14th Street/Eighth Avenue station

14th Street/Eighth Avenue is an underground New York City Subway station complex shared by the IND Eighth Avenue Line and the BMT Canarsie Line. It is located at Eighth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan, and served by the:

  • A, E, and L trains at all times
  • C train at all times except late nights

 14 Street/8 Avenue
 
New York City Subway station complex
Street entrance
Station statistics
AddressEighth Avenue & West 14th Street
New York, NY 10011
BoroughManhattan
LocaleWest Village, Chelsea
Coordinates40.739779°N 74.002533°W / 40.739779; -74.002533
DivisionB (BMT/IND)
Line   IND Eighth Avenue Line
   BMT Canarsie Line
Services   A  (all times)
   C  (all except late nights)
   E  (all times)
   L  (all times)
Transit NYCT Bus: M12, M14A SBS, M14D SBS, M20
StructureUnderground
Levels2
Other information
OpenedSeptember 10, 1932 (1932-09-10)[1]
Station code618[2]
Accessible ADA-accessible
Traffic
201914,239,275[3] 0.6%
Rank18 out of 424[3]

The whole complex is ADA-compliant, with the accessible station entrance at 14th Street. This complex was renovated at the beginning of the 21st century. There are several MTA New York City Transit Authority training facilities located in the mezzanine. The station complex contains an artwork by Tom Otterness called Life Underground, which features whimsical bronze sculptures, including a sewer alligator, scattered about the station.

History

In 1999, this station underwent a major station renovation. On August 24, 1993, the contract for the project's design was awarded for $994,079. In May 1994, a supplemental agreement worth $203,435 was reached to allow the consultant to design the New York City Transit training facility to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. As part of the project's design, multiple options were considered to improve the station, including the construction of a free transfer zone between the Eighth Avenue and Canarsie Lines. As part of the supplemental agreement, the consultant was directed to design it.[4]:C-55, C-56

Station layout

G Street level Exit/entrance
B1 Upper mezzanine Fare control, station agents
Elevator at northwest corner of 14th Street and Eighth Avenue
B2 Northbound local toward 168th Street (23rd Street)
toward Jamaica Center (23rd Street)
toward 207th Street late nights (23rd Street)
Island platform
Northbound express toward 207th Street (34th Street–Penn Station)
Southbound express toward Far Rockaway, Lefferts Boulevard or Rockaway Park (West Fourth Street–Washington Square)
Island platform
Southbound local toward Euclid Avenue (West Fourth Street–Washington Square)
toward World Trade Center (West Fourth Street–Washington Square)
toward Far Rockaway late nights (West Fourth Street–Washington Square)
B3 Lower mezzanine Ramp from upper mezzanine to platforms
B4 Track 2 toward Rockaway Parkway (Sixth Avenue)
Island platform
Track 1 toward Rockaway Parkway (Sixth Avenue)

The artwork in this station is by Tom Otterness, called Life Underground, and was installed in 2001. It features whimsical bronze sculptures, including a sewer alligator, scattered about the station.[5] From 1989 to 1995, an artwork by Ross Lewis could be found in the station. It is called Parallel Motion, and it shows images of moving bodies in the mezzanine drawn by brushstrokes using Chinese calligraphy. It is now situated in the lobby of Public School 89 in Battery Park City.[6]

Exits

The entrances of the station complex are located at the intersections of Eighth Avenue and 14th, 15th, and 16th Streets.[7] The northernmost one has an unstaffed bank of turnstiles, two staircases going up to the northwest corner of 16th Street and Eighth Avenue, and one going up to each eastern side of the intersection. A passageway leads to the front entrance of 111 Eighth Avenue (the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey building now occupied by Google) at the southwest corner.[7] A sign on the sidewalk outside the building indicates that an entrance to the station is available inside of the building. On either side, at the center of the mezzanine, a set of full height turnstiles lead to a staircases going up to either northern corners of 15th Street and Eighth Avenue.[7]

The full-time fare control area is at the south end of the mezzanine. On the east side is the transfer passageway between the platforms containing a ramp, staircase, and elevator. A set of full height turnstiles leads to a staircase going up to the northeast corner of 14th Street and 8th Avenue. The full-time turnstile bank has a token booth, two staircases to either southern corners of the intersection, and one staircase and elevator going up to the northwest corner. There is a direct entrance/exit to the BMT platforms at one bank of turnstiles here.[7] This area also provides access to a signal training school for New York City Transit employees.

There was a fourth set of entrances located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 17th Street which have since been closed.[8]

IND Eighth Avenue Line platforms

 14 Street
 
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Brooklyn bound platform
Station statistics
DivisionB (IND)
Line   IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services   A  (all times)
   C  (all except late nights)
   E  (all times)
Platforms2 island platforms
cross-platform interchange
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedSeptember 10, 1932 (1932-09-10)[1]
Station code166[2]
Accessible ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer
Yes
Station succession
Next north34th Street–Penn Station (express): A 
23rd Street (local): A  C  E 
Next southWest Fourth Street–Washington Square: A  C  E 

14th Street is an express station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line that has four tracks and two island platforms. Opened on September 10, 1932,[1] this is the southernmost Eighth Avenue Line station that is under Eighth Avenue itself. South of here, the line curves east to Sixth Avenue via Greenwich Avenue.

During daytime hours, C and E trains stop on the outer, local tracks, while A trains stop on the center, express tracks. During late-night hours, all service is on the local tracks. Both outer track walls have a medium yellow-orange trim line with a terracotta brown border. "14th" is written in black on the white tiles below the trim line. Both platforms have yellow I-beam-columns running along the center of the platform. The original 1931 trim line was a three tiles high deep yellow-orange set without a border. There are many staircases and one elevator per platform leading up to the full-length mezzanine above, which has a trim line, name tablets, and columns that are held in the same style as the platform below.

On September 20, 2020, a northbound A train derailed at the 14th Street station when a homeless man clamped wooden planks onto the roadbed causing the train to derail. Three passengers were injured.[9][10][11]

BMT Canarsie Line platform

 8 Avenue
 
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Canarsie Line platform
Station statistics
DivisionB (BMT)
Line   BMT Canarsie Line
Services   L  (all times)
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Other information
OpenedMay 30, 1931 (1931-05-30)
Station code115[2]
Accessible ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer
N/A
Station succession
Next west(Terminal): L 
Next eastSixth Avenue: L 

Eighth Avenue is the western (railroad north) terminal of the BMT Canarsie Line that has two tracks and one island platform. The station is served by the L train at all times.

Eighth Avenue station opened on May 30, 1931, and was the last station to open on the Canarsie Line, built as an extension from the mainline that opened seven years earlier westward from Sixth Avenue, the previous terminal.[12]

Eighth Avenue uses a single island platform with two tracks[13] which are designated officially as Q1 and Q2. Originally, they were named QW1 and QW2 since Eighth Avenue was a western extension of the Canarsie Line, but the line has been re-chained as Q. Eighth Avenue is the zero-point of the Canarsie Line's chaining, that is, it is the starting point of all distances on the line. The tracks end at bumper blocks just past the west end of the platform.

The station was originally decorated in a more IND style than the rest of the Canarsie Line, which was built by the BMT. The original tile band was a two-tone ultramarine blue with "8th Av" captions.[13] However, a 1999 renovation subsequently removed the IND style and replaced it with the BMT quilt-like tile pattern that exists on all other subway stations on the BMT Canarsie Line. The current tile color scheme is white with red stripes and mosaics held in beige and tan, with a pattern of red, yellow, green and off-white in the center. To signify the station's location, there are small "8" decorations set in teal-green hexagons, as found in other stations on the line.[13] On April 18, 2004, an L train ran into the bumper block after the operator suffered a seizure.[14]

Nearby points of interest

References

  1. "List of the 28 Stations on the New 8th Av. Line". The New York Times. September 10, 1932. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  2. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  3. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  4. NYC Transit Committee Agenda May 1994. New York City Transit. May 16, 1994.
  5. "14th Street/Eight Avenue - Tom Otterness - Life Underground, 2001". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  6. "Parallel Motion". Ross Lewis. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  7. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: 14th Street (A)(C)(E)" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  8. Review of the A and C Lines (PDF) (Report). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  9. "NYC Subway Service to Resume After Suspect Derails Train With Debris, Injuring 3". NBC New York. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. Tracy, Thomas; Parascandola, Rocco; Parnell, Wes; Guse, Clayton. "Manhattan subway train derails after laughing saboteur throws metal clamps on tracks: police sources". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  11. WABC (September 22, 2020). "Arrest made in subway derailment caused by train striking debris on tracks in Manhattan". ABC7 New York. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  12. "Mayor Drives Train in New Subway Link". The New York Times. March 30, 1931. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  13. "8th Avenue - BMT Canarsie Lines". NYCSubway. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  14. "L train hits 8th Av bumper block, 2004".
External video
"Life Underground" by Tom Otterness, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; January 13, 2010; 2:34 YouTube video clip
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