Ozone Park station (LIRR) explained

Ozone Park
Style:LIRR former
Address:99th Street and 101st Avenue
Ozone Park, Queens, New York
Line:Rockaway Beach Branch
Other:Atlantic Branch
Platform:2 side platforms
Tracks:4
Opened:1884
Closed:June 8, 1962; station abandoned
Rebuilt:1930 - 1931
Electrified:1905[1]
Code:None
Other Services Header:Former services

Ozone Park is a former Long Island Rail Road station in New York City. Located at 99th Street and 101st Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, it was a major station along the Rockaway Beach Branch until the line's closure in 1962.

Station layout

P
Platform level		Side platform, not in use
Northbound local← Trackbed
Northbound express← Trackbed
Southbound express→ Trackbed
Southbound local→ Trackbed
Side platform, not in use
GStreet Level-
Ozone Park was the northernmost four-track station on the line, with two concrete side platforms.[2] North of the station, a two-track connection diverged west towards the Atlantic Branch and the line contracted to two tracks at Woodhaven Junction.[3] [4] The station was set up to enable passengers from Penn Station on the Main Line and Flatbush Avenue on the Atlantic Branch to reach the Rockaway Park area or Far Rockaway section simply by changing trains ("Change At Ozone Park!"). The trains had stacked end-to-end, and passengers had transferred back and forth on the platform. Operation in the reverse direction also occurred. Due to street restrictions below, which limited the right-of-way width above, platforms were on the outside of the four track right-of-way, making a cross-platform interchange impossible. To accommodate this, the platforms were made exceptionally long so that non-rush hour length multiple unit (MU) trains could stack end-to-end and allow passengers to transfer. A set of crossovers from the outside tracks to the inner tracks were at the east end of the station, to permit trains stopping at Ozone Park to run express after the station stop, or to perform the reverse move.

History

Ozone Park station was opened by the New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad in 1884.

In the early expansion plans of the city's Independent Subway System (IND) in the 1930s, the Rockaway Beach Branch was planned to be absorbed into the new subway, which would have turned Ozone Park into a stop on the IND Queens Boulevard Line or a new Queens crosstown line.[5] [6] [7] [8] In 1950, the Rockaway Beach Branch south of Ozone Park closed after the trestle on Jamaica Bay between The Raunt and Broad Channel Stations was destroyed by a fire. The city purchased the entire line in 1955 in preparation to convert the line for rapid transit service. The portion south of Ozone Park was connected to the former Fulton Street elevated running on Liberty Avenue to create the IND Rockaway Line, allowing trains to travel to Rockaway Park and Wavecrest (and later Far Rockaway).[9] [10] The remainder of the line between Rego Park and Ozone Park was leased back to the LIRR, who continued to operate along it pending construction of an additional connection to the Queens Boulevard Line in Rego Park.

The connection to the Queens Boulevard Line, however, was never constructed[8] and Ozone Park became the southern terminal for LIRR service on the branch. Service on the line was greatly reduced due to the severed connection to the namesake destination of the line, as well as vandalism and criminal activity at stations on the branch including Ozone Park.[11] [12] [13] The station closed on June 8, 1962 when passenger service between Rego Park and Ozone Park ended.[14] [15] [16]

Since the closing of the line, many businesses in the area have set up shop in the portion of trestle below the station. In the late 1980s the F.B.I. used the abandoned platforms to set up a sting operation to monitor the activities of John Gotti and the Gambino crime family, whose social club was down the street from the station.

As of 2020, Ozone Park station exists in ruins. Electric utility poles and Pennsylvania Railroad-era signal bridges also adorn the right of way.

Notes and References

  1. http://arrts-arrchives.com/july261905b.html Electrification of Rockaway Beach Branch from Ozone Park to Hammel's Wye (Arrt's Arrchives)
  2. News: Noyes. Thomas. 'Forgotten Spur' a Painful Reminder. 18 August 2016. Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. December 27, 1961. 17.
  4. Web site: Logan Bus Company. lagcc.cuny.edu. Office of the Mayor of New York City. 18 August 2015. 1998.
  5. Book: Roger P. Roess. Gene Sansone. The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. 23 August 2012. Springer Science & Business Media. 978-3-642-30484-2. 416–417.
  6. Web site: City Board Votes New Subway Links. The New York Times. 3 July 2015. March 19, 1937.
  7. Web site: Duffus. R.L.. OUR GREAT SUBWAY NETWORK SPREADS WIDER; New Plans of Board of Transportation Involve the Building of More Than One Hundred Miles of Additional Rapid Transit Routes for New York. The New York Times. 19 August 2015. September 22, 1929.
  8. Web site: Martin. Douglas. Subway Planners' Lofty Ambitions Are Buried as Dead-End Curiosities. The New York Times. 27 June 2015. November 17, 1996.
  9. Web site: Freeman. Ira Henry. Rockaway Trains to Operate Today. The New York Times. 29 June 2015. June 28, 1956.
  10. Web site: New Subway Unit Ready: Far Rockaway IND Terminal Will Be Opened Today. The New York Times. 29 June 2015. January 16, 1958.
  11. Web site: L.I.R.R. WILL DROP 2 QUEENS TRAINS; One Morning, One Evening Run on Ozone Park Spur Will Be Halted Nov. 24. The New York Times. 19 August 2015. November 14, 1958.
  12. Web site: L.I.R.R. STOPS CALLED CRIMINAL HANGOUTS. The New York Times. 19 August 2015. September 23, 1958.
  13. Web site: Roberts. John A.. Forgotten Spur to the Rockaways. junipercivic.com. Juniper Park Civic Association. 3 July 2015. March 2002.
  14. Web site: Bresiger. Gregory. The Trains Stopped Running Here 50 Years Ago. qgazette.com. Queens Gazette. 3 July 2015. July 18, 2012.
  15. Web site: Dunlap. David W.. Clashing Visions for Old Rail Bed (Just Don't Call It the High Line of Queens). The New York Times. 3 July 2015. July 30, 2014.
  16. News: An Era Ends at 6:09: Last Train Rides Forgotten Spur. 18 August 2016. Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. June 8, 1962. 11.

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