Avenue I (IND Culver Line)

Avenue I
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	Avenue I & McDonald Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11230
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Midwood
Coordinates	40°37′33.32″N 73°58′34.39″W / 40.6259222°N 73.9762194°W / 40.6259222; -73.9762194Coordinates: 40°37′33.32″N 73°58′34.39″W / 40.6259222°N 73.9762194°W / 40.6259222; -73.9762194
Division	B (IND, formerly BMT)
Line	IND Culver Line
Services	F  (all times)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: B11[1][2]
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	March 16, 1919 (1919-03-16)
Former/other names	Parkville
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	672,710[3]  3.4%
Rank	394 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	18th Avenue: F
Next south	Bay Parkway: F
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US

Avenue I is a local station on the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Avenue I and McDonald Avenue in Midwood, Brooklyn,^[4] it is served by the F at all times.^[5]

History

Track layout
Legend
to 18 Av to Bay Pkwy

This station opened at 3:00 a.m. on March 16, 1919 as part of the opening of the first section of the BMT Culver Line. The initial section began at the Ninth Avenue station and ended at the Kings Highway station.^[6][7] The line was operated as a branch of the Fifth Avenue Elevated line, with a free transfer at Ninth Avenue to the West End Line into the Fourth Avenue Subway. The opening of the line resulted in reduced travel times between Manhattan and Kings Highway. Construction on the line began in 1915, and cost a total of $3,300,000.^{[8][9][10][11]} Trains from this station began using the Fourth Avenue Subway to the Nassau Street Loop in Lower Manhattan when that line opened on May 30, 1931;^[12] the Fifth Avenue Elevated was closed on May 31, 1940 and elevated service ceased stopping here.^[13][14] On October 30, 1954,^[15][16] the connection between the IND Brooklyn Line at Church Avenue and the BMT Culver Line at Ditmas Avenue opened. With the connection completed, all service at the stations on the former BMT Culver Line, including this one, were from then on served by IND trains.^[17]

From June 1968^[18] to 1987, express service on the elevated portion of the line from Church Avenue to Kings Highway operated in the peak direction (to Manhattan AM; to Brooklyn PM), with some F trains running local and some running express. This station was one of the skipped local stations.^[19][20] Express service ended in 1987, largely due to budget constraints and complaints from passengers at local stations. Express service on the elevated Culver Line was ended due to necessary structural work, but never restored.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Station layout

P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Northbound local	← toward Jamaica – 179th Street (18th Avenue)
	Peak-direction express	→ does not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ No regular service (Bay Parkway)
	Side platform, not in service
M	Mezzanine	to entrances/exits, station agent, MetroCard vending machines
G	Street Level	Entrances/Exits

Western stair

This station has two side platforms and three tracks with the middle track normally unused.^[23][24][25] The two platforms have beige windscreens and green canopies that run for nearly the entire length. The north end contains black waist-level fences only.^[26]

This station has two entrances with the full-time one at the north end. From each platform, one staircase leads down to an elevated stationhouse beneath the tracks, where a bank of turnstiles and token booth is present. Outside fare control are two street stairs to the two northern corners Avenue I and McDonald Avenue.^[4][26]

At the south end of the station are unstaffed exits leading to Avenue J.^[4] From each platform, a single staircase goes down to a short landing outside of a sealed mezzanine where a full-height turnstile and emergency gate provide exit from the system. Another staircase then goes down to the street. The Coney Island-bound side is exit-only while the Manhattan-bound side is HEET turnstile access. The mezzanine, now used as a station facility, once had a booth.^[26]

Stations along the three-tracked stretch of the Culver Line, including this station, (excluding Ditmas Avenue, which had already been rehabilitated) are being renovated from June 7, 2016 to at least 2017, with the center track being used to bypass the portions of the stations that are under renovation. The entire cost of the station renewal project is $140 million.^[27][28]

References

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Culver Line: Avenue
• Station Reporter — F Train
• The Subway Nut — Avenue I Pictures
• Avenue I entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Avenue J entrance from Google Maps Street View