Bay Ridge–95th Street station

The Bay Ridge–95th Street station (originally 95th Street–Fort Hamilton station) is the southern terminal station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Despite the name, the station is located in the neighborhood of Fort Hamilton (as its original name implied) at the intersection of 95th Street and Fourth Avenue in southwestern Brooklyn. It is served by the R train at all times. Geographically, this station is the westernmost New York City Subway station.

"95th Street station" redirects here. The term may also refer to the 95th/Dan Ryan terminal of the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line.

Bay Ridge–95 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Station platform
Station statistics
Address	95th Street & Fourth Avenue Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Fort Hamilton
Coordinates	40°36′58.2″N 74°1′52.4″W
Division	B (BMT)[1]
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	R  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B8, B63; B37 (on Third Avenue)[2]
Structure	Underground
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	October 31, 1925 (98 years ago) (1925-10-31)[3]
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; currently undergoing renovations for ADA access
Opposite- direction transfer	N/A
Former/other names	95th Street–Fort Hamilton
Traffic
2023	1,176,225[4]  15.2%
Rank	266 out of 423[4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 86th Street toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue Terminus
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 86th Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

The station was first planned in 1922 as the first part of an extension to Staten Island through a tunnel under the Narrows. Construction began on December 17, 1923, after the construction contractor submitted, withdrew, and resubmitted its bid. The station opened on October 31, 1925, but the Staten Island extension was never built due to various funding disputes. The platform was lengthened in the 1960s. A renovation is underway to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

History

A Forest Hills-bound R train leaving the station

Construction and opening

On August 25, 1922, the Transit Commission directed its chief engineer, Robert Ridgeway, to plan an extension of the Fourth Avenue Line from 87th Street to Fort Hamilton. Initially, multiple stations along the extension were considered. This extension was to be the first part of an extension to Staten Island through a tunnel under The Narrows.^[5] On September 12, 1922, a meeting was held by the Transit Commission to determine whether a stop at 91st Street should be included as part of the planned extension. Ultimately, no station was built at 91st Street.^[6] At the meeting it was decided that money for an additional station in between 86th Street and the new terminal at 95th Street would be better spent on an extensive terminal with entrances at 93rd, 94th, and 95th Streets.^[7] Other extensions were also planned in 1922: a branch of the line running via 86th Street to 18th Avenue to connect with the New Utrecht Line to Coney Island, Route 19, and the future subway under Tenth Avenue, as well as a branch of the line at 67th Street heading to Staten Island, Route 20.^[8]

On December 28, 1922, the Transit Commission announced that it had awarded the contract for the construction of a half-mile extension of the Fourth Avenue Line, Contract 11B,^[9] to T. A. Gillespie Company for $1.5 million (equivalent to $27 million in 2023). However, as the Board of Estimate failed to take action upon it, the contractor withdrew its bid on March 7, 1923.^[10] The Transit Commission blamed the Board of Estimate for delays in the awarding of the contract; the Commission said that the city would suffer a substantial loss due to increased construction costs, and because the contract that was given was "highly advantageous to the city."^[11] As part of Contract 11B, the extension was built with two tracks, with the exception of a short three-track stretch just north of the terminal at 95th Street.^[12] The extension was to be built with a provision to extend the line to Staten Island.^[13] As a result of a motion made by Commissioner LeRoy Harkness in front of the Transit Commission, the contract was set to be put back up for bid.^[14] On November 2, 1923, the Board of Estimate approved the contract for the line with T. A. Gillespie Company, the same contractor that had bid on the project earlier, but withdrew. The Transit Commission, due to the delay of the project, gave orders on November 3 to speed up the completion of the project.^[15] Construction began on December 17, 1923.^[16][17] The final extension to 95th Street, Route 18, opened on October 31, 1925,^[3][16] with the first train leaving at 2 p.m.^[3]

Platform extension and elevator installation

The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940.^[18][19] In the 1960s, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) started a project to lengthen station platforms on its lines in Southern Brooklyn from 530 feet (160 m)^[20] to 615 feet (187 m) to accommodate 10-car trains.^[21] On July 14, 1967, the NYCTA awarded a contract to conduct test borings at eleven stations on the Fourth Avenue Line, including 95th Street, to W. M. Walsh Corporation for $6,585 (equivalent to $60,172 in 2023) in preparation of the construction of platform extensions.^[22] The NYCTA issued an invitation for bids on the project to extend the platforms at stations along the Fourth Avenue Line between 45th Street and this station on May 3, 1968.^[23] However, work had already started on the platform extension project in February. The platform at 95th Street was extended by 85 feet (26 m) to the south.^[24]

As part of a plan to increase accessibility in the New York City Subway, during the early 1990s, the MTA proposed installing elevators at the Bay Ridge–95th Street station by 2010.^[25] The agency instead decided to make the 86th Street station accessible, as that station had transfers to more bus routes.^[26] In 2017, the MTA indicated that it was considering installing elevators at the 77th Street and 95th Street stations.^[27][26] Funding for elevators at the 95th Street station was included in the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[28] In December 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $146 million contract for the installation of eight elevators across four stations, including Bay Ridge–95th Street.^[29] The MTA began installing ADA upgrades to the station in 2023, including ramps to station entrances, two elevators, rebuilt staircases, and tactile platform edges.^[30][31]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Platform level	Track 2	← toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Whitehall Street–South Ferry late nights) (86th Street)
	Island platform
	Track 1	← toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Whitehall Street–South Ferry late nights) (86th Street)

This underground station has two tracks and one island platform.^[20] The R stops here at all times and is the route's southern terminus; the next station to the north is 86th Street.^[32][33] The tracks end at bumper blocks at the south end of the platform.^[34][35] North of this station, a center layup track forms just north of the diamond crossover, before ending at a bumper block just south of the 86th Street station.^[34]

The platform has yellow painted I-beam columns and alternate ones have "95 Street" signs on them.^[36] Both platform walls have their original mosaic trim line with name tablets reading "95TH STREET" along the entire station except for a small section at the north end, where the platform was extended in 1970.^[37] Here, the wall is bare black.^[38] The station was constructed with a signal tower and dispatcher's office.^[20]

Exits

Entrance at 95th Street and 4th Avenue

The station has two mezzanines above the platform and tracks. Mosaic directional signs indicate they were originally one full-length mezzanine.^[39][40] The closed-off sections are now used for employee-only spaces.^[40] The station's larger, full-time mezzanine is at the south end. It has two staircases from the platform, a turnstile bank,^[41] a token booth,^[42] and two restrooms.^[43][44] In addition, two staircases going up to either western corners of Fourth Avenue and 95th Street. A passageway leads to another staircase on the east side of the intersection, built inside an alcove of 9425 Fifth Avenue.^[45] The station's other mezzanine is unstaffed, containing one staircase from the platform,^[46] high entry/exit turnstiles,^[39] and two staircases going up to either southern corners of 93rd Street and Fourth Avenue.^[47] Additional exits were planned at 94th Street, but were never built.^[48]

Provisions for proposed extensions

Mosaic directional signs at the unstaffed mezzanine

The station is built on the west side of Fourth Avenue due to plans for a possible extension of the express tracks south of 59th Street.^[49] This station had been built mainly to facilitate the Staten Island Tunnel or the "Narrows Tunnel", which would have necessitated express service, although the tunnel was never constructed.^[50][51]

South of this station, there is a false wall at the end of the tracks for a planned extension to 100th or 101st Street^[52] and into the never-built Staten Island "Narrows Tunnel", connecting the BMT line with the Staten Island Railway (SIRT) Main Line near its Grasmere station. The station would have also connected with the now-defunct South Beach Branch by disconnecting it from the SIRT main line, with the BMT Fourth Avenue Subway taking over service from the SIRT's Fort Wadsworth station to the Wentworth Avenue terminal. At the time it would have been a very different line had this tunnel been built, with through BMT service from Queensboro Plaza to Wentworth Avenue in Staten Island stopping at this station before proceeding to Staten Island, since this station is also the closest point to Staten Island. There were also plans to construct an underground storage yard here. The SIRT had been electrified in preparation for the tunnel, and had purchased subway cars similar to the AB Standards of the BMT.^[53]

The tunnel plan was amended in 1919, moving its location north to Shore Road in Bay Ridge.^[54] A groundbreaking ceremony was held by New York City Mayor John Hylan on April 14, 1923 in Bay Ridge^[55][56] and in Staten Island on July 19.^[57][58] In 1925, however—the year bids from contractors were to be entertained by the city—the project was halted and the project's engineering staff laid off.^[57] Officially, the plan was delayed due to lack of funding,^[59][60] but Hylan and New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) Chairman John Delaney also wanted to secure freight service for the tunnel.^[57][61] These disagreements caused deadlocks between the parties involved.^[57]

Later proposals surfaced to connect the station to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges, which follows the route of the planned tunnel. The bridge was completed in 1964 without provisions for rail traffic.^[50][53][62]

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. "Brooklyn Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. "95th St. Subway Extension Opened At 2 P. M. Today". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 31, 1925. Retrieved June 29, 2015 – via newspapers.com .
4. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
5. "TO EXTEND SUBWAY TO FORT HAMILTON; Transit Commission Orders Plans for Lengthening the Fourth Avenue Line. WOULD AID STATEN ISLAND Ferry Service May Be Established Until Tunnel Route is Selected" (PDF). The New York Times. August 26, 1922. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
6. "SUBWAY HEARING TODAY.; Transit Board to Consider Pains for Line to Fort Hamilton" (PDF). The New York Times. September 12, 1922. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
7. "LOCATES EXTENSION STATION; Transit Board Decides on 93d-95th St., Brooklyn, Site" (PDF). The New York Times. September 13, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
8. The City Record: Official Journal. September 27, 1922. p. 6471.
9. "Public Notices". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 22, 1922. p. 18. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
10. "One Way To Get Transit". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 16, 1923. p. 6. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
11. "SUBWAY DELAY LAID TO ESTIMATE BOARD; Transit Commission Blames It for Failure to Push Fort Hamil- ton Line". The New York Times. March 8, 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
12. "$1,485,151 Bid Wins Contract To Build Ft. Hamilton Tube". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 28, 1922. p. 19. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
13. "THREE RAPID TRANSIT CONTRACTS ARE LET; They Cover Ft. Hamilton Extension, 14th St.-Eastern Workand 168th St. Elevators" (PDF). The New York Times. December 29, 1922. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
14. "To Ask New Subway Bids". The New York Times. September 14, 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
15. "TO RUSH SUBWAY WORK.; Contractor Ready to Begin Work on Fourth Avenue Extension". The New York Times. November 4, 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
16. "OPEN SUBWAY LINE TO FORT HAMILTON; Fourth Avenue Extension Put in Service After Wait of Four Years. HALF-MILE COST $2,000.000 Completion Gives Residents Through Trip Without Recourse to Trolley Cars". The New York Times. November 1, 1925. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
17. Rogoff, David (May 1961). "New York Division ERA Bulletin May 1961". Google Docs. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
18. "B.M.T. Lines Pass to City Ownership; $175,000,000 Deal Completed at City Hall Ceremony-- Mayor 'Motorman No. 1'". The New York Times. June 2, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
19. "City Takes Over B. M. T. System; Mayor Skippers Midnight Train". New York Herald Tribune. June 2, 1940. p. 1. ProQuest 1243059209.
20. "Subway Bids Announced: For 95th Street Terminal, Brooklyn, and Corona Yard" (PDF). The New York Times. March 1, 1925. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
21. New York City Transit Authority Annual Report For The Year June 30, 1960. New York City Transit Authority. 1960. pp. 16–17.
22. Minutes and Proceedings. New York City Transit Authority. 1967. pp. 379–380.
23. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill. 1968. p. 75.
24. Rogoff, Dave (February 1969). "BMT Broadway Subway Platform Extensions" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. 12 (1). Electric Railroaders' Association: 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
25. Sachar, Emily (July 16, 1993). "Long Wait". Newsday. p. 2. ISSN 2574-5298. ProQuest 278657263.
26. "Will Bay Ridge Subway Stations Ever Have Elevators?". Hey Ridge. October 30, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
27. "New & Improved Bay Ridge Subway Station Still Excludes Disabled New Yorkers". Gothamist. October 14, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
28. Duggan, Kevin (September 25, 2019). "MTA to make 21 Brooklyn subway stations wheelchair-accessible in five-year plan". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
29. "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting December 2022". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 19, 2022. pp. 107–109. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
30. Camille, Jada (June 1, 2023). "Long requested upgrades coming to Bay Ridge subway station". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
31. DeJesus, Jaime (July 5, 2023). "Elevators going up at 95th Street station". The Brooklyn Home Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
32. "R Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
33. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
34. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
35. Rosenfeld, Robbie (October 15, 2017). "View of the bumper blocks at the south end of the station". nycsubway.org. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
36. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "Looking down the single, narrow island platform at 95 Street-Bay Ridge". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
37. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A close-up of 95 Street written in mosaic into the mosaic trim". subwaynut.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
38. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A R46 R train enters 95th Street, approaching the one part of the platform wall that is untiled". subwaynut.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
39. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A High Entrance/Exit and a High Exit Turnstile lead out to the exit to 93 Streets". subwaynut.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
40. Rosenfeld, Robbie (October 15, 2017). "View of mosaic tiling indicating that the station used to have a full-length mezzanine". nycsubway.org. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
41. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "The turnstiles and decently sized mezzanine from the 95 Street entrance". subwaynut.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
42. Rosenfeld, Robbie (October 15, 2017). "View of the 95th Street mezzanine". nycsubway.org. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
43. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "The mosaic Men sign and open men's room on the mezzanine level at 95 Street". subwaynut.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
44. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "The Women's room on the mezzanine level at 95 Street, whose sign says it should be open is locked tight". subwaynut.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
45. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "An unusual subway entrance to 95 Street with an old mosaic sign leading to a now closed shoes repaired while you wait". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
46. Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "Approaching the single staircase right at the most northern of the platform at 95 Street to the unstaffed exit to 93 Streets". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
47. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Bay Ridge" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
48. "Locates Extension Station: Transit Board Decides on 93d-95th St,. Brooklyn, Site" (PDF). The New York Times. September 13, 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
49. "Brooklyn Subway Extension Plan: Fourth Ave. Line to 86th St., Tunnel to Staten Island, and Eventually a Through Route to Coney Island" (PDF). The New York Times. February 16, 1912. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
50. "To Extend Subway to Fort Hamilton" (PDF). The New York Times. August 26, 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
51. "Three Rapid Transit Contracts are Let" (PDF). The New York Times. December 29, 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
52. "Discuss Subway Work: Fort Hamilton Taxpayers Want 100th Street Extended" (PDF). The New York Times. September 24, 1911. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
53. Leigh, Irvin; Matus, Paul (January 2002). "State Island Rapid Transit: The Essential History". thethirdrail.net. The Third Rail Online. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
54. "To Act This Year on the Richmond Tube: Route Approved in 1912 Still Alive-May Soon Be Adopted Anew or Amended" (PDF). The New York Times. February 13, 1919. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
55. Niebuhr, Robert E. (November 27, 1964). "They Called The 1923 Narrows Tunnel: 'Hope And A Hole In The Ground'". brooklynrail.net. Home Reporter and Sunset News, Brooklyn Historic Railway Association. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
56. "Staten Island Tube Started by Hylan" (PDF). The New York Times. April 15, 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
57. Raskin, Joseph B. (2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. New York, New York: Fordham University Press. p. 148. doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823253692.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-82325-369-2.
58. "Hylan Swings Pick at Shaft Opening; Formally Starts Work at the Staten Island End of Narrows Tunnel" (PDF). The New York Times. July 20, 1923. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
59. Pitanza, Marc (2015). Staten Island Rapid Transit Images of Rail. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-2338-9.
60. Leigh, Irvin; Matus, Paul (January 2002). "Staten Island Rapid Transit: The Essential History". thethirdrail.net. The Third Rail Online. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
61. Young, James C. (May 10, 1925). "Staten Island Waits for Narrows Tunnel" (PDF). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
62. Martin, Douglas (November 17, 1996). "Subway Planners' Lofty Ambitions Are Buried as Dead-End Curiosities". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT 4th Avenue Line: 95th Street/Fort Hamilton
• Station Reporter — R Train
• The Subway Nut - Bay Ridge–95th Street Station Pictures Archived January 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• 95th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View