Grand Avenue–Newtown (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

Grand Avenue–Newtown
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Manhattan bound platform with Metropolitan Avenue bound M at the station.
Station statistics
Address	Grand Avenue, Broadway & Queens Boulevard Queens, NY 11373
Borough	Queens
Locale	Elmhurst
Coordinates	40°44′13″N 73°52′39″W / 40.73695°N 73.877521°W / 40.73695; -73.877521Coordinates: 40°44′13″N 73°52′39″W / 40.73695°N 73.877521°W / 40.73695; -73.877521
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services	E  (late nights)       M  (weekdays until 11 p.m.)       R  (all hours except late nights)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: Q58, Q59 MTA Bus: Q53, Q60
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	December 31, 1936 (1936-12-31)
Wireless service	[1][2]
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	5,995,764[3]  2.3%
Rank	73 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	Woodhaven Boulevard: E  M  R
Next south	Elmhurst Avenue: E  M  R
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops weekdays only
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US

Grand Avenue–Newtown is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located under private property at the northeast corner of the intersection of Grand Avenue, Broadway, and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Elmhurst, Queens, it is served by the R train at all times except nights,^[4] when the E train takes over service.^[5] The M train provides additional service here on weekdays except nights.^[6][7]

History

Track layout
Legend
to Woodhaven Blvd to Elmhurst Av

The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first lines built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND),^[8][9][10] and stretches between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 179th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.^[8][10][11] The Queens Boulevard Line was in part financed by a Public Works Administration (PWA) loan and grant of $25,000,000.^[12] On December 31, 1936, the IND Queens Boulevard Line was extended by eight stops, and 3.5 miles (5.6 km), from its previous terminus at Roosevelt Avenue to Union Turnpike, and the Grand Avenue station opened as part of this extension.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18]}

In Elmhurst, the destruction of almost all of the century-old buildings in the heart of the village were destroyed for the construction of the subway. Land was taken on the west side of the Broadway to avoid the demolition of the Saint James Episcopal Church and the Reformed Church. Many nineteenth century residences and the Wandowenock Fire Company buildings had to be torn down. To allow the subway line to curve into Queens Boulevard from Broadway, the northeast corner of the two streets was removed, in addition to some stores and an old Presbyterian chapel. New buildings were built behind a new curb line once the subway was completed, bringing a new face to Elmhurst. The introduction of the subway stimulated local growth in Elmhurst. Commercial buildings and apartment houses replaced existing structures.^[19][20]

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard vending machines
P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Southbound local	← toward Metropolitan Avenue weekdays (Elmhurst Avenue) ← toward Bay Ridge–95th Street (Elmhurst Avenue) ← toward World Trade Center late nights (Elmhurst Avenue)
	Southbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Northbound local	→ ( weekdays) toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Woodhaven Boulevard) → → toward Jamaica Center late nights (Woodhaven Boulevard) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Entrance at Broadway

There are four tracks and two side platforms here.^[21] In between the local tracks and the express tracks, there are trackway walls.^[22] The station has a full length mezzanine, but as the fare control and booth area are at the center of the mezzanine, crossover is available only at the easternmost staircase. Each side has two sets of street stairs, with the full-time entrance at Grand Avenue and Broadway on the west end.^[23] The other two staircases by the crossover are closed at night, but there is HEET access at both ends without having to walk down to the middle of the mezzanine to exit fare control. It is evident from the two closed staircases at the Manhattan-bound side, that there were two fare control areas, one at each end.^[24] In total, this side of the station has four staircases in addition to the two closed ones mentioned, while the other side has five staircases.^[25]

Both platforms have a medium Cerulean Blue tile band with a black border with small "GRAND" captions in white lettering on a black background beneath them. They also have name tablets reading "GRAND AVE." with "NEWTOWN" shown beneath in white sans serif lettering on a black background and a Cerulean Blue border. Concrete-clad columns painted Cadet blue run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black name plates in white lettering.^[22][24][25]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grand Avenue – Newtown (IND Queens Boulevard Line).

• nycsubway.org – IND Queens Boulevard Line: Grand Avenue/Newtown
• Station Reporter — R Train
• Station Reporter — M Train
• The Subway Nut — Grand Avenue–Newtown Pictures
• Grand Avenue — Broadway entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 54th Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View