34th Street–Herald Square station

34th Street–Herald Square is an underground station complex on the BMT Broadway Line and the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, and is the third-busiest station in the system with 39,672,507 passengers entering the station in 2017.[4] It is located at Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan where 34th Street, Broadway and Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) intersect, and is served by the:

  • D, F, N, and Q trains at all times
  • R train at all times except late nights
  • B, M, and W trains on weekdays
  • <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction
For other uses, see 34th Street station.

 34 Street–Herald Square
 ​​​​​​​
New York City Subway station complex
The station entrance as seen in 2019
Station statistics
AddressIntersection of West 34th Street, Broadway & Sixth Avenue
New York, NY 10001
BoroughManhattan
LocaleHerald Square, Midtown Manhattan
Coordinates40.749338°N 73.987985°W / 40.749338; -73.987985
DivisionB (BMT/IND)
Line   IND Sixth Avenue Line
   BMT Broadway Line
Services   B  (Weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings)
​   D  (all times)
​   F  (all times) <F>  (two rush hour trains, peak direction)
​   M  (Weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings)​
   N  (all times)
​   Q  (all times)
​   R  (all except late nights)
​   W  (weekdays only)
Transit NYCT Bus: M4, M5, M7, M34 SBS, M34A SBS, M55, Q32
MTA Bus: BxM2, QM1, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM5, QM6, QM10, QM11, QM12, QM15, QM16, QM17, QM18, QM20, QM24
PATH: JSQ–33, HOB–33, JSQ–33 (via HOB) (at 33rd Street)
Amtrak, LIRR, NJT Rail (at Penn Station)
StructureUnderground
Levels2
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1948 (1948-07-01)[1]
Station code607[2]
Accessible ADA-accessible
Traffic
201939,385,436[3]  0.7%
Rank3 out of 424[3]

Station layout
G Street level Exit/entrance
B1 Mezzanine Fare control, station agents, MetroCard machines, transfer to PATH trains at 33rd Street
MTA elevator at Herald Center building on west side of Broadway south of 34th Street; PATH elevator on west side of Sixth Avenue north of 32nd Street
B2 Northbound local ← toward 71st Avenue (Times Square–42nd Street)
← toward Ditmars Boulevard weekdays (Times Square–42nd Street)
← toward Ditmars Boulevard late nights/weekends (Times Square–42nd Street)
← toward 96th Street late nights (Times Square–42nd Street)
Island platform
Northbound express ← toward Ditmars Boulevard weekdays (Times Square–42nd Street)
← toward 96th Street (Times Square–42nd Street)
Southbound express ← toward Coney Island via Sea Beach weekdays (14th Street–Union Square) →
← toward Coney Island via Brighton (14th Street–Union Square) →
Island platform
Southbound local ← toward 95th Street (28th Street) →
← toward Whitehall Street weekdays (28th Street) →
← toward Coney Island via Sea Beach late nights/weekends (28th Street) →
← toward Coney Island via Brighton late nights (28th Street) →
B3 Northbound local ← toward 179th Street (42nd Street–Bryant Park)
← weekdays toward 71st Avenue (42nd Street–Bryant Park)
Island platform
Northbound express ← weekdays toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (42nd Street–Bryant Park)
← toward 205th Street (42nd Street–Bryant Park)
Southbound express → weekdays toward Brighton Beach (West 4th Street–Washington Square) →
→ toward Coney Island via West End (West 4th Street–Washington Square) →
Island platform
Southbound local → toward Coney Island via Culver (23rd Street) →
→ weekdays toward Metropolitan Avenue (23rd Street) →

This station complex has a long mezzanine above the platforms. Three staircases and two elevators lead to each of the two Broadway line platforms. Three pairs of escalators lead to the Sixth Avenue line platforms (two to the northbound one and one to the southbound one). There is a non-ADA-compliant ramp that leads to an intermediate level. This level has two sets of staircases leading to each of the Sixth Avenue platforms. The elevators to this level are at the north end of the mezzanine.

 33rd St to 34th St subway cross-section
11th Av 10th & 9th Avs
are skipped		 8th Av Madison Square
Garden		 7th Av Storefronts 6th Av &
Broadway		 5th & Madison Avs
are skipped		 Park Av
mezzanine A / C / E concourse 1 / 2 / 3 Former Gimbel's
passageway		 mezz PATH 6 / <6>
mezzanine mezzanine concourse mezzanine N / Q / R / W
7 / <7> Penn Station B/D/F/<F>/M

Exits

At the north end of this mezzanine is the 35th Street exit, which contains a bank of turnstiles, token booth, and street stairs. Three staircases lead to all corners of Sixth Avenue and 35th Street except the southwest one. There is also a short passageway to either western corner of Broadway and 35th Street.[5]

In addition to this exit, the mezzanine has connections with the two entrances at Broadway/Sixth Avenue and 34th Street. The entrance on the west side is staffed full-time and has two staircases to 34th Street. The northwest staircase has an entrance to an underground Burger King. There is a long passageway containing a single street elevator that leads to PATH at 33rd Street. The entrance on the east side of 34th Street is staffed part-time and when the token booth is closed, only two HEET turnstiles provide access to the mezzanine. This entrance has a passageway that connects to the 35th Street exit and has two pairs of exit-only turnstiles from the mezzanine.[5]

There is another mezzanine at the south end of the Sixth Avenue level that has two staircases leading to each platform. It is directly underneath the PATH station mezzanine (two levels from street level) and has a passageway leading to the entrance at Broadway and 32nd Street. Outside of fare control, there is an entrance leading directly to the two basement levels of J. C. Penney in the Manhattan Mall. There are also escalators that lead to the front entrance of the mall. The entrance at Broadway and 32nd Street is unstaffed, has two street stairs, and one stair to each of the two Broadway platforms on the very south end. There are street stairs to either northern corner of Broadway and 32nd Street, as well as to the northeast corner of 6th Avenue and 32nd Street[5]

Passageways
Passageways in the station for transfers between the IND and BMT platforms

There are closed passageways (but not free transfers) to the adjacent 42nd Street–Bryant Park station to the north and to 34th Street–Penn Station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.

There was once an out-of-system passageway to Pennsylvania Station one block west. During the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway had high rates of crime, as did the rest of the city; the passageway similarly experienced high crime rates. The passageway, with only two exits–one at each end–was located under 33nd Street and was called the "Gimbels passageway" because it was next to the basements of the Gimbels department store and the Hotel Pennsylvania. This passageway was closed in 1986 after an epidemic of sexual assaults,[6] and passengers now must walk at street level to connect to the commuter railroads and Amtrak.[7] A real estate developer, Vornado Realty Trust, proposed in 2010 to reopen the passageway in exchange for variances to build office towers replacing existing structures in the area.[8][9]

The pathway to Bryant Park was outside of fare control, but was intended to relieve passenger flow at the 42nd and 34th Street stations.[10] In the 1980s, the passageway became a gathering spot for homeless people and drug users. The passageway was closed on March 23, 1991 after a rape.[11]

Renovations

On November 28, 1969, the turnstiles and exit gates at the northern end of the station were relocated, making four more staircases from the Broadway Line platforms available for transfers to the Sixth Avenue platforms. Previously, transfers could only be made from two staircases.[12]

This complex was overhauled in the late 1970s. The Transit Authority fixed the station's structure and renovated its appearance. The overhaul replaced the original wall tiles, old signs, and incandescent lighting to the 1970s modern look wall tile band and tablet mosaics, signs and fluorescent lights. It also fixed staircases and platform edges. In the early 1990s, the station received another major repair, which included an upgrade for ADA-accessibility and modernized wall tiling. The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiling for the walls, installed new tiling on the floors, upgraded the station's lights and the public address system, installing ADA safety threads along the platform edge, new signs, and new track-beds in both directions.

BMT Broadway Line platforms
 34 Street–Herald Square
 ​​​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
The BMT platform
Station statistics
DivisionB (BMT)
Line   BMT Broadway Line
Services   N  (all times)
​   Q  (all times)
​   R  (all except late nights)
​   W  (weekdays only)
Platforms2 island platforms
cross-platform interchange
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedJanuary 5, 1918 (1918-01-05)[13]
Station code012[2]
Accessible ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer		Yes
Station succession
Next northTimes Square–42nd Street: N  ​Q  ​R  ​W 
Next south28th Street (local): N  ​Q  ​R  ​W 
14th Street–Union Square (express): N  ​Q 
Girl using the REACH New York, An Urban Musical Instrument rack

34th Street–Herald Square on the BMT Broadway Line is an express station that has four tracks and two island platforms. This level opened several years after the opening of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson station; the Sixth Avenue line platforms were built later.

Each platform has three staircases and one elevator to the main mezzanine on the north half and another staircase at the extreme south end to 32nd Street. North of the station are diamond crossovers in both directions that are used by N trains on weekdays when they operate express in Manhattan.

Because Queens-bound N trains switch from the express to the local track north of this station, trains are often held here until another train arrives on the opposite track. Depending on the schedule, they may not leave in the same order in which they arrived. This causes confusion among riders as they run back and forth on the northbound platform trying to catch the train that will leave first. This is also true at other stations where two services that run to the same destination stop at the same platform but do not stop on the same side of the platform, such as Franklin Avenue (southbound 2 and 5 trains), Canal Street (A, C and E trains), 59th Street–Columbus Circle (southbound B and D trains), Queens Plaza (E, M and R trains) and Essex Street (outbound J/Z and M trains). The New York Times calls this The Subway Shuffle.[14]

In 1996, artist Christopher Janney installed "REACH New York, An Urban Musical Instrument." The piece consists of green racks with sensors hanging along the platforms. Waving one's hands in front of the sensors creates a corresponding sound from the rack.

IND Sixth Avenue Line platforms
 34 Street–Herald Square
 ​​​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Uptown IND Platform
Station statistics
DivisionB (IND)
Line   IND Sixth Avenue Line
Services   B  (Weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings)
​   D  (all times)
​   F  (all times) <F>  (two rush hour trains, peak direction)
​   M  (Weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings)
Platforms2 island platforms
cross-platform interchange
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedDecember 15, 1940 (1940-12-15)
Station code227[2]
Accessible ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer		Yes
Station succession
Next north42nd Street–Bryant Park: B  ​D  ​F  <F> ​M 
Next south23rd Street: F  <F> ​M 
West Fourth Street–Washington Square (express): B  ​D 
Elevator from northbound platform
"Yab-Yum" sculpture

34th Street–Herald Square on the IND Sixth Avenue Line is an express station that has four tracks and two island platforms. The mezzanine elevators are at the north end of the station while the staircases to the Manhattan Mall entrance are at the south end. The platforms have numerous stairs and escalators leading to the main mezzanine. Stairs on both platforms lead to a non-accessible ramp leading to the mezzanine.

The platforms are not equal in length, as the northbound one is longer than the southbound one. North of this station are numerous crossovers and switches that allow trains from uptown to terminate here on the express tracks during construction and closures. The crossovers were reconfigured to reduce the duplication of track switches of the downtown and uptown tracks, most notably, the switch from the express to local tracks.

During construction on the IND portion of this station, contractors had to counter problems in their path. For one, the BMT and PATH platforms existed decades before this portion of the station was completed. Constructors had to dig deeper in order to pass the original platforms without interference, as well as avoiding wires and pipes.

Prior to the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection in November 1967, the express tracks only extended to bumper blocks about 140 feet (43 m) south of this station, though the tunnels extended for another 260 feet (79 m) beyond that.

Above the northbound local tracks is Yab-Yum, a series of red propeller-like sculptures, designed to spin in the wind of the approaching trains below.

Bombing plot
Main article: Shahawar Matin Siraj

On August 28, 2004, Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay were arrested for planning to bomb the Herald Square station during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Elshafay cooperated with prosecutors and received a plea deal; Siraj was convicted of conspiracy on four counts, the most serious of which was plotting to bomb a public transportation system, in 2006 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2007.[15]

Notable places nearby

References
  1. The New York Times, Transfer Points Under Higher Fare, June 30, 1948, page 19
  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.
  5. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Pennsylvania Station / Times Square" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  6. "City Planning Commission July 14, 2010 / Calendar No. 31 C 100049 ZSM" (PDF). citylaw.org. City Planning Commission. July 14, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  7. "Remembering the Gimbels tunnel". New York Post. November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  8. Cuozzo, Steve (April 13, 2010). "Vornado's Penn tower deal". New York Post. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  9. Del Signore, John (February 4, 2009). "Underground Passageway Between Herald Square Subway and Penn Station May Reopen". Gothamist. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  10. Kahn, E. J.; Ross, Harold (May 4, 1940). "Underground". New Yorker. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  11. Wolff, Craig (March 23, 1991). "Subway Path Boarded Shut After a Rape". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  12. "Easier Transfer at 34th & 6th". New York Daily News. November 28, 1969. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  13. The New York Times, Open New Subway to Times Square, January 6, 1918
  14. The Subway Shuffle
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