Ozone Park station (LIRR)

Ozone Park is a former Long Island Rail Road station in New York City. Located at 99th Street and 101st Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, it was a major station along the Rockaway Beach Branch until the line's closure in 1962.

Ozone Park
Site of the former Ozone Park station in October 2019.
General information
Location	99th Street and 101st Avenue Ozone Park, Queens, New York
Coordinates	40°41′04″N 73°50′30.75″W
Line(s)	Rockaway Beach Branch
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	Atlantic Branch
Other information
Station code	None
History
Opened	1884
Closed	June 8, 1962; station abandoned
Rebuilt	1930–1931
Electrified	1905[1]
Former services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Woodhaven Junction toward Woodside Rockaway Beach Division Aqueduct toward Gibson or Rockaway Park

Station layout

1891 Map of Ozone Park Station

P Platform level	Side platform, not in use
	Northbound local	← Trackbed
	Northbound express	← Trackbed
	Southbound express	→ Trackbed
	Southbound local	→ Trackbed
	Side platform, not in use
G	Street Level	-

Ozone Park was the northernmost four-track station on the line, with two concrete side platforms.^[2] North of the station, a two-track connection diverged west towards the Atlantic Branch and the line contracted to two tracks at Woodhaven Junction.^[3][4] The station was set up to enable passengers from Penn Station on the Main Line and Flatbush Avenue on the Atlantic Branch to reach the Rockaway Park area or Far Rockaway section simply by changing trains ("Change At Ozone Park!").^[5] The trains had stacked end-to-end, and passengers had transferred back and forth on the platform. Operation in the reverse direction also occurred. Due to street restrictions below, which limited the right-of-way width above, platforms were on the outside of the four track right-of-way, making a cross-platform interchange impossible. To accommodate this, the platforms were made exceptionally long so that non-rush hour length multiple unit (MU) trains could stack end-to-end and allow passengers to transfer. A set of crossovers from the outside tracks to the inner tracks were at the east end of the station, to permit trains stopping at Ozone Park to run express after the station stop, or to perform the reverse move.

History

Ozone Park station was opened by the New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad in 1884.

In the early expansion plans of the city's Independent Subway System (IND) in the 1930s, the Rockaway Beach Branch was planned to be absorbed into the new subway, which would have turned Ozone Park into a stop on the IND Queens Boulevard Line or a new Queens crosstown line.^[6][7][8][9] In 1950, the Rockaway Beach Branch south of Ozone Park closed after the trestle on Jamaica Bay between The Raunt and Broad Channel Stations was destroyed by a fire. The city purchased the entire line in 1955 in preparation to convert the line for rapid transit service. The portion south of Ozone Park was connected to the former Fulton Street elevated running on Liberty Avenue to create the IND Rockaway Line,^[10] allowing A trains to travel to Rockaway Park and Wavecrest (and later Far Rockaway).^[10][11][12] The remainder of the line between Rego Park and Ozone Park was leased back to the LIRR, who continued to operate along it pending construction of an additional connection to the Queens Boulevard Line in Rego Park.

The connection to the Queens Boulevard Line, however, was never constructed^[6][9] and Ozone Park became the southern terminal for LIRR service on the branch.^[5] Service on the line was greatly reduced due to the severed connection to the namesake destination of the line, as well as vandalism and criminal activity at stations on the branch including Ozone Park.^{[5][13][14][15]} The station closed on June 8, 1962 when passenger service between Rego Park and Ozone Park ended.^[5][16][17]

Since the closing of the line, many businesses in the area have set up shop in the portion of trestle below the station. In the late 1980s the F.B.I. used the abandoned platforms to set up a sting operation to monitor the activities of John Gotti and the Gambino crime family, whose social club was down the street from the station.

As of 2020, Ozone Park station exists in ruins.^[5] Electric utility poles and Pennsylvania Railroad-era signal bridges also adorn the right of way.

References

1. Electrification of Rockaway Beach Branch from Ozone Park to Hammel's Wye (Arrt's Arrchives)
2. Noyes, Thomas (December 27, 1961). "'Forgotten Spur' a Painful Reminder". Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. p. 17. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
3. • "NEW RAIL TUNNEL TO OPEN MONDAY; First Trains for Public to Run in the Underground Route in Atlantic Ave". No. December 26, 1942. New York Times Company. December 26, 1942. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
   • "ATLANTIC AVE. TUBE OPEN; First Long Island Train Passes Through at 2:47 A. M." No. December 28, 1942. New York Times Company. December 28, 1942. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
   • "Tunnel Opened on Atlantic Avenue for L.I. Trains; Project Eliminates 20 Hazardous Grade Crossings in Its Run" (PDF). No. December 31, 1942. Leader Observer (Queens/Brooklyn, NY). December 31, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
   • "First Completed Atlantic Ave. Tube Job Is Inspected: Commissioners Tour Woodhaven Section in 24 Million Project". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 10, 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
4. "Logan Bus Company" (PDF). lagcc.cuny.edu. Office of the Mayor of New York City. 1998. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
5. Bresiger, Gregory (July 18, 2012). "The Trains Stopped Running Here 50 Years Ago". qgazette.com. Queens Gazette. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
6. Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (23 August 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
7. "City Board Votes New Subway Links". The New York Times. March 19, 1937. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
8. Duffus, R.L. (September 22, 1929). "OUR GREAT SUBWAY NETWORK SPREADS WIDER; New Plans of Board of Transportation Involve the Building of More Than One Hundred Miles of Additional Rapid Transit Routes for New York". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
9. Martin, Douglas (November 17, 1996). "Subway Planners' Lofty Ambitions Are Buried as Dead-End Curiosities". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
10. Freeman, Ira Henry (June 28, 1956). "Rockaway Trains to Operate Today" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
11. Raskin, Joseph B. (2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. New York, New York: Fordham University Press. doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823253692.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-82325-369-2.
12. "New Subway Unit Ready: Far Rockaway IND Terminal Will Be Opened Today" (PDF). The New York Times. January 16, 1958. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
13. "L.I.R.R. WILL DROP 2 QUEENS TRAINS; One Morning, One Evening Run on Ozone Park Spur Will Be Halted Nov. 24". The New York Times. November 14, 1958. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
14. "L.I.R.R. STOPS CALLED CRIMINAL HANGOUTS". The New York Times. September 23, 1958. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
15. Roberts, John A. (March 2002). "Forgotten Spur to the Rockaways". junipercivic.com. Juniper Park Civic Association. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
16. Dunlap, David W. (July 30, 2014). "Clashing Visions for Old Rail Bed (Just Don't Call It the High Line of Queens)". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
17. "An Era Ends at 6:09: Last Train Rides Forgotten Spur". Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. June 8, 1962. p. 11. Retrieved 18 August 2016.