134-418: [REDACTED] The Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street station is a New York City Subway station complex in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and the IND Sixth Avenue Line . It is served by the 6 , D , and F trains at all times; the B and M trains on weekdays during the day; the <6> and <F> trains during rush hours in the peak direction; and
268-532: A cross-platform interchange between local and express services. Some four-track lines with express service have two tracks each on two levels and use both island and side platforms. Since the majority of the system was built before 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect, many New York City Subway stations were not designed to be accessible to all. Since then, elevators have been built in newly constructed stations to comply with
402-714: A subway line in New York City dates to 1864. 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. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons , the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to
536-570: A $ 3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including Bleecker Street and seven other stations on the Lexington Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from 225 to 436 feet (69 to 133 m). The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $ 5.6 million. The commission again considered lengthening
670-556: A $ 3,509,000 project (equivalent to $ 36.1 million in 2023) to lengthen platforms at seven IRT Lexington Avenue Line stations to accommodate ten-car trains. The northbound platforms at Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, and Astor Place were lengthened from 225 to 525 feet (69 to 160 m); the platform extensions at these stations opened on February 19, 1962. In 1979, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated
804-497: A Vignelli-style interactive subway map, "The Weekender", an online map that provides information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning. In October 2020, the MTA launched a digital version of the map showing real-time service patterns and service changes, designed by Work & Co . Several privately produced schematics are available online or in printed form, such as those by Hagstrom Map . Out of
938-409: A blue trim line on a black border and small "BROADWAY" tile captions beneath in white lettering on a black background. Blue I-beam columns run along either side of both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate and white lettering. West (railroad north) of this station, there are crossovers between the two northbound tracks and a single one between
1072-628: A few stretches of track run at ground level; 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used by local trains, while the inner one or two are used by express trains. As of 2018 , the New York City Subway's budgetary burden for expenditures was $ 8.7 billion, supported by collection of fares, bridge tolls, and earmarked regional taxes and fees, as well as direct funding from state and local governments. Alfred Ely Beach built
1206-769: A letter or a number and "lines" have names. Trains display their route designation. There are 28 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles . Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the service. New York City residents seldom refer to services by color (e.g., "blue line" or "green line") but out-of-towners and tourists often do. The 1 , C , G , L , M , R , and W trains are fully local and make all stops. The 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , A , B , D , E , F , N , and Q trains have portions of express and local service. J , Z , 6 , and 7 trains vary by direction, day, or time of day. The letter S
1340-542: A public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Organized in 1934 by transit workers of the BRT, IRT, and IND, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 remains the largest and most influential local of the labor unions. Since
1474-476: A single fare to enter the subway system and may transfer between trains at no extra cost until they exit via station turnstiles; the fare is a flat rate regardless of how far or how long the rider travels. Thus, riders must swipe their MetroCard or tap a contactless payment card or smartphone on an OMNY reader upon entering the subway system, but not a second time upon leaving. Houston Street Houston Street ( / ˈ h aʊ s t ən / HOW -stən )
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#17327801699241608-482: A station, passengers may use station booths (formerly known as token booths) or vending machines to buy their fare, which is currently stored in a MetroCard or OMNY card. Each station has at least one booth, typically located at the busiest entrance. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers enter the fare-controlled area of the station and continue to the platforms. Inside fare control are "Off-Hours Waiting Areas", which consist of benches and are identified by
1742-693: A stop at Grand Street before crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn. F trains continue directly east with a stop at Second Avenue , turn south on Essex Street with two more stops at Delancey Street and East Broadway , before passing under the East River through the Rutgers Street Tunnel into Brooklyn. M trains use a connection that leads to Essex Street on the BMT Nassau Street Line before crossing
1876-505: A tiled finish. The fare control areas are at platform level. The crossunder between the platforms is via the IND station. The walls along the platforms near the fare control areas consist of a brick wainscoting on the lowest part of the wall, with bronze air vents along the wainscoting, and white glass tiles above. Bands of blue mosaic tiles run above the wainscoting. A cornice with foliate motifs runs above each wall. Faience plaques containing
2010-547: A total of 850 miles (1,370 km) including non-revenue trackage . Of the system's 28 routes or "services" (which usually share track or "lines" with other services), 25 pass through Manhattan, the exceptions being the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle , and the Rockaway Park Shuttle . Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments , or in open cuts , and
2144-497: A yellow sign. A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 480 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m) long. Some are longer. Platforms of former commuter rail stations—such as those on the IND Rockaway Line , are even longer. With the many different lines in the system, one platform often serves more than one service. Passengers need to look at the overhead signs to see which trains stop there and when, and at
2278-410: Is West Fourth Street–Washington Square for all service, while the next stop to the east (railroad south) is Second Avenue for F trains, Essex Street for M trains, and Grand Street for B and D trains. The centers of both platforms have three staircases that go up to a mezzanine, where wide staircases on either side go up to the station's three fare control areas. When the station opened,
2412-625: Is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , and the Bronx . It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority , an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of
2546-483: Is a lower mezzanine for the IND underneath the IRT platforms and above the IND platforms. The 1998 artwork in the IND station is called Signal by Mel Chin. It features stainless steel and glass sculptures with lights on the lower mezzanine and ceramic tiles on the walls of the platforms and mezzanines. Along the mezzanine, there are conical shapes at the bases of several columns, which were meant to depict campfires. The work
2680-590: Is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City , United States. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan , from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in the west. The street is divided into west and east sections by Broadway . Houston Street generally serves as the boundary between neighborhoods on
2814-622: Is a station at Seventh Avenue, for the Houston Street ( 1 and 2 trains). The Bleecker Street station ( 4 , 6 , and <6> trains) has station entrances on the north side of Houston Street, due to its connection with the Broadway – Lafayette Street station as part of a larger station complex. Exit 5 on the FDR Drive is on Houston Street. The street also connects directly with
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#17327801699242948-455: Is an express station, located on East Houston Street between Broadway and Lafayette Street in Manhattan . It has four tracks and two island platforms . The D and F stop here at all times, while the B and M stop here only on weekdays during the day. The B and D run on the inner express tracks and the F and M run on the outer local tracks. The next stop to the west (railroad north)
3082-489: Is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) wide and 51 feet 4 inches (15.65 m) long, whereas B Division equipment is about 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) or 75 feet (22.86 m) long. The different lengths for the B Division fleet are necessary because 75-foot cars can not be used over the BMT Eastern Division . Cars purchased by
3216-523: Is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick. Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-iron Tuscan-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contain I-beam columns. Additional columns between
3350-406: Is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. This work sometimes necessitates service changes during midday, overnight hours, and weekends. When parts of lines are temporarily shut down for construction purposes, the transit authority can substitute free shuttle buses (using MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet ) to replace
3484-738: Is now the M9 between Avenues A and C . Additional service is provided by the eastbound M14D SBS east of Avenue D and the downtown M15 from Second Avenue to Allen Street. The M15 SBS doesn’t make any stops on Houston Street. A portion of the New York City Subway 's IND Sixth Avenue Line runs under Houston Street, between Sixth Avenue to just before Avenue A ; there are stations at Second Avenue ( F and <F> trains) and Broadway – Lafayette Street ( B , D , F , <F> , and M trains). Additionally, there
3618-524: Is pronounced " HOW -stən " (" / ˈ h aʊ s t ən / "), in contrast to the city of Houston , Texas, whose name is pronounced " HYOO -stən " (" / ˈ h juː s t ən / "). The street was named for William Houstoun , whose surname was pronounced " HOW -stən ", while the city was named for Sam Houston . At its east end, Houston Street meets FDR Drive in an interchange at East River Park . West of FDR Drive, it intersects with Avenue D . Further west, other streets, including First Avenue ,
3752-427: Is smaller than the peak of the system. In addition to the demolition of former elevated lines, which collectively have resulted in the demolition of over a hundred stations, other closed stations and unused portions of existing stations remain in parts of the system. Many stations in the subway system have mezzanines . Mezzanines allow for passengers to enter from multiple locations at an intersection and proceed to
3886-554: Is used for three shuttle services: Franklin Avenue Shuttle , Rockaway Park Shuttle , and 42nd Street Shuttle . Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis , during late night hours some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route (often referred to as the "shuttle train" version of its full-length counterpart) or run with a different stopping pattern. These are usually indicated by smaller, secondary route signage on station platforms. Because there
4020-577: The 142nd Street and Myrtle Avenue junctions, whose tracks intersect at the same level, as well as the same-direction pairs of tracks on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Rogers Junction . The 7,700 workers who built the original subway lines were mostly immigrants living in Manhattan. More recent projects use tunnel boring machines , which increase the cost. However, they minimize disruption at street level and avoid already existing utilities. Examples of such projects include
4154-531: The 4 train during late nights. The complex comprises two stations, Bleecker Street and Broadway–Lafayette Street. The Bleecker Street station was built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and was a local station on the city's first subway line , which was approved in 1900. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The Broadway–Lafayette Street station
Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street station - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-600: The 472 stations , 470 are served 24 hours a day. Underground stations in the New York City Subway are typically accessed by staircases going down from street level. Many of these staircases are painted in a common shade of green, with slight or significant variations in design. Other stations have unique entrances reflective of their location or date of construction. Several station entrance stairs, for example, are built into adjacent buildings. Nearly all station entrances feature color-coded globe or square lamps signifying their status as an entrance. The current number of stations
4422-548: The 63rd Street Lines , opened in 1989. The new South Ferry station was built and connected to the existing Whitehall Street–South Ferry station in 2009. The one-stop 7 Subway Extension to the west side of Manhattan, consisting of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, was opened in 2015, and three stations on the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side were opened as part of Phase 1 of
4556-619: The Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street station and the Jay Street–Lawrence Street station in Brooklyn. Most passengers transferring between the IND and the uptown IRT platform continued to pay an additional fare, except for holders of unlimited-ride MetroCards , after that option was introduced in the 1990s. According to transit historian Clifton Hood, the lack of a northbound transfer was a "pretty late holdover" from
4690-621: The Bowery , Lafayette Street and Broadway , intersect Houston Street. The Broadway intersection is the division point between East Houston Street and West Houston Street. Sixth Avenue intersects Houston Street at a curve in the road in Greenwich Village . East of Sixth Avenue, Houston street is bidirectional and separated by a median ; west of Sixth, the street is narrower and unidirectional westbound. West Houston Street terminates at an intersection with West Street near Pier 40 on
4824-706: The Chicago "L" plans all stations to be accessible in the 2030s, the Toronto subway will be fully accessible by 2025, and Montreal Metro plans all stations to be accessible by 2038. Both the Boston and Chicago systems are as old or older than the New York City Subway, though all of these systems have fewer stations than the New York City Subway. Newer systems like the Washington Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit have been fully accessible from their opening in
4958-714: The East Side of Manhattan— Alphabet City , the East Village , NoHo , Greenwich Village , and the West Village to the north; and the Lower East Side , most of the Bowery , Nolita , and SoHo to the south. The numeric street-naming grid in Manhattan, created as part of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , begins immediately north of Houston Street with 1st Street at Avenue A . The street's name
5092-549: The IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed in 1940, the city went into great debt , and only 33 new stations have been added to the system since, nineteen of which were part of defunct railways that already existed. Five stations were on the abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , which was incorporated into the system in 1941 as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line . Fourteen more stations were on
5226-719: The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line , which ran directly underneath the World Trade Center . Sections of the tunnel, as well as the Cortlandt Street station, which was directly underneath the Twin Towers, were severely damaged. Rebuilding required the suspension of service on that line south of Chambers Street. Ten other nearby stations were closed for cleanup. By March 2002, seven of those stations had reopened. Except for Cortlandt Street,
5360-720: The IRT subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover . The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. Traffic on the street above would be interrupted due to the digging up of the street. Temporary steel and wooden bridges carried surface traffic above the construction. Contractors in this type of construction faced many obstacles, both natural and human made. They had to deal with rock formations and groundwater, which required pumps. Twelve miles of sewers, as well as water and gas mains, electric conduits, and steam pipes had to be rerouted. Street railways had to be torn up to allow
5494-644: The New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) identified the locations of 104 stations to be built in the IND system. Under this plan, there would have been an express station under Houston Street between Broadway and Lafayette Street. The same year, as part of the Broadway–Lafayette Street station's construction, the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank gave the city permission to build and operate an entrance to
Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street station - Misplaced Pages Continue
5628-430: The New York State Legislature agreed to give the MTA $ 9.6 billion for capital improvements. Some of the funds would be used to renovate nearly one hundred New York City Subway stations, including Broadway–Lafayette Street. A free transfer passageway from the southbound IRT platform to the IND platform opened on May 19, 1957, after the IRT station's platforms had been lengthened to fit ten-car trains. This one-way transfer
5762-612: The R142 , R142A , R143 , R160 , R179 and R188 were placed into service. These cars are collectively known as New Technology Trains (NTTs) due to modern innovations such as LED and LCD route signs and information screens, as well as recorded train announcements and the ability to facilitate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) . As part of the 2017–2020 MTA Financial Plan, 600 subway cars will have electronic display signs installed to improve customer experience. Riders pay
5896-542: The Upper West Side , where two branches would lead north into the Bronx . A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899. 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, in which it would construct
6030-509: The Western world , as well as the eleventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. The subway carried 2,027,286,000 unlinked, non-unique riders in 2023. Daily ridership has been calculated since 1985; the record, over 6.2 million, was set on October 29, 2015. The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 248 miles (399 km) of routes, translating into 665 miles (1,070 km) of revenue track and
6164-469: The Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn. [REDACTED] Media related to Bleecker Street / Broadway – Lafayette Street (New York City Subway) at Wikimedia Commons nycsubway.org Station Reporter New York City Subway July 3, 1868 ; 156 years ago ( 1868-07-03 ) (first elevated, rapid transit operation) [REDACTED] The New York City Subway
6298-644: The extension of the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Second Avenue Line . Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, multiple official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. One of the more expansive proposals was the " IND Second System", part of a plan to construct new subway lines in addition to taking over existing subway lines and railroad rights-of-way. The most grandiose IND Second Subway plan, conceived in 1929,
6432-410: The 1970s. In November 2016, the New York City Subway had 6712 cars on the roster. A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) in length. The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the A Division routes and another for the B Division routes. A Division equipment
6566-450: The 1980s, make the current fleet of subway cars graffiti-free, as well as order 1,775 new subway cars. By the early 1990s, conditions had improved significantly, although maintenance backlogs accumulated during those 20 years are still being fixed today. Entering the 21st century, progress continued despite several disasters. The September 11 attacks resulted in service disruptions on lines running through Lower Manhattan, particularly
6700-415: The 2020–2024 Capital Program. This would allow one of every two to four stations on every line to be accessible, so that all non-accessible stops would be a maximum of two stops from an accessible station. In 2022, the MTA agreed in a settlement to make 95 percent of subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2055. By comparison, all but one of Boston's MBTA subway stations are accessible,
6834-524: The ADA. (Most grade-level stations required little modification to meet ADA standards.) Many accessible stations have AutoGate access. In addition, the MTA identified "key stations", high-traffic and/or geographically important stations, which must conform to the ADA when they are extensively renovated. Under plans from the MTA in 2016, the number of ADA accessible stations would go up to 144 by 2020. As of May 2024 , there were 145 ADA-accessible stations. Over
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#17327801699246968-795: The Bleecker Street entrance to the southbound platform in 1998. The previous turnstiles at that entrance, which had dated from the 1930s, often malfunctioned and did not allow passengers to enter. The Bleecker Street station's original interiors were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. New York City mayor John Francis Hylan 's original plans for the Independent Subway System (IND), proposed in 1922, included building over 100 miles (160 km) of new lines and taking over nearly 100 miles (160 km) of existing lines, which would compete with
7102-413: The Broadway–Lafayette Street station and the tunnels near it. Newsday wrote in 1992: "This one subway station has enough hidden corners, secret passages, dead-end mezzanines and staircases to nowhere to accommodate half the homeless population of New York." The high homeless population at the Broadway–Lafayette Street station, and at the adjacent Second Avenue station , was attributed to their proximity to
7236-577: The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street ) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line ). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street) . The Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street in 1918, and
7370-544: The City of New York since the inception of the IND and the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32 . This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9 , or R26 through R29 , or R143 through R179 ) may be relatively identical, despite being purchased under different contracts and possibly built by different manufacturers. From 1999 to 2019,
7504-476: The F train began running local on the Sixth Avenue Line to Brooklyn, while the E train's southern terminus was truncated to the Broadway–Lafayette Street station. The CC Eighth Avenue local service, which only ran during rush hours, began terminating at Broadway–Lafayette Street on weekdays in 1949. Weekday CC service returned to its previous terminal at Hudson Terminal in 1954. On November 26, 1967,
7638-628: The Hudson River. Houston Street is named for William Houstoun , who was a delegate from the state of Georgia to the Continental Congress from 1784 through 1786 and to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The street was christened by Nicholas Bayard (b. 1736), whose daughter, Mary, was married to Houstoun in 1788. The couple met while Houstoun, a member of an ancient and aristocratic Scottish family,
7772-475: The IND station opened, it was served by E local trains via the Eighth Avenue Line to its southern terminus, Church Avenue in Brooklyn. There was no express service at the Broadway–Lafayette Street station, since the tracks ended abruptly at West Fourth Street–Washington Square to the north and Second Avenue to the east. When further sections of the Sixth Avenue Line opened on December 15, 1940,
7906-399: The IND station. The work consists of hexagonal lights that can change color. The shapes used in the installation was inspired by shapes created by mathematician John Horton Conway . According to Sandra Bloodworth of MTA Arts & Design, the artwork was intended to help passengers navigate the complex; she stated in 2016 that the installation "really resonates with the activity of the station,
8040-751: The IRT and the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the two major subway operators of the time. The IND Sixth Avenue Line was designed to replace the elevated IRT Sixth Avenue Line . The first portion of the line to be constructed was then known as the Houston–Essex Street Line, which ran under Houston, Essex, and Rutgers Streets. The contract for the line was awarded to Corson Construction in January 1929, and construction of this section officially started in May 1929. In 1930,
8174-626: The IRT could display advertising at stations. To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. 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 $ 49.1 million in 2023) spent on platform lengthening, $ 500,000 (equivalent to $ 16.4 million in 2023)
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#17327801699248308-592: The IRT platforms at Bleecker Street in December 1927. At the end of the month, the Transit Commission requested that the IRT create plans to lengthen the platforms at Bleecker Street and three other Lexington Avenue Line stations to 480 feet (150 m). The northbound platform at Bleecker Street needed to be lengthened by 251 feet (77 m), while the southbound platform needed to be lengthened 255 feet (78 m); both platforms could be extended to either
8442-510: The MTA announced that it would renovate the complex in its 2005–2009 capital program. The project was to cost $ 50 million, including $ 9.2 million for the IRT platforms' renovation, $ 8.9 million for ADA-accessible elevators, and $ 31.9 million for a free transfer to the uptown IRT platform. An escalator connected the uptown platform of the Broadway-Lafayette Street station with a new transfer mezzanine that connected riders to
8576-550: The Manhattan Bridge's north tracks were again closed. The V train, which used the Sixth Avenue Line's local tracks, began serving the station in December 2001. The V train was discontinued in 2010 and replaced by the M train, which began using the Williamsburg Bridge connection east of the station. A passageway connects the downtown IRT platform under Lafayette Street and the mezzanine at Broadway. There
8710-615: The abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch (now the IND Rockaway Line ), which opened in 1955. Two stations ( 57th Street and Grand Street ) were part of the Chrystie Street Connection , and opened in 1968; the Harlem–148th Street terminal opened that same year in an unrelated project. Six were built as part of a 1968 plan : three on the Archer Avenue Lines , opened in 1988, and three on
8844-526: The arriving train to identify it. There are several common platform configurations. On a double track line, a station may have one center island platform used for trains in both directions, or two side platforms , one for each direction. For lines with three or four tracks with express service, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks will not stop at the station. On these lines, express stations typically have two island platforms, one for each direction. Each island platform provides
8978-408: The center of that station, which contains a turnstile bank and token booth. There are closed staircases from the extreme western ends of both platforms that lead to a western mezzanine with exits to the west side of Broadway and Houston Street. It is currently used by employees. The upper IND mezzanine has two fare control areas that are shared with the southbound IRT platform. A set of turnstiles on
9112-410: The complexity of the system (Manhattan being the smallest borough, but having the most services), but they do show major city streets as an aid to navigation. The newest edition took effect on June 27, 2010, and makes Manhattan bigger and Staten Island smaller, with minor tweaks happening to the map when more permanent changes occur. Earlier diagrams of the subway, the first being produced in 1958, had
9246-423: The construction of the subway required the demolition or underpinning of several buildings in the street's path. This resulted in the creation of narrow land lots on either side of Lafayette Street between Houston and Great Jones Streets, an area that included the Bleecker Street station's site. Even after the subway was completed, many of the narrow lots on Lafayette Street remained undeveloped for decades. During
9380-453: The construction of the subway. That July, the BOT solicited bids for the installation of signals and switches on the Houston–Essex Street Line; the contract had been scheduled for January 1933 but was delayed eighteen months because the city did not have enough money. The Broadway–Lafayette Street station opened on January 1, 1936, as one of the first four stations on the Houston–Essex Street Line,
9514-425: The correct platform without having to cross the street before entering. Inside mezzanines are fare control areas, where passengers physically pay their fare to enter the subway system. In many older stations, the fare control area is at platform level with no mezzanine crossovers. Many elevated stations also have platform-level fare control with no common station house between directions of service. Upon entering
9648-410: The corresponding free transfer from the uptown IRT platform to the rest of the station opened on September 25, 2012. The station complex contains elevators, which make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 . The original portion of the Bleecker Street station's interior is a New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Planning for
9782-486: The current Houston Street, from Sixth Avenue to the West Side Highway , was known as "Hammersley Street" (also spelled "Hamersly Street") until the middle 19th century, and was inside Greenwich Village . It later came to be regarded as the Village's southern boundary. In 1891, Nikola Tesla established his laboratory on Houston Street. Much of Tesla's research was lost in an 1895 fire. The street, originally narrow,
9916-481: The era prior to the unification of the city's three subway systems in 1940. A transfer between the IND platforms and the uptown IRT platform had been planned since 1989, when the project was included in the MTA's third capital program. Construction on the transfer would have started in 1992 pending the approval of the program by the State Legislature. The MTA estimated that 15,000 daily passengers would use
10050-402: The exits at Lafayette Street primarily serve the IRT platforms. The northbound IRT platform's exits are on the eastern side of Lafayette Street while the southbound platform's exits are on the western side. There are two stairs at Broadway and Houston Street, one at either eastern corner. The southeastern one is built inside a building. It leads to the full-time entrance to the IND station, above
10184-515: The express tracks. The line turns north along Sixth Avenue and goes through a complex set of switches and crossovers with the IND Eighth Avenue Line before arriving at West Fourth Street–Washington Square . East (railroad south) of this station, there used to be a crossover between the two southbound tracks before they were reconfigured in 1967 by the Chrystie Street Connection . B and D trains turn south down Chrystie Street with
10318-438: The first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for an atmospheric railway as a subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as
10452-586: The first part of the Chrystie Street Connection opened, connecting the IND station's express tracks south of the Broadway–Lafayette Street station to the Grand Street station and the northern pair of tracks on the Manhattan Bridge . The express tracks started to be used by the B and D trains. The portion of the Chrystie Street Connection connecting the IND station's local tracks with the Williamsburg Bridge opened on July 1, 1968, and
10586-483: The first part of the Sixth Avenue Line. At the time of the station's opening, some of the columns had not been finished. The two local tracks split from a junction with the Eighth Avenue Line south of West Fourth Street–Washington Square , running east under Houston Street and south under Essex Street to a temporary terminal at East Broadway . By the early 1990s, many homeless people were sheltered within
10720-482: The five-cent fare of the time, or 10¢ ($ 3 in 2023 dollars ). In 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT. These now operate as one division, called the B Division . Since the former IRT tunnels are narrower, have sharper curves, and shorter station platforms, they cannot accommodate B Division cars, and
10854-400: The former IRT remains its own division, the A Division . Many passenger transfers between stations of all three former companies have been created, allowing the entire network to be treated as a single unit. During the late 1940s, the system recorded high ridership, and on December 23, 1946, the system-wide record of 8,872,249 fares was set. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA),
10988-474: The free transfer would benefit 30,000 riders daily; by then, the complex had 11.6 million passengers annually. The New York Daily News wrote: "Thus will be completed the grand project, begun 72 years ago under Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, of unifying the subways, the great unifier of New York." After the first subway line was completed in 1908, the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now
11122-493: The free transfer. The MTA contemplated providing a free transfer between the IND and northbound IRT platforms during the late 1990s. This would have alleviated congestion caused by the closure of the Manhattan Bridge 's northern pair of subway tracks, which resulted in numerous service changes at the IND station . By 1998, this transfer was no longer being planned. Further progress on the IND/IRT transfer stalled until 2005, when
11256-405: The front ends of the original platforms: the southbound platform was extended southward and the northbound platform was extended northward. After the 2012 renovation, the northbound platform was extended to the south, and the northern extension of that platform was closed. As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method. The tunnel
11390-559: The hurricane included the restoration of the new South Ferry station from 2012 to 2017; the full closure of the Montague Street Tunnel from 2013 to 2014; and the partial 14th Street Tunnel shutdown from 2019 to 2020. Annual ridership on the New York City Subway system, which totaled nearly 1.7 billion in 2019, declined dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not surpass one billion again until 2022. When
11524-522: The installations at each station. The decorative work was performed by faience contractor Grueby Faience Company . The ceilings of the original platforms and fare control areas contain plaster molding. Originally, the ceiling was painted white and yellow. Each platform also had three ticket windows, placed between the stairways leading to the street. The northbound platform contains doorways that formerly led to men's and women's restrooms, with corresponding marble lintels . The northern platform extension of
11658-520: The letter "B" are placed at 15-foot (4.6 m) intervals. The walls flare outward slightly near the original entrances at Bleecker Street, where there are large oval tablets with the white letters "Bleecker Street" on a blue frame. There were originally four such tablets on each platform, or eight total. The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted
11792-463: The line at the beginning of 2017. Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train "line" is more or less synonymous with a train "route". In New York City, routings change often, for various reasons. Within the nomenclature of the subway , the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by
11926-514: The line began on July 10, 1900, and was awarded to Degnon-McLean Contracting Company. In the vicinity of the Bleecker Street station, the subway was to run under Lafayette Street , a new thoroughfare constructed between 1897 and 1905. This involved widening, connecting, and renaming two formerly unconnected streets: Elm Street, which ran south of Houston Street , and Lafayette Place, which ran north of Great Jones Street to an intersection with Astor Place . The southward extension of Lafayette Street and
12060-403: The lines and leased them to the companies. The first line of the city-owned and operated Independent Subway System (IND) opened in 1932. This system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down but stayed within the core of the city due to its small startup capital. This required it to be run 'at cost', necessitating fares up to double
12194-718: The modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line . The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek , was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . The first underground line of
12328-477: The most-used, and the one with the most stations, with 472 stations in operation (423, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). The system has operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and
12462-440: The north or south. The federal government placed an injunction against the commission's platform-lengthening decree, which remained in place for over a year. By 1929, the New York City Board of Transportation had not yet drawn up plans for the Bleecker Street station. The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. The New York City Board of Transportation issued a $ 1.97 million contract in early 1947 to extend
12596-420: The northbound platform, now walled off, had green tiles and a darker green trim line with "BLEECKER ST" written on it in black sans serif font at regular intervals. These tiles were installed during the late 1950s renovation. The platform extension of the southbound platform had similar tiles, which were removed in the 2012 extension. The Broadway–Lafayette Street station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line
12730-409: The northbound platform. Passengers had to exit the IND station, walk one block north to Bleecker Street, and pay an additional fare. For several decades, the Bleecker Street and Broadway–Lafayette Street stations were the only place in the system where a free transfer was possible only in one direction. As a result, riders heading to or from the northbound IRT had to transfer at other stations, such as
12864-570: The northwestern and southwestern corners of Lafayette and Bleecker Streets, and serve the southbound IRT platform. One stair each goes to the northeastern, southwestern, and southeastern corners of Mulberry and Bleecker Streets, and serve the northbound IRT platform. The Bleecker Street station is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line with four tracks and two side platforms . The 6 stops here at all times, rush-hour and midday <6> trains stop here in
12998-557: The official map drawn in 1811 to establish the street grid that is still current. In those years, the Texas hero Sam Houston , for whom the street is sometimes incorrectly said to have been named, was an unknown teenager in Tennessee . Also mistaken is the explanation that the name derives from the Dutch words huis for house and tuin for garden. The narrow, westernmost stretch of
13132-557: The original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line . The opening of the first subway line, and particularly the Bleecker Street station, helped contribute to more development in the East Village, which at the time was already densely populated. Shortly after the station opened, IRT workers allowed advertisers to place more than 40 advertisements on
13266-465: The original line was divided into an H-shaped system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx . The IRT routes were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock , which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. The Lexington Avenue–Pelham local became known as the 6 . When
13400-458: The peak direction; and the 4 stops here during late nights. The two express tracks are used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours. The station is between Astor Place to the north and Spring Street to the south. The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT, but as a result of the 1959 platform extensions, became 525 feet (160 m) long. The platform extensions were originally at
13534-415: The people waiting on the platform, this ever-changing lighting artwork". The station has a total of 12 staircase entrances and one elevator entrance. They are clustered in three locations: the intersection of Broadway and Houston Street, the intersection of Lafayette and Houston Streets, and the intersection of Lafayette and Bleecker Streets, The exits at Houston Street primarily serve the IND platforms while
13668-404: The perception of being more geographically inaccurate than the diagrams today. The design of the subway map by Massimo Vignelli , published by the MTA between 1972 and 1979, has become a modern classic but the MTA deemed the map flawed due to its placement of geographical elements. A late night-only version of the map was introduced on January 30, 2012. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced
13802-447: The rest reopened in September 2002, along with service south of Chambers Street. Cortlandt Street reopened in September 2018. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded several underwater tunnels and other facilities near New York Harbor , as well as trackage over Jamaica Bay . The immediate damage was fixed within six months, but long-term resiliency and rehabilitation projects continued for several years. The recovery projects after
13936-477: The routes proposed over the decades have never seen construction, discussion remains strong to develop some of these lines, to alleviate existing subway capacity constraints and overcrowding, the most notable being the proposals for the Second Avenue Subway . Plans for new lines date back to the early 1910s, and expansion plans have been proposed during many years of the system's existence. After
14070-403: The routes that would normally run on these lines. The Transit Authority announces planned service changes through its website, via placards that are posted on station and interior subway-car walls, and through its Twitter page. Current official transit maps of the New York City Subway are based on a 1979 design by Michael Hertz Associates . The maps are not geographically accurate due to
14204-400: The rundown Bowery neighborhood. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operated the subway system, removed several benches from the station in 1990 to dissuade homeless people from staying there. The benches were reinstalled after homeless advocates objected. The MTA also removed two of the station's high entry-exit turnstiles in 1992 to increase passenger flow. In April 1993,
14338-559: The south side leads to two staircases at the southeast corner of Lafayette and Houston Streets. Another set of turnstiles on the north side leads to a stair and an elevator on the northwest corner of Lafayette and Houston Streets. The extreme east end of the IND station contains stairs and escalators to the eastern mezzanine, which is shared with the northbound IRT platform. This mezzanine contains two stairs, one to each eastern corner of Houston and Lafayette Streets. There are five stairs near Lafayette and Bleecker Streets. One stair each goes to
14472-423: The southbound IRT platforms at Bleecker Street and Spring Street to fit ten-car trains. The work was finished the next year. In late 1959, contracts were awarded to extend the platforms at Bowling Green , Wall Street , Fulton Street , Canal Street , Spring Street , Bleecker Street, Astor Place , Grand Central–42nd Street , 86th Street , and 125th Street to 525 feet (160 m). In April 1960, work began on
14606-413: The space within the boundaries of the original Bleecker Street station, excluding expansions made after 1904, as a city landmark. The station was designated along with eleven others on the original IRT. The IRT station was renovated in the late 1980s, but the renovation was delayed by one year because the project had to be redesigned to conform to landmark regulations. High entry-exit turnstiles were added at
14740-535: The station within the bank's building at the northwest corner of Houston Street and Broadway. The BOT awarded a $ 371.113 contract in July 1932 for the installation of finishes at the Broadway–Lafayette Street station and three others along the Houston–Essex Streets Line. In early 1934, the BOT began looking to rent out a vacant lot at the intersection of Lafayette and Houston Streets, which had been cleared for
14874-513: The station's construction in 1903, a portion of the ceiling collapsed, reportedly because of poor workmanship. By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening. Except for the collapsed section of the ceiling, the station itself was finished by January 1904. The Bleecker Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of
15008-467: The street serves as SoHo's northern boundary; another, narrower neighborhood north of Houston Street is correspondingly called NoHo . In 1971, Houston Street became the southernmost street in Manhattan to extend between both the Hudson and East Rivers, when the World Trade Center was constructed and deprived Fulton Street of that title. With the reconstruction of the World Trade Center , Fulton Street
15142-744: The subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City (which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line ). The 9.1-mile (14.6 km) subway line, then called the "Manhattan Main Line", ran from City Hall station northward under Lafayette Street (then named Elm Street) and Park Avenue (then named Fourth Avenue) before turning westward at 42nd Street . It then curved northward again at Times Square , continuing under Broadway before terminating at 145th Street station in Harlem . Its operation
15276-480: The subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway. The Bleecker Street station was constructed as part of the route segment from Chambers Street to Great Jones Street . Construction on this section of
15410-508: The subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast-iron elevated structures , concrete viaducts , embankments , open cuts and surface routes. As of 2019 , there are 168 miles (270 km) of elevated tracks. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions . The sole exceptions of at-grade junctions of two lines in regular service are
15544-458: The tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs. The cast-iron columns were originally painted yellow. The ceiling height varies based on whether there are utilities in the ceiling; the areas without utilities is about 15 feet (4.6 m) above platform level. There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by
15678-407: The tunnel was completely within the limits of the present-day City Hall station under Broadway. The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of
15812-542: The union's founding, there have been three union strikes over contract disputes with the MTA: 12 days in 1966 , 11 days in 1980 , and three days in 2005 . By the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway was at an all-time low. Ridership had dropped to 1910s levels, and graffiti and crime were rampant. Maintenance was poor, and delays and track problems were common. Still, the NYCTA managed to open six new subway stations in
15946-436: The uptown platform of the Bleecker Street station. In addition, elevators were installed to connect the various platforms of the IND station, and those of Bleecker Street. The transfer contained new elevators and escalators to the IND station below. The street-level elevator accesses the southbound IRT platform directly, while four other elevators in the station connect each IND platform with each IRT platform. On March 26, 2012,
16080-419: The uptown platform was shifted south to the newly constructed extension, and the 1950s northern extension closed at the same time. At the time, the MTA stated that the transfer to the uptown Bleecker Street platform would be completed at the end of June. The uptown transfer did not fully open until September 25, 2012. The overall cost of the rehabilitation project had climbed to $ 127 million. The MTA estimated that
16214-484: The walls adjacent to the tracks had white tiles with a blue tile band. The tile band was part of a color-coded tile system used throughout the IND. The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Lower Manhattan . Because the next station to the north, West Fourth Street–Washington Square , is an express station, the adjacent stations to the north and south both used different tile colors. Both outer track walls have been renovated with
16348-494: The walls, even though the Rapid Transit Commission had banned the IRT from displaying ads in stations. The IRT proposed modifying the ads so they harmonized with the station's architecture, but the Municipal Art Society wanted the ads to be taken down because they overlapped with the name tablets on the walls. Legal disputes over the advertisements continued until 1907, when a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that
16482-721: The work. The foundations of tall buildings often ran near the subway construction, and in some cases needed underpinning to ensure stability. This method worked well for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. Tunnelling shields were required for deeper sections, such as the Harlem and East River tunnels, which used cast-iron tubes. Rock or concrete-lined tunnels were used on segments from 33rd to 42nd streets under Park Avenue ; 116th to 120th Streets under Broadway ; 145th to Dyckman Streets (Fort George) under Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue ; and 96th Street and Broadway to Central Park North and Lenox Avenue . About 40% of
16616-538: The years, the MTA has been involved in a number of lawsuits over the lack of accessibility in its stations. The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association filed what may have been the first of these suits in 1979, based on state law. The lawsuits have relied on a number of different legal bases, but most have centered around the MTA's failure to include accessibility as a part of its plans for remodeling various stations. As of January 2022 , ADA-accessibility projects are expected to be started or completed at 51 stations as part of
16750-444: Was built as an express station for the Independent Subway System (IND) and opened on January 1, 1936. The Bleecker Street station has two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The Broadway–Lafayette Street station has two island platforms and four tracks. The transfer between the downtown IRT platform and the IND platform has been within fare control since May 19, 1957, and
16884-574: Was created in collaboration with Peter Jemison, a Seneca Native American. Jemison created a mosaic depicting figures from the Six Nations of the Haudenosanee confederacy . As part of the MTA Arts & Design program, Leo Villareal created a light installation called Hive in 2012. It is located at the newest section of the uptown IRT platform in the mezzanine providing the transfer to
17018-512: Was extended past Church Street to West Street , but is closed off to vehicular traffic west of Church Street . A reconstruction project rebuilt parts of the street between 2005 and 2018. As of 2024 , Houston Street is served by the M21 New York City Bus route from Columbia to Washington Streets westbound, and from 6th Avenue to the FDR Drive eastbound. The bus route itself had replaced an earlier streetcar line , which
17152-496: Was leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and over 150,000 passengers paid the 5-cent fare ($ 2 in 2023 dollars ) to ride it on the first day of operation. By the late 1900s and early 1910s, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT). The city built most of
17286-546: Was markedly widened from Sixth Avenue to Essex Street in the early 1930s during construction of the Independent Subway System 's Sixth Avenue Line . The street widening involved demolition of buildings on both sides of the street, resulting in numerous small, empty lots. Although some of these lots have been redeveloped, many of them are now used by vendors, and some have been turned into playgrounds and, more recently, community gardens . Lower Manhattan's SoHo district takes its name from an acronym for "South of Houston", as
17420-404: Was purely coincidental and was not intended in the original construction. The construction of a connection from the northbound platform would have required more extensive construction, including knocking down support walls and digging a tunnel. The northbound platform was extended two car lengths to the north because it was easier to do and cost less. As a result, a free transfer was not available to
17554-460: Was serving in the Congress. Bayard cut the street through a tract he owned in the vicinity of Canal Street in which he lived, and the city later extended it to include North Street , the northern border of New York's east side at the beginning of the 19th century. The current spelling of the name is a corruption: the street appears as Houstoun in the city's Common Council minutes for 1808 and
17688-464: Was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. The Bleecker Street station's northbound platform was extended north by 30 feet (9.1 m), while the southbound platform was extended south by 25 feet (7.6 m). Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910. In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved
17822-410: Was to be part of the city-operated IND, and was to comprise almost 1 ⁄ 3 of the current subway system. By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included within the plan, which was ultimately never carried out. Many different plans were proposed over the years of the subway's existence, but expansion of the subway system mostly stopped during World War II . Though most of
17956-643: Was used by the KK train until that route was discontinued in 1976. When the Manhattan Bridge's north tracks were closed for repairs between 1986 and 1988, the Sixth Avenue Shuttle stopped at the station, running from 57th Street to Grand Street. The Q train started running along the Sixth Avenue Line's express tracks in 1988 and continued to operate on the line until 2001. The Grand Street Shuttle operated from Broadway–Lafayette Street to Grand Street during 1995, and again between July 2001 and 2004, when
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