Woodhaven Boulevard station (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

Woodhaven Boulevard is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway, consisting of four tracks. Located in Elmhurst, Queens, it is served by the M train on weekdays, the R train at all times except nights, and the E train at night. The station serves the adjacent Queens Center Mall, as well as numerous bus lines.

 Woodhaven Blvd
 ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Forest Hills- and Jamaica-bound platform
Station statistics
AddressWoodhaven Boulevard & Queens Boulevard
Elmhurst, NY 11373
BoroughQueens
LocaleElmhurst
Coordinates40.73347°N 73.870397°W / 40.73347; -73.870397
DivisionB (IND)
LineIND Queens Boulevard Line
Services      E  (late nights)
​      M  (weekdays until 11 p.m.)
​      R  (all hours except late nights)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: Q59, Q88
MTA Bus: Q11, Q21, Q29, Q38, Q52/Q53 SBS, Q60, QM10, QM11
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedDecember 31, 1936 (1936-12-31)
Station code264[1]
Accessiblenot ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Wireless service[2][3]
Opposite-direction transfer availableYes
Former/other namesWoodhaven Boulevard–Slattery Plaza
Woodhaven Boulevard–Queens Mall
Traffic
Passengers (2019)6,381,132[4]  2%
Rank65 out of 424[4]
Station succession
Next east63rd Drive–Rego Park: E  ​M  ​R 
Next westGrand Avenue–Newtown: E  ​M  ​R 

Woodhaven Boulevard was opened on December 31, 1936, as Woodhaven Boulevard–Slattery Plaza. At the time, the station was part of the Independent Subway System. The plaza was demolished in the 1950s, but the name tablets displaying the station's original name were kept. In the 1980s, the Woodhaven Boulevard station was renamed after Queens Center, an adjacent shopping mall. The station was renovated in the 1990s.

History
Track layout
to 63 Dr
to Grand Av

Construction and opening

The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND), and was planned to stretch between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 178th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, with a stop at Woodhaven Boulevard.[5][6] The line was first proposed in 1925.[7] Construction of the line was approved by the New York City Board of Estimate on October 4, 1928.[8] The line was constructed using the cut-and-cover tunneling method, and to allow pedestrians to cross, temporary bridges were built over the trenches.[9]

The first section of the line opened on August 19, 1933 from the connection to the Eighth Avenue Line at 50th Street to Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights.[10] Later that year, a $23 million loan was approved to finance the remainder of the line, along with other IND lines.[11] The remainder of the line was built by the Public Works Administration.[12][13] In 1934 and 1935, construction of the extension to Jamaica was suspended for 15 months and was halted by strikes.[14] Construction was further delayed due to a strike in 1935, instigated by electricians opposing wages paid by the General Railway Signal Company.[15]

During the station's construction, the main road of Queens Boulevard was depressed into underpasses at the intersections with Woodhaven Boulevard and Horace Harding Boulevard (also known as Nassau Boulevard). The easternmost underpass now carries Queens Boulevard below the Long Island Expressway (LIE), which replaced Horace Harding Boulevard.[16]

In August 1936, tracks were installed all the way to 178th Street, and the stations to Union Turnpike were completed.[14] 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.[17][18][19][20][21] As a result of the extension, areas in Elmhurst were accessible by subway.[22]

Later years

The station was originally named "Woodhaven Blvd–Slattery Plaza", after Slattery Plaza, the area where four main Queens thoroughfares (Eliot Avenue and Horace Harding, Woodhaven, and Queens Boulevards) intersected. The plaza, which no longer exists, featured several "mom-and-pop" small businesses.[23] The plaza and subway station were named after Colonel John R. Slattery, former New York City Board of Transportation chief engineer who died in 1932 while supervising the construction of the IND Eighth Avenue Line.[23] The construction of the LIE along the Horace Harding corridor in the 1950s resulted in the demolition of Slattery Plaza, although the name tablets retained the original name even after the plaza's demolition.[23][24]

Renovation

Queens Center Mall first opened in 1973,[25] but the name convention on subway maps was not in use until the mid-to-late 1980s.[lower-alpha 1] The station became dilapidated by the 1980s due to lack of maintenance over the years, and in 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.[26] The station was also heavily used, serving 15,000 passengers per weekday by 1993.[27]

In April 1991, the entrance at the north side of Queens Boulevard near an overpass of the Long Island Expressway was closed, along with fifteen other entrances across the subway system to reduce crime. In June 1992, subway riders held a protest rally, demanding the reopening of the entrance. In 1993, the Woodhaven Boulevard station began a three-year renovation project as part of a general refurbishment of seventy New York City Subway stations.[28] The refurbishment added a new token booth, new signage and platform edge strips, replaced platform tiles, staircase components, and lighting, and restored the station's restrooms. Four new turnstiles were added at the east end of the station, a new east-end staircase was added to the north side of Queens Boulevard and the west-end staircase was widened. A new public address system was added to the station, the west end token booth was moved closer to the turnstiles and turnstiles equipped for the Automated Fare Collection system were installed. The project was expected to be completed in September 1996.[27][29] After the renovation, the station retained the now out-of-date "Woodhaven Blvd–Slattery Plaza" name tablets.[24] In 2019, the MTA announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.[30]

Station layout
G Street level Exit/entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
P
Platform level		 Side platform
Southbound local ← toward Metropolitan Avenue weekdays (Grand Avenue–Newtown)
← toward 95th Street (Grand Avenue–Newtown)
← toward World Trade Center late nights (Grand Avenue–Newtown)
Southbound express ← do not stop here
Northbound express → do not stop here →
Northbound local → toward 71st Avenue weekdays (63rd Drive–Rego Park) →
→ toward 71st Avenue (63rd Drive–Rego Park) →
→ toward Jamaica Center late nights (63rd Drive–Rego Park) →
Side platform

Built as a local station, the station was constructed with bellmouth provisions to allow conversion into an express station. A close observation of both ends of this station reveals that the tunnel wall extends outward to allow space for the two side platforms to be replaced with island platforms, with the local tracks taking the side platforms' place.[31] The station would have accommodated a major system expansion, with additional service coming from the Roosevelt Avenue Terminal station and the former LIRR Rockaway Line.[32][33] Requests to convert the station were also put forward by the local community shortly after the station opened, due to heavy bus traffic feeding into the station and overcrowding at the Roosevelt Avenue express stop.[34][35]

The name tablets on this station still retain the original name of Woodhaven Boulevard–Slattery Plaza.[24] The tilework in this station consists of blue bands with a black border,[36] similar to the tilework found at the Elmhurst Avenue stop, two stations west.[37]

One of the "orphaned" station entrances, at the southeast corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and Queens Boulevard.

The station's full-length mezzanine allows crossover from any of the station's four staircases from each platform, with a total of eight staircases from the mezzanine to platform level. There is no direct indoor access to the Queens Center Mall's entrance at the northwest corner of Queens Boulevard and 59th Avenue from the mezzanine.[38]

The 1996 artwork here is called In Memory of The Lost Battalion by Pablo Tauler. It uses nine support beams in the station's mezzanine wrapped in different materials— including glass, iron, and stainless steel—to honor the soldiers who served in the 77th Infantry Division during World War I.[39][40]

Exits

The full-time side at the west end of the mezzanine has three street stairs. One leads to the northeast corner of Queens Boulevard and 59th Avenue, the closest to the mall. The other two staircases are through a long passageway to both southern corners of Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard, acting as a pedestrian underpass outside of fare control.[38][41] These staircases date back to the station's original opening.[16] There is an entrance to the southeast corner of Woodhaven and Queens Boulevards that, as a result of the construction of the Long Island Expressway in the mid-1950s, leads only to two entrance ramps to the expressway, with no continuous sidewalk leading to the entrance.[41][42]

The part-time portion at the former Horace Harding Boulevard on the east end has a closed and removed booth and one street stair to the north side of Queens Boulevard at 92nd Street. This entrance abuts two expressway ramps and leads to the former Horace Harding Boulevard, now replaced by the LIE exit ramp.[38][41][42] This exit still has a directional mosaic pointing to it, listing the exit as 60th Avenue and 92nd Street on the north side of Queens Boulevard.[42] The construction of the Long Island Expressway removed this intersection.[38][41] This is also a staircase that dates to the station's opening.[16]

There is a closed exit to the south side of Queens Boulevard underneath the Long Island Expressway, between the ramp to the eastbound expressway and Eliot Avenue. It is covered with a trapdoor.[42]

Bus service
Q53 Limited Bus via Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards prior to its 2017 conversion to a Select Bus Service route.

The station and the nearby Queens Center Mall are served by nine local MTA Regional Bus Operations routes and two express bus routes. Three of the four Woodhaven Boulevard bus lines (Q11, Q21, Q52 SBS) terminate at the station, with the Q53 SBS bus continuing westward towards the Woodside – 61st Street Station. Except for the Q88, Rego Park-bound Q59, Jamaica-bound Q60, and Corona-bound Q38, all northbound buses stop at the mall entrance, while all southbound buses as well as the QM10 and QM11 express buses stop at Hoffman Drive adjacent to Hoffman Park. The Q88 terminates at 92nd Street, in between the two halves of the mall.[38][43]

Route Stop location North/West Terminal[43] South/East Terminal[43] via[43] notes[43]
Local Bus Routes
Q11
 Queens Boulevard (northbound); Hoffman Drive (southbound) Woodhaven Boulevard Old Howard Beach or Hamilton Beach Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards
Q21
 Howard Beach Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards, 155th Avenue, 157th Avenue
Q29
 Jackson Heights (82nd Street Station) Glendale (81st Street and Myrtle Avenue) 90th/92nd Streets, Dry Harbor Road, 80th Street Some AM rush northbound service terminates here.
59th Avenue; Hoffman Drive Corona (60th Avenue and Otis Avenue) Rego Park (62nd Drive and 108th Street) Eliot Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, Penelope Avenue, 63rd Drive Via Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue Station
Q52
 Queens Boulevard (northbound); Hoffman Drive (southbound) Woodhaven Boulevard Arverne Q53 trips: Broadway and Queens Boulevard
All trips: Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards, Rockaway Beach Boulevard		 Select Bus Service
Q53
 Woodside (61st Street Station) Rockaway Park (Beach 116th Street Station)
Queens Boulevard Williamsburg, Brooklyn Rego Park (63rd Drive Station) Grand Street and Grand Avenue, Queens Boulevard
East Midtown, Manhattan South Jamaica Queensboro Bridge, Queens Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard
Q88
 92nd Street and 59th Avenue 92nd Street Queens Village (Queens Village LIRR Station) Horace Harding Expressway, 188th Street, 73rd Avenue, Springfield Boulevard
Express Bus Routes
QM10
 Woodhaven Boulevard (near Hoffman Drive) Midtown Manhattan Rego Park / Elmhurst Loop (Drop-off Only) 3rd or 6th Avenue
QM11
 Downtown Manhattan Downtown Loop

Notes
  1. According to scans of 1980s subway maps:
    • "1983 Subway Map". New York City Transit Authority. 1983. Retrieved July 10, 2016. Woodhaven Blvd–Slattery Plaza
    • "1987 Subway Map". New York City Transit Authority. 1987. Retrieved July 10, 2016. Woodhaven Blvd–Queens Center
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References
  1. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  2. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. More Subway Stations in Manhattan, Bronx in Line to Get Online, mta.info (March 25, 2015). "The first two phases included stations in Midtown Manhattan and all underground stations in Queens with the exception of the 7 Main St terminal."
  4. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. See:
  6. "Queens Lauded as Best Boro By Chamber Chief". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 23, 1929. p. 40. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  7. "New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000" (PDF). The New York Times. March 21, 1925. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  8. "$17,146,500 Voted For New Subways; Estimate Board Appropriates More Than $9,000,000 for Lines in Brooklyn. $6,490,000 For The Bronx Smaller Items for Incidental Work --Approves the Proposed Queens Boulevard Route". The New York Times. October 5, 1928. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  9. Hirshon, Nicholas; Romano, Foreword by Ray (January 1, 2013). Forest Hills. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-9785-0.
  10. "Two Subway Links Opened In Queens" (PDF). The New York Times. August 19, 1933. p. 13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  11. "Unfinished Sections of Subway Lines To Be Completed" (PDF). The New York Sun. December 13, 1933. p. 47. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  12. "Trains Testing Jamaica Link Of City Subway". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 10, 1937. p. 3. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  13. "Test Trains Running In Queens Subway; Switch and Signal Equipment of New Independent Line Is Being Checked". The New York Times. December 20, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  14. Neufeld, Ernest (August 23, 1936). "Men Toil Under Earth to Build Subway" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. p. 2 (Section 2). Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  15. See:
  16. "PLANS ARE CHANGED FOR QUEENS SUBWAY: Traffic Crossings at Nassau and Woodhaven Boulevards Altered to Avoid Congestion. VIADUCT PROJECT DROPPED Main Driveway to Be Depressed, Side Routes to Be at Grade-- New Bids Due Soon. How Plans Were Changed. Elimination Plans Received". The New York Times. June 22, 1930. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  17. "New Retail Area In Queens Borough; Sees Roosevelt Avenue Subway Station as Great Shopping Centre. Advantages Pointed Out Accessibility to Many Home Communities Assures Potential Market". The New York Times. July 9, 1933. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  18. "Notice to Passengers: Extension of Service Beginning at 7 o'clock in the morning of Thursday, December 31, 1936". Flickr. New York City Board of Transportation. 1936. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  19. "PWA Party Views New Subway Link: Queens Section to Be Opened Tomorrow Is Inspected by Tuttle and Others" (PDF). The New York Times. December 30, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  20. "City Subway Opens Queens Link Today; Extension Brings Kew Gardens Within 36 Minutes of 42d St. on Frequent Trains". The New York Times. December 31, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  21. "Opening Moved Up For New Subway; Traffic to Be Started on the Extension of City's Line to Kew Gardens on Thursday. Eight Stations Are Added La Guardia and Official Party Will Inspect New Queens Branch on Wednesday". The New York Times. December 26, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  22. "New Retail Area In Queens Borough; Sees Roosevelt Avenue Subway Station as Great Shopping Centre. Advantages Pointed Out Accessibility to Many Home Communities Assures Potential Market". The New York Times. July 9, 1933. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  23. Wilkinson, Christina; Walsh, Kevin (March 5, 2006). "REGO PARK, Queens". Forgotten NY. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  24. For more information on the current tablets that state "Woodhaven Blvd–Slattery Plaza", see the following sources:
  25. Siwolop, Sana (March 3, 2004). "Commercial Real estate: Regional MarketT – Queens; Renovations And Renewal For a Mall". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2016. Built in 1973
  26. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  27. Hernandez, Raymond (November 21, 1993). "Neighborhood Report: Elmhurst/East Elmhurst; An Offer of Help for the Tired Woodhaven Blvd. Station". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  28. Leahy, Jack (June 22, 1992). "Straphangers to rally for access: Riders want Woodhaven entrance open". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  29. "The New Woodhaven Blvd Station Woodhaven Blvd station Built in the 30s Renewed for the 90s". New York City Transit. 1993. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Flickr.
  30. "Press Release - MTA Headquarters - MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  31. "The Express Stop That Never Was". ltvsquad.com. LTV Squad. June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  32. Kihss, Peter (April 13, 1967). "3 Routes Proposed to Aid Growing Queens Areas" (PDF). nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  33. "Adding City Transit Line to Rockaways Is Chamber '47 Goal". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 2, 1947. p. 4. Retrieved October 10, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. "Queens Bus Riders Join in Campaign For Station Shelters: Protection Is Sought At Slattery Place, Plus an Express Stop". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 15, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved October 10, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. "Express Station Plea Is Weighed". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 20, 1940. p. 8. Retrieved October 10, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. Cox, Jeremiah. "Woodhaven Blvd". The Subway Nut. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  37. "IND Queens Boulevard Line: Woodhaven Boulevard-Queens Mall". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  38. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Forest Hills" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  39. "MTA Arts & Design: Woodhaven Boulevard". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  40. Cook, Lauren. "NYC subway art you need to check out". am New York. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  42. Cox, Jeremiah. "Woodhaven Blvd (G,R,V)". The SubwayNut. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  43. "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
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