Gates Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)

Gates Avenue
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Western exit stair of northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Gates Avenue & Broadway Brooklyn, NY 11221
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick
Coordinates	40°41′22″N 73°55′19″W / 40.68949°N 73.922067°W / 40.68949; -73.922067Coordinates: 40°41′22″N 73°55′19″W / 40.68949°N 73.922067°W / 40.68949; -73.922067
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Jamaica Line BMT Lexington Avenue Line (formerly)
Services	J  (all times)       M  (all times except late nights)       Z  (rush hours, peak direction)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: B52, Q24
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	May 13, 1885; 132 years ago (1885-05-13)
Station code	095
Traffic
Passengers (2016)	2,117,787  0.8%
Rank	234 out of 422
Station succession
Preceding station   New York City Subway   Following station Kosciuszko Street toward Broad Street BMT Jamaica Line (local) J  Z  Halsey Street toward Parsons/Archer Kosciuszko Street toward Essex Street or 71st Avenue BMT Jamaica Line (local) M  Halsey Street toward Broadway Junction
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops all times Stops all times except late nights
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US

Gates Avenue is a local station on the elevated BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Gates Avenue and Broadway in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It is served by the J train at all times, the M train at all times except late nights, and the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction.

Gates Avenue is the oldest station in the subway system to have been built as a rapid transit station; it has been serving BMT trains for approximately 132 years. While Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue is the oldest station currently in operation in the New York City Subway system, having originally opened in 1869 as a Long Island Rail Road station, that station had an 8-year disruption in service while being converted to subway loading gauge, meaning that Gates Avenue is the system's oldest station in continuous operation.

Gates Avenue was originally opened by the Union Elevated Railroad on May 13, 1885 for the BMT Lexington Avenue Line, and has been in continuous operation since then. The BMT Jamaica Line connected to the station on June 25, 1888. Prior to the Dual Contracts, trains either operated down Broadway to Broadway Ferry (which closed upon the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge tracks to Essex Street) or Lexington Avenue, eventually merging onto the Myrtle Avenue El. The Dual Contracts expanded the BMT Jamaica Line, including Gates Avenue, to three tracks, allowing for express service, as well as expanding service in Manhattan down Nassau Street. In 1950, the Lexington Avenue El closed, resulting in the redirection of all trains to the Williamsburg Bridge.