By Joseph Morales

      The Jamaica Line(J, Z trains) is a critical transportation asset in Brooklyn and Queens, connecting parts of Southern Queens and Northern Brooklyn with Lower Manhattan, serving thousands of riders daily.

             Most of the line is elevated except the two stations(Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport and Jamaica Center Parsons/Archer) and its eastern terminus. Much of this elevated portion runs above Jamaica Ave between the Cypress Hills station in Brooklyn and the 121st Street station in Queens. Most stations along this portion of the line were opened between 1917 and 1918 except for Cypress Hills, which opened in 1893 as it was originally constructed under the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad’s extension of its Lexington Avenue Line. In contrast, the other stations in Queens were opened by a separate company known as the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad. During this era, all subway lines were run by private companies with their own fare payment systems.

              Given the age of the stations, one would predict that the stations need regular upkeep and possibly renovations to provide quality service to subway riders. The MTA realizes this and is part of why they are committing to several station improvement projects along the line as part of their 2020-24 capital program. 

               The most notable project at all the stations in question is station renewal. Originally a part of the MTA’s 2015-19 capital plan, station renewal will include repairing any structural defects in the stations and improving architecture treatments. Work at the Woodhaven Blvd station is being contractually combined with a project to add elevators to the station to make it ADA-accessible.MTA Government Relations representative Lucille Songhai at a Queens Community Board 9 hearing in February 2023, said that work at the 75th St-Elderts Ln and 85th St-Forest Pkwy stations would include “upgraded communications systems, improved lighting conditions, and upgraded plumbing systems.” All of the items stated are critical to ensuring safe and reliable subway services to all stations in the city. In particular, communications systems are critical to ensuring that subway trains run on time, and various types of communications systems make the subway system operate quickly, reliably, and safely. These systems are crucial for everything from signaling to communication during all types of emergencies.

              When I visited the 75th St-Elderts Ln station on Sunday, March 26th, 2023, the only visible feature I noticed that might be bettered through the project was peeled paint in certain areas. However, it is worth noting that while riders may not be able to see many of the changes, they will impact the reliability of the station and their subway rider over time especially given the age of the stations and the systems that keep them up and running.

                         At 75th St-Elderts Ln and 85th St-Forest Pkwy in particular, platforms are or will be completely renovated to address issues also pertinent to station renewal as well as to “strengthen and extend the lifespan of the stations in the next 25 years” according to Danielle Verdecchia, a project manager for the contractor Gramercy PJS JV who is working on the project. Other important tasks will be done, such as decreasing the gaps between the platforms and trains, improving lighting, replacing staircases, adding detectable warning strips to platform edges, and more, according to an article from QNS.com. 

                       

   The work is currently being done on the Queens-bound platform at 75th St-Elderts Ln, which is closed through August 2023. Work will begin on the Brooklyn-Manhattan-bound platform in the late summer, on the Queens-bound platform of 85th St-Forest Pkwy in the late winter of 2024, and in the summer of 2024 at the westbound platform.

                           Passengers typically using the 75th St-Elderts Ln station could use the nearby Cypress Hills or 85th St-Forest Pkwy stations, which are a 6-8 min walk from 75th St-Elderts Ln, respectively. Riders could also take an 8-9 min walk to the 75th St-Elderts Ln or Woodhaven Blvd stations or take a train to Woodhaven Blvd and then back to access their station. The Q56 bus is also an option for anyone attempting to make a local trip along Jamaica Ave, underneath the train. 

                          At the community board meeting where the platform renovations were announced, a board member raised concerns about where the MTA would store equipment given the frequent illegal parking and congestion issues along Jamaica Ave, according to QNS.com. MTA Government Relations representative Lucille Songhai said that the MTA had spoken to the business owners about the process and that the agency had placed barricades and informed businesses where motorists could park.

                          On my visit to the 75th St-Elderts Ln station, I saw the curbside areas where the MTA stored equipment, which is pretty sizable in length. It will be interesting to see how construction affects businesses over by the 85th St-Forest Pkwy station as the surrounding area has substantially more commercial density than the station area surrounding the 75th St-Elderts Ln station. 

In addition, the MTA has conducted a ReNEWvation at the 104th St Station to improve the cleanliness and overall atmosphere for riders. When I visited the station on March 26th, 2023, the station appeared to have an overall clean atmosphere.  Also, the MTA will conduct work to improve platform edges at the 104th and 121st St Stations. While the platform edges did seem perfectly intact on my visit, it is possible that the MTA wants to improve the structural or physical integrity of the platform edges.

                          While some of this work may lead to service disruptions, these projects will ensure that stations along the Jamaica Line can reliably serve riders for years to come.

Works Cited

Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “MTA Capital Program Dashboard 2020-24.” MTA, 2022, http://web.mta.info/capitaldashboard/CPDPlan.html?PLN=8&AGY=a. Accessed 9 April 2023.

Mohamed, Carlotta. “MTA to begin renovations at 75th Street station platform in Woodhaven – QNS.com.” QNS, 21 February 2023, https://qns.com/2023/02/mta-renovation-woodhaven-station-platform/. Accessed 9 April 2023.

Perry, Brianna. “The MTA Will ‘Deep Clean’ & Renovate 20+ New York City Subway Stations.” Secret NYC, 22 March 2023, https://secretnyc.co/nyc-subway-station-renovation/. Accessed 9 April 2023.