Rockaway Park

Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	Beach 116th Street between Rockaway Beach Boulevard & Newport Avenue Rockaway Park, NY 11694
Borough	Queens
Locale	Rockaway Park
Coordinates	40°34′51″N 73°50′10″W / 40.580725°N 73.836180°W / 40.580725; -73.836180Coordinates: 40°34′51″N 73°50′10″W / 40.580725°N 73.836180°W / 40.580725; -73.836180
Division	B (IND, formerly LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch)
Line	IND Rockaway Line
Services	A  (rush hours, peak direction)       S  (all times)
Connection	MTA Bus: Q21, Q22, Q53, QM16 (all on Rockaway Beach Boulevard) Q35 (on Newport Avenue)
Structure	At-grade
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	May 1882 as an LIRR station June 28, 1956 as a Subway Station
Accessible
Traffic
Passengers (2010)	268,625[1]  0.3%
Rank	413 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	Beach 105th Street: A  S
Next south	(Terminal): A  S
Next north	Howard Beach – JFK Airport: A
Next south	(none)
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street is the western terminal station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Beach 116th Street and Rockaway Park in Queens. It is served by the Rockaway Park Shuttle at all times and ten daily rush-hour only A trains.

History

The station was originally built in 1882 as a Long Island Rail Road station on the Rockaway Beach Branch, called Rockaway Beach Station, and contained a trolley stop for the Ocean Electric Railway, which eventually expanded their line further west to Belle Harbor and Neponsit. In 1899, the station was enlarged in order to accommodate the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company cars, and the name was changed to Rockaway Park Station.

In Spring 1917, a second station was built as a replacement for the former station, which was razed. After a 1950 fire at The Raunt destroyed the trestle across Jamaica Bay, the LIRR rerouted Rockaway Beach service along the Far Rockaway Branch, then abandoned the Rockaway Beach Branch. On October 3, 1955, the New York City Transit Authority acquired all stations and closed them to convert into subway stations. The current Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street opened on June 28, 1956, with all other stations on the Rockaway Line except Far Rockaway.

The station is at ground level. There are two tracks and an island platform. The track end at bumper blocks at the west (railroad south) end of the platform. On either side of the station are tracks leading to the Rockaway Park Yard. The station house is made of concrete with windows and plywood walls. It also houses a police precinct and has an entrance leading to an adjacent restaurant. An examination of the station house shows the former ticket windows, which were used when the line was part of the LIRR. Originally, terminal tracks with low-level platforms occupied the yard area during the LIRR years. The area of the current high-level platform was part of the LIRR depot yard.

Starting in May 2007, the station building, platform and yard area underwent renovation. The new station building was unveiled in early November 2007.

Gallery

• 

  Mezzanine and police precinct

• 

  Postcard, Ca 1917

References

1. ^ "Facts and Figures: 2010 Annual Subway Ridership". New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority. http://mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub_annual.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-18. 

External links

Media related to Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street (IND Rockaway Line) at Wikimedia Commons

• nycsubway.org — IND Rockaway: Rockaway Park/Beach 116th Street
• Station Reporter — Rockaway Park Shuttle
• Rockaway Park Station History (Arrt's Arrchives)
• The Subway Nut — Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street (IND Rockaway Line)
• Beach 116th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View