Freeman Street station

Freeman Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Freeman Street & Southern Boulevard Bronx, New York
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Crotona Park East
Coordinates	40.83°N 73.892°W / 40.83; -73.892
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT White Plains Road Line
Services	2  (all times) ​   5  (all times except rush hours in the peak direction and late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: Bx19
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3
Other information
Opened	November 26, 1904; 120 years ago (1904-11-26) (3rd Ave. Line; Bergen Avenue By-pass) July 10, 1905; 119 years ago (1905-07-10) (White Plains Rd. Line)
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2023	822,237[2]  2.1%
Rank	327 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 174th Street 2  ​5  via East 180th Street Local Simpson Street 2  ​5  toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout to 174th Street to Simpson Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction

The Freeman Street station is a local station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Freeman Street and Southern Boulevard in the Crotona Park East neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 2 train at all times, and the 5 train at all times except late nights and rush hours in the peak direction.

History

Early history

The first contract for the construction of a subway in New York, Contract 1, was executed on February 21, 1900, between the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners and the Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont, for the construction of the subway and a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. Contract 1 called for the construction of a line from City Hall north to Kingsbridge and a branch under Lenox Avenue and to Bronx Park.^[3] The initial segment of the IRT White Plains Road Line opened on November 26, 1904 between 180th Street–Bronx Park and Jackson Avenue. Initially, trains on the line were served by elevated trains from the IRT Second Avenue Line and the IRT Third Avenue Line. Once the connection to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line opened on July 10, 1905, trains from the newly opened IRT subway ran via the line.^[4][5][6]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[7]: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $49.1 million in 2023) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.4 million in 2023) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[8]: 15 The northbound platform at the Freeman Street station was extended 50 feet (15 m) to the front and 40 feet (12 m) to the rear,^[8]: 114 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[8]: 106 On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the White Plains Road Line.^{[7]: 168 [9]}

On December 29, 1914, the PSC approved a resolution approving a plan to construct an additional stairway to the station at the northeast corner of Southern Boulevard and Freeman Street. Work started on August 20, 1915, and was completed on October 29, 1915.^[10][11]

The New York City Board of Estimate approved a contract to construct a signal tower at the station's northern end on October 18, 1928.^[12]

Station renovations

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[13][14] The New York State Transit Commission announced plans to extend the southbound platforms at seven stations on the line from Jackson Avenue to 177th Street to accommodate ten-car trains for $81,900 on August 8, 1934. The platform at Freeman Street would be lengthened from 350 feet (110 m) to 505 feet (154 m).^[15]

Up until 1946, a limited number of rush-hour northbound trains on the Second and Third Avenue Lines terminated at this station, relaying north of it to turn around for southbound service.^[16]: 121 The Bergen Avenue cutoff, which allowed Third Avenue trains to access the White Plains Road Line, was abandoned on November 5, 1946, as part of the gradual curtailment of elevated service on the IRT Third Avenue Line.^[5] On June 13, 1949, the platform extensions at this station, as well as those on White Plains Road Line stations between Jackson Avenue and 177th Street, opened. The platforms were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow full ten-car express trains to open their doors. Previously, the stations could only platform six-car local trains.^[17]

The station was renovated between July and October 2004.^[18][19] The interlocking north of the station and the tower controlling it were both removed in March 2004 when the line was re-signaled to B Division specifications.^[16]: 3

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Wakefield–241st Street (174th Street) ← toward Eastchester–Dyre Avenue (174th Street)
	Peak-direction express	← PM rush does not stop here ← AM rush does not stop here →
	Southbound local	← toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Seventh (Simpson Street) → ← toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Lexington weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (Simpson Street) →
	Side platform
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance

Northern street stair

This elevated station has three tracks and two side platforms.^[20] The center express track is used by the 5 train during rush hours in the peak direction.^[21]

As with other original IRT elevated viaducts, the elevated structure at Freeman Street is carried on two column bents, one on each side of the road, at places where the tracks are no more than 29 feet (8.8 m) above the ground level. There is zigzag lateral bracing at intervals of every four panels.^[22]

The 2007 artwork at this station, The El, was designed by the artist Daniel Hauben and commissioned through the MTA Arts & Design program. It consists of four faceted-glass windbreaks and two niche windows, depicting the roadway and the elevated tracks above, which recede in the background.^[23][24] According to the artist, the artwork is designed to convey a "feeling of both great depth and the sprawling vastness of the city".^[24]

Exits

The station has heaters, as well as a wooden mezzanine, floor, and open old booth similar to the one at Simpson Street. Exits lead to all corners of Freeman Street and Southern Boulevard.^[25]

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. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917. New York City: The Law Printing Company. pp. 139–161. OCLC 03638541.
4. "Discuss Subway Signs in 18th St. Station" (PDF). The New York Times. November 27, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020.
5. Kahn, Alan Paul (January 1, 1973). Tracks of New York /. New York : Electric Railroaders' Association.
6. "Subway Trains Running From Bronx to Battery" (PDF). The New York Times. July 10, 1905. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
7. Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
8. Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910. Public Service Commission. 1911. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
9. "Ten-car Trains in Subway to-day; New Service Begins on Lenox Av. Line and Will Be Extended to Broadway To-morrow". The New York Times. January 23, 1911. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
10. Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For the Year Ending December 31, 1916 Vol. I. New York State Public Service Commission. 1917. p. 318.
11. 1914-1915 Annual Report of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company for the Year Ended June 30, 1915. Interborough Rapid Transit Company. 1915. p. 14. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
12. Proceedings. New York City Board of Transportation. 1928. p. 1625.
13. "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
14. "Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
15. "I.R.T. To Extend Stations. Platform Changes to Be Made on White Plains Line". The New York Times. August 9, 1934. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
16. Dougherty, Peter (2020). Tracks of the New York City Subway 2020 (16th ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 1056711733.
17. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
18. Erlitz, Jeffrey (August 2004). "Tech Talk" (PDF). The Bulletin. Vol. 47, no. 8. New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. p. 6. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
19. "Transit update". Newsday. October 11, 2004. p. 14. Retrieved June 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
20. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
21. "5 Subway Timetable, Effective December 15, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
22. Transit Journal. 1904. p. 470. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain..
23. "Freeman Street and Southern Boulevard; Daniel Hauben". Lehman College. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
24. "Freeman Street - Daniel Hauben - The El, 2007". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
25. "Freeman Street Neighborhood Map" (PDF). new.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT White Plains Road Line: Freeman Street