operation". The New York Times. p. 106. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
12. "Culver Elevated Opens". The New York Times. March 17, 1919. p. 21. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
13. "Nassau St. Service Outlined by B. M. T." The New York Times. May 21, 1931. p. 29. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
14. Chiasson, George (May 2010). "A History of the F (and V) Train Service". New York Division Bulletin. 53 (5). Electric Railroaders' Association: 1, 4.
15. "Last Train is Run on Fulton St. 'El'". The New York Times. June 1, 1940. p. 11. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
16. NYCTA - Pass for Culver Line Ceremonies - 1954, April 14, 2015, retrieved July 30, 2020
17. "Adequate Transit Promised for City". The New York Times. October 29, 1954. p. 25. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
18. "'F' Line Rush-Hour Service Will Be Added in Brooklyn" (PDF). The New York Times. June 8, 1969. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
19. Review of F Line Operations, Ridership, and Infrastructure (PDF). nysenate.gov (Report). MTA New York City Transit Authority. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
20. Feasibility and Analysis of F Express Service in Brooklyn (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Report). May 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
21. Geberer, Raanan (March 6, 2013). "Light at End of Tunnel: F Train Express may return". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
22. "Coney Island-bound F subway trains will not stop at Avenue I, Bay Pkwy, Avenue N, Avenue P, Avenue U, and Avenue X until early 2017". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2016. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
23. "New York City Subway Map" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 1, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
24. "$140 Million Culver F subway Line Station Renewal Project Begins Next Phase". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
25. "MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Press release). New York City. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
26. "MTA receiving $254 million to improve accessibility at Brooklyn, Bronx subway stations". CBS New York. January 4, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
27. Russo-Lennon, Barbara (December 12, 2024). "Queensboro Plaza subway station becomes fully accessible, marking major milestone for MTA – QNS". QNS. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
28. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
29. Marrero, Robert (January 1, 2017). "472 Stations, 850 Miles" (PDF). B24 Blog, via Dropbox. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
30. Cox, Jeremiah. "Avenue I (F) - The SubwayNut". www.subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2016.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Culver Line: Avenue
• Station Reporter — F Train
• The Subway Nut — Avenue I Pictures Archived July 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• Avenue I entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Avenue J entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (Pre-2016-2018 Renovation)
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (During 2016-2018 Renovation)