Avenue M station

The Avenue M station (formerly South Greenfield,^[3][4] Elm Avenue^[5]), is a local station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway. It is located in Midwood, Brooklyn, at Avenue M between East 15th and East 16th Streets. The station is served by the Q train at all times.^[6]

Avenue M
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View from southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Avenue M & East 16th Street Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Midwood
Coordinates	40.618269°N 73.95961°W / 40.618269; -73.95961
Division	B (BMT)[1]
Line	BMT Brighton Line
Services	Q  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B9
Structure	Embankment
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	1878; 146 years ago (1878)(BF&CI) 1908; 116 years ago (1908) (BRT)
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Elm Avenue, South Greenfield
Traffic
2023	1,211,324[2]  6.7%
Rank	255 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Avenue J toward 96th Street Local Kings Highway toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue does not stop here
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station King's Highway toward Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach Branch Manhattan Beach Junction Terminus
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Avenue J to Kings Highway
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

History

The station originated as the South Greenfield grade station of the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railroad (BF&CI). The line opened in 1878, and South Greenfield was one of the original stations. It also had a connection to the Long Island Rail Road Manhattan Beach Branch.^[7] Through a series of bankruptcies, buyouts, and mergers, the BF&CI became the Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad (B&BB, 1887), Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT, 1900), Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (BMT, 1923), New York City Rapid Transit (1940), New York City Transit Authority (1953), and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (1968). Through all the ownership and management changes, station name changes, and reconstruction of this portion of the line from grade to elevated embankment, the station was never shut, and has been in near-continuous operation for close to 150 years. However, the present structure was only built when the line was elevated onto the embankment, between 1903 and 1907. The station was later known as Elm Avenue.^[5]

This station underwent reconstruction from September 2009 to December 2011. Both of the station's platforms were rebuilt with new edges, windscreens, and canopies.^[8]

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward 96th Street (Avenue J)
	Northbound express	← does not stop here
	Southbound express	→ does not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Kings Highway) →
	Side platform
Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits, station building and agent, MetroCard and OMNY vending machines

A closed stairway across the street from the station's entrance

Situated on an elevated embankment, Avenue M station has two side platforms and four tracks. The side tracks provide the local service to this station, while the two center tracks, used by the B express train on weekdays, bypass the station.^[9] This layout, as well as many other station features, closely resemble many other local stations on the elevated portion of the line, especially the Avenue J station.

The 2011 artwork here is called Hare Apparent by Rita MacDonald. It is installed on the walls of the Coney Island-bound platform's staircase and consists ceramic tiling and glass mosaic depicting various species of birds and rabbits.

Exits

The station house is a brick building underneath the tracks. The entrance to the station house is in line with the storefronts of the south side of Avenue M. There is access from the north side of Avenue M to the Manhattan-bound platform, and although there is a stairway on the Coney Island-bound platform leading to the north side of the street, it is closed.^[10]

The Coney Island-bound platform has a double wide staircase going down to the station house while the Manhattan-bound platform has a narrow staircase going down there and a bank of turnstiles leading to another staircase that goes down to the north side of Avenue M. The Coney Island-bound staircase's landing has two exit-only turnstiles leading directly to the street.^[10]

Nearby locations

Just west of the station, at Locust Avenue and East 14th Street, is the former location of American Vitagraph, a prolific movie studio that produced silent movies from the turn of the 20th century until 1925, when it was purchased by Warner Bros. A smokestack bearing "Vitagraph Co." can still be seen from the station.^[11]

Edward R. Murrow High School is located just to the northeast adjacent to the line.

References

1. "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
2. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
3. "The Little Station in the Woods".
4. Seymour, Jr. (State Engineer & Surveyor), Horatio (1879). Annual Report on the Railroads of New York (1878). Albany, NY: New York State / Charles van Benthuysen & Sons. p. 58.
5. District, New York (State) Public Service Commission First (January 1, 1921). Annual Report for the Year Ended ... The Commission.
6. "Q Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
7. Rand McNally Map of Brooklyn (1897)
8. "Press Release - NYC Transit - Temporary Loss of Brighton Line Express". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
9. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
10. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Midwood" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
11. Williams, Gregory Paul (2011). The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History. BL Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0977629923.

External links

Media related to Avenue M (BMT Brighton Line) at Wikimedia Commons

• nycsubway.org – BMT Brighton Line: Avenue M
• Station Reporter — Q Train
• The Subway Nut — Avenue M Pictures Archived 2019-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Avenue M entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View