Parkside station

Parkside is a former elevated Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station on the north side of Metropolitan Avenue on the border of the Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Glendale neighborhoods in Queens, New York City.[1] Opened in 1927, the wooden station was part of the Rockaway Beach Branch and was the northernmost station on the branch before the junction with the Main Line at Rego Park Station and the terminus of the line at Grand Street station in Elmhurst. It also had a connecting spur to the Montauk Branch east towards Richmond Hill station. The station was closed in 1962, twelve years after the LIRR had abandoned the Rockaway portions of the line.

This article is about the LIRR station. For other Parkside stations, see Parkside railway station.

Parkside
Site of former Parkside station
General information
LocationMetropolitan Avenue and Selfridge Street
Forest Hills, Queens, New York
Coordinates40.71185°N 73.85667°W / 40.71185; -73.85667
Owned byCity of New York
Long Island Rail Road (former)
Line(s)Rockaway Beach Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeNone
History
OpenedSeptember 15, 1927
ClosedJune 8, 1962
Electrified1905
Previous namesGlendale (September–October 1927)
Former services
Preceding station Long Island
Rail Road		 Following station
Rego Park
toward Woodside
 Rockaway Beach Division Brooklyn Manor
toward Gibson or Rockaway Park

History

Opening

Prior to the construction of the station, Rockaway Beach Branch service north of Ozone Park traveled via the Atlantic Branch to Flatbush Terminal, or via the Montauk Branch to Long Island City.[2] Between 1908 and 1911, the branch was extended north past the Montauk Branch to the Main Line; this new grade-separated section was known as the Glendale Cut-off, and allowed service from the branch to operate to Penn Station in Manhattan.[3][4]

On March 24, 1927, the New York State Transit Commission ordered the LIRR to construct a new station at Metropolitan Avenue along the cut-off to alleviate congestion at the Forest Hills station on the Main Line, and to replace the nearby Glendale and Atlas Yard stations (the current site of The Shops at Atlas Park at Cooper Avenue) on the Montauk Branch.[2][5][6] The station was opened on September 15, 1927. It was originally named "Glendale" as a substitute for the former station on the Montauk Branch. It was renamed "Parkside" on October 23, 1927, due to its proximity to Forest Park, after protests over the station name from the local community.[7][8] The Parkside name is shared with a nearby post office at Metropolitan Avenue and Continental (71st) Avenue.[4][9][10]

The opening of the Parkside station helped spawn development in the area, which previously consisted of empty lots and farmland. Over 100 homes were constructed to form the Forest Hills Crest community.[11][12][13] The block immediately to the south of the station, bounded by Metropolitan Avenue, Woodhaven Boulevard, and Union Turnpike, became an industrial superblock.[14] In the early expansion plans of the city's Independent Subway System (IND) in the 1930s, Parkside was one of the stations that would have been absorbed into the new subway, connecting to the IND Queens Boulevard Line at its 63rd Drive station in Rego Park, north of the junction with the LIRR Main Line.[15]

Closure

In 1950, the Rockaway Beach Branch south of Ozone Park closed after the trestle across Jamaica Bay between The Raunt and Broad Channel stations was destroyed by a fire. The city purchased the entire line in 1955, but only the portion south of Liberty Avenue was reactivated for subway service as the IND Rockaway Line.[16] Ridership declined on the remaining portion of the branch and service was reduced.[4][17] Due to vandalism, the railroad removed the station's southbound track and put both platforms out of service in 1958. The platforms were replaced with a low-level concrete platform in the former trackbed.[18][19][20] The Rockaway Beach Branch ceased operations on June 8, 1962, and all stations along the line, including Parkside, were closed.[4][21][22]

Station layout
P
Former platform level		 Side platform, demolished
Northbound Trackbed
Southbound Trackbed
Side platform, demolished
G Street level —

The station had two tracks and two wooden high-level side platforms, with four small wooden shelters on both platforms. Exit stairs were located on Metropolitan Avenue.[23][18][19] No trace of the station exists today.[4]

North of the station, the line veered west to merge with the LIRR Main Line at Whitepot Junction. Just south of the station, near the Union Turnpike overpass, was a junction with the Montauk Branch, which was known as Glendale Junction. A wye from the westbound Montauk Branch track merged with the Rockaway Beach Branch going north, and another from the eastbound Montauk Branch track going south. The Rockaway Beach Branch passed over the Montauk Branch on a wooden trestle.[23][3][24][25]

Current condition

The Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps is located in the vicinity of the former station.[26] The former industrial block west of the line is currently a shopping center. The land east of the line south of Metropolitan Avenue where the Parkside-Montauk spur used to be is currently the site of the Metropolitan Avenue Public School Campus built from 2006 to 2010; the northern entrance to the campus is on Metropolitan Avenue, and the school building sits on the former right-of-way of the northern Montauk connection. The bridge above the Montauk Branch has been demolished.[23][27][14] The right-of-way south of the demolished bridge, the southern wye and the Montauk branch define the border of a nearby Little League Baseball field complex. Shortly after the opening of the Metropolitan campus in 2010, the trestle and overpass over Metropolitan Avenue near the school were deemed to be structurally unsound.[27] However, no action was taken, and in 2014, a study of the condition of the line found that 20% of the underside of the bridge had exposed reinforcement bars.[28]

References
  1. Shepard, Richard F. (September 3, 1995). "Memories of My Queens". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  2. Roden, J. (July 4, 1948). "Old Timers: This Veteran Railroader Describes Rockaway Run". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 18. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  3. "Millions Spent on Long Island R.R. – First Full Details of Improvements and What They Have Cost the Pennsylvania – Tunnel Trains in June – Company Expects to Carry 500,000 Commuters Daily – $30,000,000 Already Spent – $10,000,000 to Come" (PDF). The New York Times. April 10, 1910. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  4. Bresiger, Gregory (July 18, 2012). "The Trains Stopped Running Here 50 Years Ago". qgazette.com. Queens Gazette. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  5. "New Long Island Station – Will Be Built Near Forest Hills on the Rockaway Division". The New York Times. March 25, 1927. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  6. "New L.I. Railroad Station Ordered In Glendale Area: New Depot May Relieve Crowded Conditions at Forest Hills". Long Island Daily Star. March 24, 1927. p. 13. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  7. "Forest Hills Park Grows During Year". Long Island Daily Press. October 27, 1927. p. 2. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  8. "Forest Hills Happy Over Depot Name: Plans Celebration to Mark Victory Over L.I.R.R. in Station Title Dispute". Long Island Daily Press. October 26, 1927. p. 2. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  9. The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History Volume #5; New York, Woodhaven & Rockaway Railroad; New York & Rockaway Beach Railway; New York & Long Beach Railroad; New York & Rockaway Railroad; Brooklyn Rapid Transit Operation to Rockaway Over L.I.R.R., by Vincent F. Seyfried
  10. Amezaga, L. (October 28, 1927). "Remedy for Overcrowding (Letter)". The New York Times. p. 22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  11. Marzlock, Ron (May 1, 2008). "Parkside Station, Forest Hills". qchron.com. Queens Chronicle. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  12. "Queens Builders Pay $200,000 For Farm Worth $3,500 in 1865". The New York Times. April 19, 1931. p. 4RE. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  13. "New Queens Home Community". The New York Times. June 28, 1931. p. 1RE. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  14. "ENB – Region 2 Notices: Notice Of Acceptance Of Draft EIS". ny.gov. Queens, New York City: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. May 25, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  15. "City Board Votes New Subway Links – Tentatively Lists $16,000,000 Outlay for Rockaway and North Bronx Extensions – Albany Approval Needed – Brunner Will Go to Capital to Seek Authority for Purchase From Long Island Railroad". The New York Times. March 19, 1937. p. 25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  16. Freeman, Ira Henry (June 28, 1956). "Rockaway Trains to Operate Today" (PDF). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  17. "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. November 14, 1958. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  18. "L.I.R.R. Asks Cuts in Queens Branch: Seeks Reduction of Service on Rockaway Beach Spur-Request Is Opposed" (PDF). The New York Times. February 20, 1958. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  19. Noyes, Thomas (December 27, 1961). "'Forgotten Spur' a Painful Reminder". Long Island Star-Journal. p. 17. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  20. Roberts, John A. (March 2002). "Forgotten Spur to the Rockaways". junipercivic.com. Juniper Park Civic Association. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  21. Dunlap, David W. (July 31, 2014). "Clashing Visions for Old Rail Bed (Just Don't Call It the High Line of Queens)". The New York Times. p. A20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  22. "An Era Ends at 6:09: Last Train Rides Forgotten Spur". Long Island Star-Journal. June 8, 1962. p. 11. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  23. Keller, Dave. "Rockaway Beach Branch". trainsarefun.com. trainsarefun.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  24. Queens Subway Options Study, New York: Environmental Impact Statement. United States Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Urban Mass Transit Administration. May 1984. pp. 83–. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  25. "1946 Triboro Coach Map". BMT Lines. Triboro Coach. 1946. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. "Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps". fhvac.org. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  27. Goldman, Sam (December 16, 2010). "A Third Mall In Rego Park?". timesnewsweekly.com. Times Newsweekly. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  28. "QueensWay Existing Structural Conditions Report January 29, 2014" (PDF). thequeensway.org. Weidlinger Associates, Inc. January 29, 2014. p. 20. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
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