The Sheepshead Bay station is an express

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the

BMT Brighton Line The BMT Brighton Line, also known as the Brighton Beach Line, is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train, but is joined by the B express ...

of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

. It is located in the

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * '' Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central ...

neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. It is served by the Q train at all times and by the B train on weekdays.

History

On August 1, 1920, a tunnel under

Flatbush Avenue Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough (New York City), Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which ...

opened, connecting the Brighton Line to the Broadway subway in Manhattan. At the same time, the line's former track connections to the

Fulton Street Elevated The Fulton Street Line, also called the Fulton Street Elevated or Kings County Line, was an elevated rail line mostly in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It ran above Fulton Street from Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn, in Downtown Brooklyn east ...

were severed. Subway trains from Manhattan and elevated trains from Franklin Avenue served Brighton Line stations, sharing the line to

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

. In April 1931, as part of project to extend the station platforms, a new entrance opened at Voorhies Avenue. It was renovated by

New York City Transit The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. Pa ...

’s in-house maintenance-of-way forces in 1997-1998. In December 2008, a wooden pedestrian bridge was built above the express tracks that connected the two platforms near the north end of this station. This was for passengers wishing to transfer between directions during reconstruction of Avenue U and Neck Road. The bridge was removed in September 2010. In 2019, as part of an initiative to increase the accessibility of the New York City Subway system, the MTA announced that it would install elevators at the Sheepshead Bay station as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program. In November 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $965 million contract for the installation of 21 elevators across eight stations, including Sheepshead Bay. A joint venture of ASTM and Halmar International would construct the elevators under a public-private partnership. Construction of the elevators began in August 2023.

Station layout

This express station is located on an embankment, and has four tracks with two

island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

s. The stops here at all times and is local, while the stops here only on weekdays during the day and is express. The next stop to the north is Neck Road for local trains and Kings Highway for express trains, while the next stop to the south is

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach ...

for all service. The platforms curve to the west at the south end and were extended to the north on both sides. There is clear evidence of this extension by looking underneath the platforms. This station originally was a terminal stop as the extension to Brighton Beach was not built until 1917. Outside and to the east of the Voorhies Avenue side entrance, there is a pedestrian overpass running alongside the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

-bound side of line, but it only crosses the

Belt Parkway The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of controlled-access highway, controlled-access Parkways in New York, parkways that form a belt-like circle around the Borough (New York City), New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Belt ...

to the south side. The 1998 artwork here is called ''Postcards from Sheepshead Bay'' by Deborah Goletz. Made of ceramic tile, it draws the faces and life on the "Bay" (a local shortening of Sheepshead Bay). The three artwork designs are a

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

, some people wearing 17th century clothing near a boat

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

, and a

fisherman A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million Commercial fishing, commercial and Artisan fishing, subsistence fishers and Fish farming, fi ...

. A closer examination of the tile band at the mezzanine level has

seashells A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. Most seashells are made by mollusks, such as snails, clams, and oysters to protec ...

and Pisces fish. Outside the station is a mural in the style of a "Welcome to Sheepshead Bay" postcard. As a homage to similar boardwalk attractions, this mural features holes for people inside to stick their faces through, and have their picture taken from outside. Sheepshead Bay BMT SB sta jeh

Exits

In addition to the aforementioned interactive mural, the full-time entrance at Sheepshead Bay Road and East 16th Street also has a bench facing

fare control In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A s ...

and two overhead heaters. This side has two stairs to each platform. There was a small arcade of stores starting on the side opposite of the station agent booth prior to the station's renovation, but it was rearranged and broken up into several stores. The part-time entrance to Voorhies Avenue is at the very south end of the platforms and each has one staircase to the mezzanine. This side had a booth until 2010 that was open only during weekday mornings. It now has a regular bank of

turnstile A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of people, one-way ...

s that is only open weekdays and is HEET access other times. Both mezzanines have

BMT BMT or bmt may refer to: Medicine * Bone marrow transplantation, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation Science and technology * 5-hydroxyfuranocoumarin 5-O-methyltransferase, an enzyme * Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the national ...

-style directional mosaics tablets that says "To Manhattan" and "To Coney Island."

Gallery

File:BMT Sheepshead Bay Station South Entrance.webm, South entrance, as seen from the street File:BMT Brighton Line Sheepshead Bay station South entrance inside.webm, South entrance, past fare equipment File:NYC Subway Sheepshead Bay station - looking southward.jpg, Station platform, looking southward File:Platforms and Q train at Sheepshead Bay station, June 2013.JPG, Station platforms for local and express trains File:Postcards From Sheepshead Bay 001.jpg, Station mosaic "Postcards from

" File:Sheepshead Bay Station View 001.jpg, Looking northward File:Sheepshead Bay snow vc.jpg, South end of the station, during winter storms

In popular culture

The station was featured in the film version of ''

Glengarry Glen Ross ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' is a 1983 stage play written by the American playwright David Mamet. It is a two-act tragedy that depicts two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of un ...

''.

References

External links

* * Station Reporter �
Q Train
* MTA's Arts For Transit �

* The Subway Nut �
Sheepshead Bay Pictures

Sheepshead Bay Road entrance from Google Maps Street View

Voorhies Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Platforms from Google Maps Street View
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, brighton=yes BMT Brighton Line stations New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn Railway stations in the United States opened in 1907

1908 establishments in New York City