First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line)

 1 Avenue
 "L" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address First Avenue & East 14th Street
New York, NY 10003
Borough Manhattan
Locale East Village, Stuyvesant Park, Stuyvesant Town
Coordinates 40.731324°N 73.982577°W / 40.731324; -73.982577
Division B (BMT)
Line    BMT Canarsie Line
Services    L all times (all times)
Transit Bus transport NYCT Bus: M14A/M14D Select Bus Service, M15 (northbound), M15 Select Bus Service (northbound)
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened June 30, 1924
Rebuilt July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020
Accessible This station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer		 No
Traffic
2022 5,337,253 Increase 34.8%
Rank 31 out of 423
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
Third Avenue
toward Eighth Avenue
Bedford Avenue
toward Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway
Location
First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line) is located in New York City Subway
First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line)
First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line) is located in New York City
First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line)
First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line) is located in New York
First Avenue station (BMT Canarsie Line)
Track layout

to Third Avenue
to Bedford Avenue
Street map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times

The First Avenue station is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of First Avenue and East 14th Street at the border of Stuyvesant Park, Stuyvesant Town, and the East Village in Manhattan, it is served by the L train at all times.

History

This station opened on June 30, 1924, as part of the 14th Street–Eastern Line, which ran from Sixth Avenue under the East River and through Williamsburg to Montrose and Bushwick Avenues.

In September 1983 this station was the site of the arrest of Michael Stewart, a notable case in the history of police brutality.

The station originally had entrances only at its western end, on First Avenue. Its eastern entrances at Avenue A were built as part of the wide scope in the 2019–2020 rebuilding of the Canarsie Tubes that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy, and to improve service for people living in Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, the East Village, and Alphabet City. Work on the entrances began in July 2017, necessitating the relocation of bus stops at that intersection. The entrances to the Brooklyn-bound platform were opened on November 4, 2019. The entrance to the Eighth Avenue-bound platform was expected to be opened by the end of 2019, but the opening date was postponed to February 10, 2020. This was followed by the temporary closure of the entrances at First Avenue.

New elevators were built at the new eastern entrances and were opened on August 6, 2020. Substantial completion of the entrances was projected for November 2020.

Station layout

Old entrance (since remodeled/demolished)
Ground Street level Exit/entrance
Disabled access
Elevators located:
  • Northwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street
  • Southwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street
Mezzanine Mezzanine Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
Disabled access
Elevators located:
  • Northwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street
  • Southwest corner of Avenue A and 14th Street
Platform level Side platform Disabled access
Westbound ← "L" train toward Eighth Avenue (Third Avenue)
Eastbound → "L" train toward Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway (Bedford Avenue) →
Side platform Disabled access

This underground station has two side platforms and two tracks. It is the easternmost Canarsie Line station in Manhattan. East of here, the line travels under the East River to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The platforms are columnless and have the standard BMT style trim-line and name tablets. The former contains "1" tablets in standard intervals while the latter consists of "FIRST AVE" in white seriffed lettering.

Exits

The station's western entrances are at the (railroad north) end of the station; from each platform, a single staircase goes up to a small mezzanine that contains a turnstile bank, token booth. Two street stairs to the Eighth Avenue-bound platform lead to the northeastern corner of First Avenue and 14th Street, while the ones to the Brooklyn-bound platform lead to the southeastern corner. The mezzanine on the Brooklyn-bound side had a florist shop outside fare control; the shop closed in 2019. There is no free transfer between directions at this station.

The station's eastern entrances are at the railroad south end of the station; there are platform-level turnstile banks from each platform. Two street stairs to the Eighth Avenue-bound platform lead to the northwestern corner of Avenue A and 14th Street, while two more to the Brooklyn-bound platform lead to the southwestern corner. Each eastern entrance has an elevator between the platform and the street.

Art

The station contains two sets of mosaic artwork by Katherine Bradford. The eastern entrances include three large works collectively titled Queens of the Night, which depict figures in dancelike poses against a sapphire blue background. In addition, the First Avenue mezzanines contain two smaller works of flying superheroes, titled Superhero Responds. The mosaics cover 400 square feet (37 m2) in total. When the artworks were commissioned, Bradford used the L train on her daily commute, passing through the First Avenue station.

Image gallery

  • Name Tablet
    Name Tablet
  • Trim-line Tablet
    Trim-line Tablet
  • Station wall
    Station wall

Nearby points of interest