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Bowery ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Station statistics
Address	Bowery & Delancey Street New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Lower East Side, Little Italy
Coordinates	40°43′13″N 73°59′39″W / 40.720299°N 73.994079°W / 40.720299; -73.994079
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Nassau Street Line
Services	J  (all times) ​   Z  (rush hours, peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M103
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms (1 in regular service)
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service; 1 not in regular service; 1 removed)
Other information
Opened	August 4, 1913; 111 years ago (1913-08-04)
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	887,619  18.7%
Rank	311 out of 423
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Canal StreetJ  ​Z toward Broad Street Essex StreetJ  ​Z toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer
Location Show map of New York City SubwayShow map of New York CityShow map of New York
Track layout Legend to Essex Street to Canal Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops weekday evenings only

The Bowery station is a station on the BMT Nassau Street Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Bowery and Delancey Street in the Lower East Side and Little Italy neighborhoods, it is served by the J train at all times and the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction.

History

Construction contracts for the Nassau Street main line in Manhattan were awarded in early 1907, despite no determination of the operator once completed. The line was assigned to a proposed Tri-borough system in early 1908 and to the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) in the Dual Contracts, adopted on March 4, 1913. Construction of this underground station began in August 1907 and was almost completed by the end of 1910. However, the BMT Nassau Street Line to the south did not open until August 4, 1913, when Chambers Street was ready for service, and the Centre Street Loop was opened.

The station's platforms originally could only fit six 67-foot-long (20 m) cars. In April 1926, the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) received bids for the lengthening of platforms at three stations on the Centre Street Loop, including the Bowery station, to accommodate eight-car trains. The New York City Board of Estimate approved funds for the project in July 1926, and the extensions were completed in 1927, bringing the length of the platforms to 535 feet (163 m).

This station was originally configured like a typical express station with two island platforms and four tracks; express service ran on the inner tracks and local service on the outer tracks. When it was built, the station was an important connection point for elevated and streetcar lines. With those lines long gone, a four-track station was no longer considered necessary.

As part of its 2000-2004 Capital Program, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reconfigured the Nassau Street Line between Canal Street and Essex Street. Northbound trains were rerouted via the second track from the west, and the former northbound platforms at Canal Street and Bowery were closed. The second track from the east was removed. Work on the project started in 2001. This change took effect on September 20, 2004. The reconfiguration provided additional operational flexibility by adding a third through track (previously, the two center tracks stub-ended at Canal Street), which was equipped with reverse signaling. The consolidation of the Bowery and Canal Street stations was intended to enhance customer security while consolidating passengers onto what used to be the southbound platforms. The project was completed in May 2005, seven months behind its scheduled completion. The project cost $36 million.

The closed platform has been used for fashion shows, a police terrorism drill, and for dozens of movie and television shoots yearly.

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent
Platform level	Westbound	← toward Broad Street (Canal Street) ← AM rush toward Broad Street (Canal Street)
	Island platform
	Eastbound (former westbound)	→ toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Essex Street) → → PM rush toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Essex Street) →
	Former eastbound	→ Trackbed
	Island platform, not in service
	Former eastbound	→ No regular service

The station has three tracks and two island platforms, but only the northern island platform is accessible to passengers. The fourth track, the former northbound express on the abandoned side, was removed in the 2004 renovations.

The J and Z trains serve the Bowery station; the former operates all times, and the latter operates during rush hours in the peak direction. The next stop to the west is Canal Street, while the next stop to the east is Essex Street.

Mosaics include the name tablet, "B," "newsstand," "Women," and "Men" in raised letters. A unique feature of the station is the arched wall niches at the north end, rather than the standard rectangular niches. The station featured a news-stand and restrooms, all of which have long been closed.

The station has two mezzanine areas on each side of Bowery. Only the eastern mezzanine is open today; the western mezzanine has long been closed, and stairways to it are blocked. The eastern mezzanine is reached via three flights of stairs or a single escalator from the open platform.

Provisions

The east end of the station has a high ceiling; this was to allow for a proposed subway line to pass through it. This section had an opening in the wall separating both platforms to bracket the new line, but has been covered with plywood. At the curve between Bowery and Canal Street, there is a small provision for a line into Spring Street, for which no definite plan was ever provided. Due to the depth, there were escalators that were provided in the original construction, one on each platform running to the east mezzanine. The escalator on the south platform was either not installed or removed long ago.

Exits

Two exits go from the east mezzanine to either eastern corner of Delancey Street and Bowery. These are the only open entrances to the station. The original exit from the east mezzanine led to the median of Delancey Street just east of Bowery; it has since been demolished and sealed.

In addition to the open exits, there are two exits from the closed west mezzanine that go to either western corner of Kenmare Street and Bowery from inside buildings. The exit to the northwestern corner was completely destroyed, while the exit to the southwestern corner was partly repurposed; part of the southwestern exit remains under MTA property as an emergency exit. It is located immediately to the east of the 10 Kenmare Street storefront, behind a red door.

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. ^ The New York Times, Passenger Killed on Loop's First Day Archived 2013-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, August 5, 1913, page 2
3. ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
4. James Blaine Walker, Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864–1917, published 1918, pp. 203–239
5. Engineering News, A New Subway Line for New York City Archived 2012-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, Volume 63, No. 10, March 10, 1910
6. "To Lengthen Subway Stations". The New York Times. April 11, 1926. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
7. "Broadway Merchants Get Transit Report". The Standard Union. July 22, 1926. p. 4. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "B.M.T. to Operate Eight-car Trains; Platforms in Forty Stations Are Lengthened, Increasing Capacity 33 1-3%". The New York Times. August 2, 1927. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
9. "B. M, T. Station Lengthening Is Nearly Finished: 76 Platforms Are Extended 3,186 Feet to Make Room for 126.000 Additional Passengers in Rush Hours City Carried Out Work I.R.T. Changes Planned, but That Company Refuses to Pay Its Share of Costs". New-York Tribune. August 2, 1927. p. 32. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1113704092.
10. Joseph Brennan, Abandoned Stations: Canal St platform Archived 2021-02-10 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 18, 2007
11. Peter Dougherty, Tracks of the New York City Subway, Centennial Commemorative Edition 3.7a, 2004, page 65
12. Update, the MTA Plan for 2000–2004: Strategic Business Plan, Agency 2001 Operating Budgets, Financial Plan. The Authority. 2000. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
13. Committee, New York City Transit Authority Transit (2006). Transit Committee Meeting. MTA New York City Transit Committee. pp. 95, 96. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
14. "Capital Program 2000–2004 MTA New York City Transit". mta.info. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
15. ^ Fleming, Kirsten (April 6, 2021). "This abandoned subway station is Hollywood's best-kept secret film set". New York Post. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
16. "J/Z Subway Timetable, Effective December 15, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
17. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
18. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Lower East Side" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
19. "Bowery". Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.

External links

• Media related to Bowery (BMT Nassau Street Line) at Wikimedia Commons
• nycsubway.org – BMT Nassau Street Line: Bowery
• Station Reporter — J Train
• Bowery entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View
• Abandoned Stations - Bowery

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by service
Nassau Street Local	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport 121st Street 111th Street 104th Street Woodhaven Boulevard 85th Street–Forest Parkway 75th Street–Elderts Lane Cypress Hills Crescent Street Norwood Avenue Cleveland Street Van Siclen Avenue Alabama Avenue Broadway Junction Chauncey Street Halsey Street Gates Avenue Kosciuszko Street Myrtle Avenue Flushing Avenue Lorimer Street Hewes Street Marcy Avenue Essex Street Bowery Canal Street Chambers Street Fulton Street Broad Street
Nassau Street Express	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport 121st Street 104th Street Woodhaven Boulevard 75th Street–Elderts Lane Crescent Street Norwood Avenue Van Siclen Avenue Alabama Avenue Broadway Junction Chauncey Street Gates Avenue Myrtle Avenue Marcy Avenue Essex Street Bowery Canal Street Chambers Street Fulton Street Broad Street
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by line (physical trackage)
Nassau St. Line ​	[← to Marcy Avenue, Jamaica Line] Essex Street [to Broadway–Lafayette Street, Sixth Ave. Line via Chrystie Street Connection →] Bowery Canal Street Chambers Street Fulton Street Broad Street [to Court Street, Fourth Ave. Line via Montague Street Tunnel →]
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Stations and line segments in italics are closed, demolished, or planned (temporary closures are marked with asterisks). Track connections to other lines' terminals are displayed in brackets. Struck through passenger track connections are closed or unused in regular service.

• BMT Nassau Street Line stations
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1913
• Bowery
• Lower East Side
• 1913 establishments in New York City