Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center  ​​​​​​​
New York City Subway station complex
Entrance from Barclays Center
Station statistics
Address	Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Street, Flatbush Avenue & Fourth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217[1]
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Downtown Brooklyn
Coordinates	40°41′04″N 73°58′44″W / 40.684462°N 73.978758°W / 40.684462; -73.978758Coordinates: 40°41′04″N 73°58′44″W / 40.684462°N 73.978758°W / 40.684462; -73.978758
Division	A (IRT), B (BMT)[2]
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line BMT Brighton Line IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services	2  (all times) ​   3  (all except late nights) ​   4  (all times) ​   5  (weekdays only)​    B  (Weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings) ​   D  (all times)    N  (all times) ​   Q  (all times)​    R  (all times) ​   W  (limited rush hour service only)​
Transit	NYCT Bus: B37, B41, B45, B63, B65, B67 MTA Bus: B103[3] LIRR: City Terminal Zone (at Atlantic Terminal)
Levels	3
Other information
Station code	617[4]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Traffic
2019	13,939,794[5]  1%
Rank	20 out of 424[5]
showLocation Show map of New York City SubwayShow map of New York CityShow map of New YorkShow all
showStreet map Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops weekdays only Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Atlantic Avenue Control House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	Interborough Rapid Transit Subway Control Houses TR
NRHP reference No.	80002643[6]
Added to NRHP	May 6, 1980
Atlantic Avenue Subway Station (IRT and BMT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001023[6]
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (formerly Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street) is a New York City Subway station complex shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, the BMT Brighton Line and the IRT Eastern Parkway Line, located at Atlantic, Fourth, and Flatbush Avenues and Pacific Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The complex is served by the 2, 4, D, N, Q and R trains at all times; the 3 train at all times except late nights; the 5 and B trains during weekdays; and a few rush-hour W trains.

As of 2019, it is the busiest subway station in Brooklyn, with 13,939,794 passengers, and is ranked 20th overall.^[5] The control house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980,^[7] while the station complex as a whole has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004,^[7] and is ADA-compliant.

History[]

The landmarked Atlantic Avenue Control House's exterior (left) and interior (right)

The IRT Eastern Parkway Line station was built first, in 1908, the terminal of a four-stop subway extension from Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn via the Joralemon Street Tunnel.^[8] The station's control house, a grand, ornate entrance to what was then the terminal of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's Brooklyn lines, was designed by Heins & LaFarge, who also built the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, Manhattan.^[9] This control house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980; however, the actual entrance is now removed and now serves as a skylight into the IRT station.^[7]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[10]: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts, made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $41.7 million in 2020) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $13,887,500 in 2020) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[11]: 15 The island platform at the Atlantic Avenue station on the modern Eastern Parkway Line was extended 105 feet (32 m) to the east.^[11]: 116 On January 23 and 24, 1911, ten-car express trains began running.^{[10]: 168 [12]}

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the Brighton Line platforms at Atlantic Avenue, along with those at six other stations on the Brighton Line, were lengthened to 615 feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 60-foot IND cars, or a nine-car train of 67-foot BMT cars.^[13]

The station was overhauled in the late 1970s. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) fixed the station's structure and overhauled its appearance. It refurbished the wall tilings and replaced the old signs and incandescent lighting with modern fixtures. It also fixed the staircases and platform edges.^{[citation needed]} On January 16, 1978, the ex-IRT and ex-BMT stations were connected into a single station complex, eliminating a "double fare" that formerly was required to transfer between the Atlantic Avenue IRT/BMT platforms and the Fourth Avenue BMT side of the station.^[14][15]

The station complex underwent another major overhaul from 1999 to 2003, using funds from the 1987 capital program;^[16] the $49 million in funding from that program had been delayed in 1994 due to the MTA's budget issues.^[17] This time the station received state of the art repairs and was updated for ADA-accessibility, with the installation of eight elevators in the station, as well as the widening or construction of fifteen staircases.^[9] The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiled the walls and floors, upgraded the station's lights and the public address system, installed ADA yellow safety threads along the platform edge, installed new trackbeds for local and express trains entering the IRT station, and widened the 100-year-old passageways between the stations.^[9] An escalator was replaced at Hanson Place, the kiosk on Times Plaza was rehabilitated , and a new station entrance was added at Hanson Place.^[18] To achieve this, the entire IRT station had to be supported by large 36-foot-long (11 m) crossbeams hanging from the roof of the station box, a construction technique that had never been used previously; the station was also supported by conventional columns from below. The entire feat raised the subway infrastructure under Flatbush Avenue, as well as the avenue itself, by less than an inch while the 350-foot-long (110 m) passageways were widened from 15 to 42 feet (4.6 to 12.8 m).^[9] In 2004, the entire station was made a NRHP landmark.^[7] Late that year, the MTA installed elevators on both sides of the platform and street level to accommodate wheelchairs and those with disabilities.

In June 2009, the MTA sold the naming rights of the station complex to Forest City Ratner Companies for 20 years at $200,000 per year, one of the few such renames in the system (Willets Point–Shea Stadium, in Queens, was another example of a station with such naming rights, until the MTA simply renamed it to Mets–Willets Point following Shea Stadium's demolition).^[19] Barclays Center, whose naming rights were bought by Barclays Bank, opened September 2012 and is part of Forest City Ratner Companies' Pacific Park project. As a result, the station was renamed to its present name, Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center, in May 2012. A new mezzanine and fare control area was built near the sports complex.^[20][21] Following this rename and the addition of a new exit, the MTA has considered selling the naming rights of other subway stations.^[19]

Station layout[]

G	Street level	Entrances/exits, pavilion, station house, fare control, station agents, LIRR ticket booth, MetroCard machines Elevators at: SE corner of Pacific Street and Fourth Avenue. customers should use Pacific Street elevator At Hanson Place and Flatbush Avenue. and LIRR customers should use Hanson Place elevator
		Barclays Center
		Connection to Atlantic Terminal shopping mall
B1 Eastern Parkway platforms	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward 241st Street (Nevins Street) ← toward 148th Street (Nevins Street) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (Nevins Street)
	Northbound express	← toward Woodlawn (Nevins Street) ← weekdays toward Dyre Avenue or Nereid Avenue (Nevins Street)
	Island platform
	Southbound express	→ toward Utica Avenue (New Lots Avenue late nights) (Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College) → → weekdays toward Flatbush Avenue (Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College) →
	Southbound local	→ toward Flatbush Avenue (Bergen Street) → → ( late nights) toward New Lots Avenue (Bergen Street) →
	Side platform
B1 LIRR platforms	Track 1	→      Atlantic Branch services toward Jamaica and Points East (Nostrand Avenue) →
	Platform A, island platform
	Track 2	→      Atlantic Branch services toward Jamaica and Points East (Nostrand Avenue) →
	Track 3	→      Atlantic Branch services toward Jamaica and Points East (Nostrand Avenue) →
	Platform B, island platform
	Track 4	→      Atlantic Branch services toward Jamaica and Points East (Nostrand Avenue) →
	Track 5	→      Atlantic Branch services toward Jamaica and Points East (Nostrand Avenue) →
	Platform C, island platform
	Track 6	→      Atlantic Branch services toward Jamaica and Points East (Nostrand Avenue) →
B2	Mezzanine	Passageway between platforms
B3 Brighton platform	Northbound	← weekdays toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (DeKalb Avenue) ← toward 96th Street (DeKalb Avenue)
	Island platform
	Southbound	→ weekdays toward Brighton Beach (Seventh Avenue) → → toward Coney Island via Brighton (Seventh Avenue) →
B3 Fourth Avenue platforms	Northbound local	← toward 71st Avenue (Whitehall Street late nights) (DeKalb Avenue) ← toward 205th Street late nights (DeKalb Avenue) ← toward Ditmars Boulevard late nights (DeKalb Avenue)
	Island platform
	Northbound express	← toward 205th Street (Grand Street) ← toward Ditmars Boulevard (Canal Street) ← toward 96th Street (select weekday trips) (Canal Street)
	Southbound express	→ toward Coney Island via West End (36th Street) → → toward Coney Island via Sea Beach (36th Street) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	→ toward 95th Street (Union Street) → → toward Coney Island late nights (Union Street) →

The station consists of three levels. The shallowest below ground, the IRT Eastern Parkway Line platforms, is at the same level as the LIRR's Atlantic Terminal railway platforms and are only 20 feet (6.1 m) below street level. The second level below ground is the BMT Fourth Avenue Line platforms, which are 40 feet (12 m) deep and have a mezzanine, and a connecting passageway to the IRT Eastern Parkway Line and BMT Brighton Line, above the platforms. The deepest is the BMT Brighton Line platform, which are 50 feet (15 m) deep and have a mezzanine above them, which serves both the Brighton Line platform and the Eastern Parkway Line platforms.

Exits[]

To the Fourth Avenue portion of the complex:

• Stair to NW corner of 4th Avenue and Pacific Street^[22]
• Stair and elevator to NE corner of 4th Avenue and Pacific Street^[22]

To the Eastern Parkway/Brighton portion of the complex:

• Stair to western corner of Hanson Place and St. Felix Street^[22]
• Stair and elevator to southern corner of Hanson Place and St. Felix Street^[22]
• Passageway to 1 Hanson Place^[22]
• Two stairs to north side of Flatbush Avenue southeast of Hanson Place^[22]
• Passageway to Atlantic Terminal Station^[22]
• Stair and escalators to Barclays Center at SE corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues^[22]

The Eastern Parkway Line platforms had an underpass with exits to the north and south sides of Flatbush Avenue between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street. The exit to the north side was replaced with a larger single entrance near Barclays Center and sealed. The exit to the south side was retained as an emergency exit.

IRT Eastern Parkway Line platforms[]

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center  ​​​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound local platform
Station statistics
Division	A (IRT)[23]
Line	IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services	2  (all times) ​   3  (all except late nights) ​   4  (all times) ​   5  (weekdays only)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms (local) 1 island platform (express)
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	May 1, 1908; 113 years ago (1908-05-01)
Station code	338[4]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Atlantic Avenue
Station succession
Next north	Nevins Street: 2  ​3  ​4  ​5
Next south	Bergen Street (local): 2  ​3  ​4  Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College (express): 4  ​5
showTrack layout Legend to Nevins St to Bergen St to Franklin Av
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops weekdays only Stops late nights only Stops weekdays and weekday late nights Stops late nights and weekends Stops weekends and weekend late nights

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (originally Atlantic Avenue) is an express station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line which has four tracks, one island platform, and two side platforms. On the center platform, there are two old indicator signs which mark the next train, formerly used for non-rush hour short turn trains. An old style sign to the Brooklyn Academy of Music also exists. The trackway to the Long Island Rail Road Atlantic Branch is still visible at the north end of the northbound local track, although much of it is behind corrugated wall; more information about this and other unused trackways is at Bergen Street. The LIRR Atlantic Terminal platforms, slightly lower, are clearly visible through floor-to-ceiling railings.

This station has been completely renovated. The northbound local trackway and track have been completely redone with concrete base and welded rail.

The IRT Eastern Parkway Line platform has a passageway to the BMT Fourth Avenue and Brighton Lines under the platforms, with the Fourth Avenue Line to the southwest and the Brighton Line to the northeast. Another passageway between the Eastern Parkway and Brighton Line is present at the south end of the station, which also leads to an exit immediately adjacent to Barclays Center. The Barclays Center exit features a part-time booth that is staffed during events at the arena and two escalators.^[22]

Although the station is wheelchair accessible, the Eastern Parkway Line express platform was formerly too narrow in some areas to accommodate wheelchairs. Passengers were notified of this fact by announcements on trains before reaching the station. The stairs have since been trimmed in width to allow full wheelchair access.

North of this station, there is an unused trackway, splitting from the southbound local track for a proposed subway under Fourth Avenue (later built as the BMT Fourth Avenue Line). It merges with the Manhattan-bound express track and ends on a bumper block between the two express tracks at Nevins Street. When this station originally opened in 1908 it was the terminal for the line, and had two side platforms, an island platform, and two tracks. All the platforms were connected together at their southern ends.

This station is one of three express stations to have side platforms for local services and a center island platform for express services, the other two being the 34th Street–Penn Station stops on the IND Eighth Avenue Line and the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line respectively. The reason for this is that the Atlantic Avenue station was originally planned as a two-track station with only the island (express) platform; the side (local) platforms were added to the plans when construction was already underway. However, this layout helps to reduce overcrowding because the station is connected to Atlantic Terminal, and the next station west from Atlantic Avenue, Nevins Street, is also an express station with the more common two-island-platform configuration. This limits overcrowding by preventing cross-platform interchanges between local and express services.

BMT Brighton Line platform[]

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Manhattan-bound B train of R68 cars arrives at the station
Station statistics
Division	B (BMT)[24]
Line	BMT Brighton Line
Services	B  (Weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings) ​   Q  (all times)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	August 1, 1920; 101 years ago (1920-08-01)[25]
Station code	040f[4]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Atlantic Avenue
Station succession
Next north	DeKalb Avenue: B  ​Q
Next south	Seventh Avenue: B  ​Q
showTrack layout Legend to DeKalb Av to 7 Av
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops weekdays only

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (originally Atlantic Avenue) on the BMT Brighton Line has two tracks and an island platform.

The platform has seven staircases, three to the main mezzanine, two to the Hanson Place exit at the north end, which is an escalator that leads to a separate mezzanine with no transfers to the other lines and two at the south end, which leads to both an exit immediately adjacent to Barclays Center and another mezzanine that connects to the IRT platforms. The Barclays Center exit features a part-time booth that is staffed during events at the arena and two escalators.^[22]

The street staircase on the Hanson Place mezzanine leads to the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower. The exit at Hanson Place once had a booth that has since been removed.^[22] The lower level of this mezzanine had a passageway, now sealed, that ran above the platform from Hanson Place. The "To Hanson Place" and other signs are covered up. This area is now space used by MTA employees with the entrance at the other side.

The main mezzanine also has an out-of-system passageway to the LIRR's Atlantic Terminal and the full-time fare control at the IRT side of the station.^[22] Two of the street staircases lead to the Atlantic Terminal Mall. Lightboxes with rotating content line these walls. There is a removed staircase in between the two sets of stairs. The northernmost staircase was added during renovation, while the other two staircases were narrowed in order to comply with ADA guidelines regarding minimum 36-inch width clearances.

A platform extension is clearly visible at the south end of the platform, where the name tablets and "A" are authentic replicas on the northbound platform wall, while the southbound wall was tiled around them. The area on the southbound wall where the platform extends out is made of replicas as well. Since there were no mosaics built, only a green wall was present prior to renovation, which indicates where the platform was extended in the 1964–1965 to fit ten car trains.^[13]

North of this station, a bellmouth is visible from a Manhattan-bound train.^[26] The bellmouth was for the proposed Ashland Place Connection which would have connected to the now-demolished BMT Fulton Street El.

BMT Fourth Avenue Line platforms[]

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center  ​​​​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Manhattan-bound platform
Station statistics
Division	B (BMT)[27]
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	D  (all times) ​   N  (all times) ​   Q  (limited rush hour service only) ​   R  (all times) ​   W  (limited rush hour service only)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	June 22, 1915; 106 years ago (1915-06-22)[28]
Station code	027[4]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Station succession
Next north	DeKalb Avenue (local): D  ​N  ​R  ​W  Canal Street (express via Broadway): N  Grand Street (express via 6th Avenue): D
Next south	Union Street (local): D  ​N  ​R  ​W  36th Street (express): D  ​N
showTrack layout Legend to Canal St or Grand St to DeKalb Av to Union St to 36 St
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center (originally Pacific Street then Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street) is an express station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line that has four tracks and two island platforms. It opened on June 22, 1915.^[28] A wall separates the two platforms.

At the north end of the BMT Fourth Avenue platforms, two staircases and one elevator go up to the main fare control area, where a turnstile bank provides access to/from the station and two staircases going up to either northern corners of Pacific Street and Fourth Avenue. The northeast corner also has an elevator going down to the mezzanine. A pathway connects to the rest of the complex.^[22]

BMT Fifth Avenue Line station[]

Atlantic Avenue
Former New York City Subway station
The Fifth Avenue Line station was located right above the headhouse for this station complex
Station statistics
Address	Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Downtown Brooklyn
Division	B (BMT)[29]
Services	BMT Fifth Avenue Line BMT Culver Line BMT West End Line (–1916)
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	November 5, 1888; 132 years ago (November 5, 1888)
Closed	June 1, 1940; 81 years ago (June 1, 1940)[30]
Station succession
Next north	Fulton Street
Next south	St. Mark's Avenue
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays in the peak direction Stops daily except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

The station complex formerly had an elevated portion on the BMT Fifth Avenue Line, called Atlantic Avenue. It was served by trains of the BMT Culver Line and BMT Fifth Avenue Line and had two tracks and one island platform. It was located at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, right above the headhouse for the current complex. It also served the St. Johns Place Line, Flatbush Avenue Line, Third Avenue Line, and Seventh Avenue Line streetcars.

On June 25, 1923 two cars of a train coming from 65th Street Terminal derailed and fell towards Flatbush Avenue. Eight passengers died and many were injured.^[31][32] With increased use of the subways compared to the elevated lines, and the completion of the unification of the city's three subway systems, the Fifth Avenue Line was closed at midnight on June 1, 1940, and was demolished in 1941.^{[33][34][35][36]}

Gallery[]

• 

  Looking southwest at the head-house. The Fifth Avenue Line station has been demolished

• 

  Stair from IRT mezzanine to Fourth Avenue mezzanine and exit, directly below the former headhouse

• 

  Tilework

• 

  Close-up

• 

  Street stair at the NW corner of Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street

• 

  BMT Fourth Avenue southbound platform in 2007 bearing the old Pacific Street name

Hook, Line and Sinker[]

This is a three-part art installation made by George Trakas for the 2004 renovation of the station.

• 

  "Hook" on a transfer corridor

• 

  "Line" in the former control house

• 

  "Sinker" on the double-wide stairway to the northbound 2/3 platform

References[]

Further reading[]

• Stookey, Lee (1994). Subway ceramics : a history and iconography of mosaic and bas relief signs and plaques in the New York City subway system. Brattleboro, Vt: L. Stookey. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0. OCLC 31901471.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atlantic Avenue – Pacific Street (New York City Subway) and Atlantic Avenue Control House.

• nycsubway.org – Brooklyn IRT: Atlantic Avenue
• nycsubway.org – BMT Brighton Line: Atlantic Avenue
• nycsubway.org – BMT 4th Avenue: Pacific Street
• nycsubway.org – Brooklyn IRT Contract 2 map: (includes current and former track configurations, and provisions for future connections)
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street