Hoyt Street station

For the station at Hoyt Street and Schermerhorn Street, see Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets (New York City Subway).

The Hoyt Street station is a local station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line of the New York City Subway in Downtown Brooklyn, served by the 2 train at all times and 3 train at all times except late nights.

Hoyt Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Hoyt Street & Fulton Street Brooklyn, NY 11201
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Downtown Brooklyn
Coordinates	40°41′26″N 73°59′06″W / 40.690531°N 73.985109°W / 40.690531; -73.985109
Division	A (IRT)^[1]
Line	IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services	2  (all times) ​   3  (all except late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B25, B26, B38, B41, B45, B52, B54, B57, B62, B67 MTA Bus: B103
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	May 1, 1908; 115 years ago (1908-05-01)
Accessible	ADA-accessible (southbound only)
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Former/other names	Hoyt Street – Fulton Mall Hoyt Street – Bridge Street
Traffic
2022	1,397,715^[3]  28.8%
Rank	214 out of 423^[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Borough Hall 2  ​3  via 135th Street Local Nevins Street 2  ​3  via Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Borough Hall to Nevins Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops weekdays during the day Stops weekdays and weekday late nights

History

Construction

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[4]: 21 However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.^{[4]: 139–161} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer.^[5]: 3 The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,^[6] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[4]: 165 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[5]: 4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^{[4]: 162–191}

Several days after Contract 1 was signed, the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners instructed Parsons to evaluate the feasibility of extending the subway south to South Ferry, and then to Brooklyn. On January 24, 1901, the Board adopted a route that would extend the subway from City Hall to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)'s Flatbush Avenue terminal station (now known as Atlantic Terminal) in Brooklyn, via the Joralemon Street Tunnel under the East River.^{[7]: 83–84 [8]: 260–261} Contract 2, which gave the IRT a 35-year lease,was executed between the commission and the Rapid Transit Construction Company on September 11, 1902.^{[4]: 162–191} Work under Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn commenced in April 1904.^[9] The IRT line in Brooklyn had been proposed with two tracks, as engineers originally did not think it was feasible to build four tracks under Fulton Street. Belmont submitted a revised proposal to the Rapid Transit Commission in April 1905 to widen the line to four tracks.^[10][11] Because of the narrowness of Fulton Street, as well as the fact that there would be an express station at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street, the plan called for constructing the Hoyt Street station as a local station.^[10]

Opening and early history

The first station on the line in Brooklyn, Borough Hall, opened on January 9, 1908.^[12][13] An extension to Atlantic Avenue, including a station at Hoyt Street, opened on May 1, 1908, completing the Contract 2 IRT line.^{[14]: 194 [15]} Initially, the station was served by express trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). The express trains, running to Atlantic Avenue, had their northern terminus at 242nd Street or West Farms (180th Street).^[16] Lenox local trains to 145th Street served the station during late nights.^[17]

After the original IRT opened, the city began planning new lines. In 1913, as part of the Dual Contracts, the New York City Public Service Commission planned to split the original IRT system into three segments: two north-south lines, carrying through trains over the Lexington Avenue and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Lines, and an east–west shuttle under 42nd Street. This would form a roughly "H"-shaped system.^[18] The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line would split into two branches south of Chambers Street, one of which would turn eastward through Lower Manhattan, run under the East River via a new Clark Street Tunnel, and connect with the existing Contract 2 IRT Brooklyn Line at Borough Hall.^[19][20] Service increased after the opening of the Clark Street Tunnel on April 16, 1919.^[21][22] Trains using the Clark Street Tunnel began serving the Hoyt Street station at all times, while trains using the Joralemon Street Tunnel only served the station during off-peak hours.^[23][24]

Later years

An entrance from the A. I. Namm & Son Building, at the southeast corner of Fulton and Hoyt Streets, to the Hoyt Street station opened in November 1914,^[25] two months after Namm's and IRT officials signed an agreement for the subway entrance.^[26] Martin's Department Store, occupying the Offerman Building on the northern side of Fulton Street, built a 44-foot-wide (13 m) staircase leading to the station in 1923, on the site of its former store. The entrance had two large display windows at platform level, two windows at the top of the stairs, a bank of turnstiles, and a change booth for the store's customers.^[27] The House of Worth, a neighboring store at Fulton and Bridge Streets, opened an entrance from the basement of its store to the subway in 1925.^[28]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[29][30] In November 1946, the New York City Board of Transportation awarded a $733,200 contract for the lengthening of the Hoyt Street station's platforms.^[31] On February 2, 1948, the platform extensions at the Hoyt Street station opened, allowing 10-car express trains to board as opposed to only 6-car trains.^[32][33] Initially, the platforms were 360 feet (110 m), but they had been lengthened to 515 feet (157 m). The platform extensions were part of a program to lengthen the platforms at 32 of the original IRT station for $12.27 million. The Hoyt Street project cost $750,000.^[33]

The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced plans in 1956 to add fluorescent lights above the edges of the station's platforms.^[34] In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.^[35] In 1982, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration gave a $66 million grant to the New York City Transit Authority. Part of the grant was to be used for the renovation of several subway stations, including Hoyt Street.^[36] The renovation of the Hoyt Street station was funded as part of the MTA's 1980–1984 capital plan.^[37] The station was renovated around the 1980s.

In 1995, as a result of service reductions, the MTA was considering permanently closing the Hoyt Street station, as well as two or three other stations citywide, due to its proximity to other stations.^[38] An entrance to the southbound platform, with an elevator, opened in September 2023. The entrance's construction was funded entirely by Macy's department store, which owned the building above the entrance.^[39][40]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	←   toward Wakefield–241st Street (Borough Hall) ←   toward Harlem–148th Street (Borough Hall)
	Northbound express	←    do not stop here
	Southbound express	→    do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→   toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College (Nevins Street) → →   toward New Lots Avenue (Nevins Street) →
	Side platform

 

Northbound entrance

Hoyt Street is the northernmost four-track station on this line. It is located under the intersection of Fulton Street, Hoyt Street, and Bridge Street. It has two side platforms serving only the local tracks. Trains from the Clark Street Tunnel run on the local tracks and those from the Joralemon Street Tunnel run on the express tracks. The original construction included only the Joralemon Street Tunnel with crossover switches north of Hoyt Street. These switches have been removed and new ones were installed between Nevins Street and Atlantic Avenue, so trains from the Joralemon Street Tunnel cannot stop at this station at all.

South of Borough Hall, the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and the Brooklyn Branch of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line join to form the four-track IRT Eastern Parkway Line. Southbound (east Brooklyn-bound) trains use track E1 while northbound (Manhattan-bound) trains use track E4. Southbound and northbound express trains use tracks E2 and E3, respectively. Track numbers and letters are used for chaining purposes and are rarely, if ever, used by passengers.^[41]

The station has been extensively renovated; old signs reading "Hoyt Street – Bridge Street" remain on the I-beams separating the local and express tracks. One of the original ceramic cartouches from the station is now on display at the New York Transit Museum.

Exits

All fare control areas are on the respective platforms. The full-time fare control is at the west end of the station, and contains one token booth and a turnstile bank for each platform. The northbound platform has two exits, one to either northern corner of Bridge and Fulton Streets. The southbound platform has an exit to the southwest corner of Hoyt and Fulton Streets.^[42] There is also a stair and elevator from the southbound platform to the southern side of Fulton Street at Duffield Street.^[39][40]

There is a part-time fare control area at the extreme eastern ends of both platforms. There are HEET turnstiles on both platforms. The southbound platform's exit leads to the southwest corner of Fulton Street and Elm Place, and the northbound platform's exit leads to the northeast corner of Duffield and Fulton Streets.^[42] The northbound platform's part-time fare control area also had an exit-only stair to the northwest corner of Duffield and Fulton Streets, but it was closed due to security concerns.

At the north end of the southbound platform is a closed entrance to Macy's (formerly Abraham & Straus) that included a crossunder to the northbound platform.

References

1. "Glossary". (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 (2017–2022)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
3. "Annual Subway Ridership (2017–2022)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
4. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
5. "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 23, 1979. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
6. Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor. Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. 1905. pp. 229–236.
7. Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners For And In The City of New York Up to December 31, 1901. Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. 1902.
8. Scott, Charles (1978). "Design and Construction of the IRT: Civil Engineering" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 208–282 (PDF pp. 209–283). Retrieved December 20, 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
9. "Begin Fulton-st. Ditch: Most Difficult Part of New Subway Started". New-York Tribune. April 24, 1904. p. A10. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 571548628.
10. "4 Tracks on Fulton St. Now Offered by Belmont". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 5, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
11. "East River Tunnel for Queens Borough; Long Island City to Forty-second Street to be the Route". The New York Times. April 6, 1905. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
12. "Construction of the Tunnel Presented Difficult Problems". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 9, 1908. pp. 26, 27.
13. "Brooklyn Joyful Over Its Tunnel". The New York Times. January 10, 1908. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
14. Report of the Public Service Commission For The First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1908. New York State Public Service Commission. 1908.
15. "Brooklyn Joyful Over New Subway; Celebrates Opening of Extension With Big Parade and a Flow of Oratory". The New York Times. May 2, 1908. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
16. The Merchants' Association of New York Pocket Guide to New York. Merchants' Association of New York. March 1906. pp. 19–26.
17. "Tunnel to Brooklyn to Open Next Week; Subway Extension Under East River May Begin Carrying Passengers on Thursday" (PDF). The New York Times. January 4, 1908. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
18. "MONEY SET ASIDE FOR NEW SUBWAYS; Board of Estimate Approves City Contracts to be Signed To-day with Interboro and B.R.T." (PDF). The New York Times. March 19, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
19. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections — Change in Operation That Will Transform Original Four-Tracked Subway Into Two Four-Tracked Systems and Double Present Capacity of the Interborough" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
20. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines — Will Afford Better Service and Less Crowding — Shuttle Service for Forty-Second Street — How the Various Lines of the Dual System Are Grouped for Operation and List of Stations on All Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
21. "50,000 Persons Use New Tube On First Day: Clark Street Tunnel of the West Side Subway Cuts Down the Congestion of Traffic From Brooklyn". New-York Tribune. April 16, 1919. p. 11. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 576071281.
22. "Open Clark Street Line; New Route Doubles Subway Service Between the Two Boroughs". The New York Times. April 16, 1919. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
23. "Clark St. Tunnel Ready; Plan to Run First Trains on Tuesday Morning". The New York Times. April 11, 1919. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
24. "New Clark Street Tube To Be Opened Tuesday, April 15: Improved Brooklyn Subway Service Will Result From Several Travel Changes by Interboro and the City". New-York Tribune. April 11, 1919. p. 11. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 576055720.
25. "Subway Entrance Opens at Namm's". The Standard Union. November 22, 1914. p. 11. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
26. "Seek to Stop New Jamaica Station". The Standard Union. September 7, 1914. p. 10. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
27. "Martin's To Install New Subway Entrance: Specialty Shop's Hoyt Street Entrance to Have Four Display Windows". Women's Wear. Vol. 27, no. 50. August 30, 1923. p. 3. ProQuest 1666127313.
28. "Worth Subway Store Opened". The Standard Union. August 13, 1925. p. 11. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
29. "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
30. "Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
31. Crowell, Paul (September 15, 1949). "Platforms Added at 32 IRT Stations; City Pays Out $13,327,000 in Lengthening Local Stops to Take 10-Car Trains". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
32. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
33. "HOYT ST. STATION READY; Platform Lengthened to Take 10 IRT Cars Will Open Monday". The New York Times. January 31, 1948. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
34. Katz, Ralph (January 27, 1956). "Subway Stations to Get New Lights; $3,750,000 to Be Spent on Fluorescents for I.R.T. and B.M.T. Transfer Points". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
35. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
36. "Federal Funds Awarded To Fix Subway Stations". The New York Times. September 5, 1982. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
37. Goldman, Ari L. (April 28, 1983). "M.T.A. Making Major Addition to Capital Plan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
38. Perez-Pena, Richard (February 25, 1995). "BOARD VOTES CUTS FOR CITY TRANSIT". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
39. "MTA announces new station elevator paid in full by Macy's". News 12 - The Bronx. September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
40. Simko-Bednarski, Evan (September 21, 2023). "MTA unveils new elevator at Downtown Brooklyn Macy's store, latest in accessibility push". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
41. Dougherty, Peter (2020). Tracks of the New York City Subway 2020 (16th ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 1056711733.
42. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Downtown Brooklyn and Borough Hall" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.

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 Hoyt Street (IRT Eastern Parkway Line).

• nycsubway.org – nycsubway.org Brooklyn IRT: Hoyt Street