WNYC News
Lost Subways: Abandoned Stations & Unbuilt Lines
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Map by Balance Media and John Keefe /WNYC
2nd Ave Subway (T train)
Scaled down from four to two tracks. The city once thought to extend the 2nd Avenue subway into the Bronx all the way to Throgs Neck. Another plan would’ve sent the subway under the Harlem River and up through the middle of the Bronx within the right-of-way of the the Metro North tracks. At its southern end, the line would’ve had its own tunnel beneath the East River and continued to the Court Street stop of the C train in Downtown Brooklyn, which is now the transit museum.
The current plan, to be built in four phases, has the T train running 8.5 miles from 125th Street in Harlem to Hanover Square in the Financial District. Phase One will run the Q train for four stops between between E 63rd and E 96th Streets. The MTA says Phase One will be done by 2016, although the Federal Transit Administration says it’ll be more like 2018.
Utica Avenue Line
Where Brooklyn-bound F trains now turn south under Essex Street in Manhattan, the city planned to run a branch line under the East River to a station at South 4th Street in Williamsburg and out to the Utica Avenue stop of the A/C train, turning south down Utica Avenue toward Flatlands, Brooklyn. A tunnel built for the line runs for a few blocks east from the Second Avenue stop of the F train.
Cross-Forest Hills Connector
The MTA purchased the right of way to run a line between the 63rd Drive-Rego Park stop on Queens Blvd (E/F/M/R/7 trains) to the Rockaway Boulevard stop of the A train, creating a one-seat ride to JFK Airport. There are competing proposals to build either a trolley, extension of the AirTrain or greenway there.
2 / 5 Train Lines Completed
Instead of ending at the Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College stop, the 2 and 5 trains were supposed to continue south under Nostrand Avenue into Sheepshead Bay. A tunnel of about 100 feet was built for this project.
Brooklyn – Queens Connection 1
This line would’ve closed the loop between several Queens and north Brooklyn lines by running from the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave stop on Queens Boulevard (E/F/M/R/7 trains) to the Fresh Pond Rd stop on what is now the M. At Roosevelt Ave, an upper level station was built for the line but never used.
Brooklyn – Queens Connection 2
The best way to picture this line is to imagine that the northbound G train, where it curves westward after the Bedford-Nostrand Avs station, sends a separate line due north through Bushwick and then Maspeth to connect with the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue stop on Queens Boulevard (E, F, M, R 7 trains).
IRT trains over the Manhattan Bridge
The city planned to send an offshoot of the Flatbush Avenue line from Downtown Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge to Canal Street. The new line would also have turned up Lafayette Avenue into North Brooklyn, where the G train now runs. A stop and tunnel for this line lies at the lower level of the Nevins Street stop.
Fulton Street Line
This train would’ve run west from Downtown Brooklyn under the East River into Manhattan, where it could’ve connected to the Second Avenue subway, had that come to fruition. The city built two side platforms at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop in Brooklyn to serve the line, which are visible but closed.
D train to the east Bronx
The existing D train bends slightly east before its northern terminus at Norwood-205th St. One plan had it continuing east across the borough to Eastchester, terminating at Boston Road and Baychester Avenue.
Eighth Avenue line to Williamsburg
In Lower Manhattan, the Eighth Avenue line would’ve headed east and north through Chinatown and under the East River to emerge at the South 4th Street station in Williamsburg, which it would’ve shared with the once-planned Utica Avenue line.
Staten Island to Brooklyn link
This underwater version of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge would’ve connected neighborhoods in the North Shore of Staten Island with Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. A 1939 plan would’ve sent a branch of what is now the F/G line across the N and R lines before heading toward the bridge.
Manhattan-Queens Connection at E 76th Street
This line would’ve branched off the F train at 57th Street and continued uptown under Central Park before turning east at 76th Street, proceeding under the East River and linking up with the Steinway Street stop of the M/R train.
Subway Line
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E 18th Street
E 18th Street on the Lexington Avenue line (4/5/6 trains), on the east side of Manhattan – closed in 1948 after trains and platforms were lengthened.
W 91st Street
W 91st Street on the Broadway line (1/2/3 trains) on the west side of Manhattan – closed in 1959 after trains and platforms were lengthened.
Worth Street
Worth Street on the Lexington Avenue line (4/5/6 trains), on the east side of Manhattan – closed in 1962 after the Brooklyn Bridge Station was moved north and expanded.
City Hall Station
Elegant station on a tight curve that served as the original southern terminus of the 4/5/6 lines – closed in 1945 after trains were lengthened and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge Station was expanded.
42nd Street-8th Ave Lower Level
Track and tiled platform on the downtown side, from which express trains embarked to Rockaways Amusement Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and football games at The Polo Grounds in northern Manhattan – closed in 1981.
Myrtle Avenue
Visible from Manhattan-bound B and Q trains, this abandoned station now houses a work of art called the Masstransitscope on its remaining uptown platform.
S 4th St
A large concrete shell station lies underground here, prepared to receive a never-built branch of the F train and an extension of the Eighth Avenue line from Manhattan. Two summers ago, the ''Underbelly project'' arranged for graffiti artists to sneak in and cover its walls with art.
Here's the current subway map overlaid with eleven subway lines that were planned but never built. Cursoring over the map will bold the unbuilt lines, revealing a vision of an extensive New York transit system lost to expediencies like tightened budgets and the need to upgrade the first generation of lines.
The map also shows seven stations or platforms that were built and later put out of service. That includes the South 4th Street station in Williamsburg, which was constructed as an underground concrete shell but not opened. These stations are highlighted with thick lines around them.
Cursor over the abandoned stations and unbuilt lines to make a text box appear with information about each one.