View source for Briarwood station

{{Infobox NYCS
| name = Briarwood
| image = Van Wyck Subway Station by David Shankbone.jpg
| image_caption =One of the platforms with the old "Van Wyck Boulevard" mosaic.
| bg_color = #FF6E1A
| bg_color_2 = #11117d
| address = [[Main Street (Queens)|Main Street]] &amp; [[Queens Boulevard]]<br>Queens, NY 11435
| borough = [[Queens]]
| locale = [[Briarwood, Queens|Briarwood]]
| lat_deg = 40.70969
| lat_min = 
| lat_sec = 
| lat_dir = N
| lon_deg = 73.8196
| lon_min = 
| lon_sec = 
| lon_dir = W
| coordinates_display = inline,title
| division = IND
| line = [[IND Queens Boulevard Line]]
| service = Queens east local
| connection = {{bus icon}} '''[[NYCT Bus]]''': {{NYC bus link|Q20A|Q20B|Q44 SBS|QM21|X63|X64|X68}}<br>{{bus icon}} '''[[MTA Bus]]''': {{NYC bus link|Q60}}
| platforms = 2 [[side platform]]s
| tracks = 4
| cross_platform = same
| structure = Underground
| open_date = {{start date and age|1937|04|24}}
| former = Van Wyck Boulevard (1937–1998)<br>Briarwood–Van Wyck Boulevard (1998–2015)
| passengers = 1,479,278<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub_annual.htm |title=Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |accessdate = 2016-04-19}}</ref>
| pass_year = 2015
| pass_percent = 3.7
| rank = 311 
| wifi = yes
| wifi_custom_ref = 1
| next_north = {{NYCS next | station=Sutphin Boulevard | line=IND Queens Boulevard Line | service=Queens far east local}}<br>{{NYCS next | type=Archer | station=Jamaica–Van Wyck | line=IND Archer Avenue Line | service=Archer Van Wyck local}}
| next_south = {{NYCS next | station=Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike | line=IND Queens Boulevard Line | service=Queens east local}}
| legend = {{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|weekendsonly}}
}}

'''Briarwood''', formerly '''Briarwood–Van Wyck Boulevard''' or '''Van Wyck Boulevard''' ({{IPAc-en|v|æ|n|w|aɪ|k|ˈ}}), is a local [[metro station|station]] on the [[IND Queens Boulevard Line]] of the [[New York City Subway]]. Located at the intersection of 84th Drive, [[Main Street (Queens)|Main Street]], [[Queens Boulevard]], and the [[Van Wyck Expressway]], in [[Briarwood, Queens]], bordering [[Kew Gardens, Queens|Kew Gardens]], it is served by the '''{{NYCS|F}}''' at all times and the '''{{NYCS|E}}''' at all times except rush hours and middays.

== Station layout ==
{{NYCS Platform Layout IND Queens Boulevard Line/local/east}}
[[File:Briarwood IND police sta jeh.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Police station]]

This station has two [[side platform]]s and four tracks. The platforms have Slate Blue columns, a Jasmine Yellow tile trim with black borders, and name tablets containing "VAN WYCK BLVD." in white lettering on a black border with matching yellow trimming.

The full-length [[mezzanine (architecture)|mezzanine]] is directly above the platforms. It is separated into three sections with two black fences. [[Fare control]] is in the middle due to the requirement to have a pedestrian [[Subway (underpass)|underpass]] under Queens Boulevard, so there is no free transfer between directions. The station is directly under the Van Wyck Expressway's southbound service road at this point, however.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/maps/neighborhoods/qns/Q6_Kew%20Gardens%202015.pdf|title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: Kew Gardens|last=|first=|date=2015|website=mta.info|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=August 2, 2016}}</ref>

The station mezzanine has hosted the NYPD Transit Bureau's District 20 station house since the mid-1990s.

=== Exits ===
The full-time exit is via a long passageway to Main Street and Queens Boulevard. Another pair of exits exists at the southwestern corner of Queens Boulevard and Van Wyck Expressway, one next to [[Maple Grove Cemetery (Queens)|Maple Grove Cemetery]], the other next to the Van Wyck Expressway.<ref name=":1" /> Another entrance on the north side of the Queens Boulevard overpass over the Van Wyck Expressway formerly existed, but was later demolished.

===Track layout===
To the west of this station are track connections from both the express and local tracks to [[Jamaica Yard]].

Just to the compass south ([[railroad directions|railroad north]]) of this station, the [[Archer Avenue Line|IND Archer Avenue Line]] splits from the Queens Boulevard Line in a [[flying junction]]; trains to/from the Archer Avenue line can serve the station as local trains or bypass it as express trains. At the split, the Archer Avenue tracks split from both pairs of express and local Queens Boulevard tracks. The connection uses trackways that were constructed at the same time as the station, part of the section of the [[IND Queens Boulevard Line|Queens Boulevard Line]] from [[Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike]] to [[169th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|169th Street]]. The [[Bellmouth (railroad terminology)|provision]] (then known as the "Van Wyck Stub") was intended to be used by the proposed Van Wyck Boulevard Line going towards [[Rockaway Boulevard]], part of [[Proposed New York City Subway expansion (1929–1940)|a planned major system expansion]] that was never built. When construction of the Archer Avenue Line began on August 15, 1972, as part of the [[Program for Action (New York City Subway)|Program for Action]],<ref>nycsubway.org—[http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_New_York_Transit_Authority_in_the_1970s#The_1968_MTA_.22Program_for_Action.22 The 1968 MTA "Program for Action"]</ref> the original tunnels were used for the project, and new tiles and tracks were added. These tunnels are now used for trains going to and from [[Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Archer Avenue Lines)|Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer]], opened in 1988.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kirk |title=Big Changes For Subways Are to Begin |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1988-12-09 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/09/nyregion/big-changes-for-subways-are-to-begin.html |accessdate=2009-07-05}}</ref> There are [[punch box]]es on the Jamaica-bound track of this station to allow trains to go to either the Hillside Avenue or Archer Avenue lines.

The Van Wyck Boulevard [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]], which was proposed from the station's construction, is currently used by the elevated [[AirTrain JFK]], though it makes no stops along the corridor. 

==Renovation==
[[File:Briarwood IND sta jeh.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Former northern stair, demolished in 2011]]
The station was rebuilt, with new exits, as part of the $147 million [[Kew Gardens Interchange]] reconstruction project, which includes bridge replacement of the Queens Boulevard overpass over Van Wyck Expressway. The contract for reconstruction of the station, was bid on and won by Ecco and costed $9.9 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://queenstribune.com/briarwood-construction-end-date-pushed-back/|title=Briarwood Construction End Date Pushed Back|author=Joe Marvilli |work=Queens Tribune|date=2014-01-02|accessdate=2014-08-27}}</ref> In 2011, the north entrance was demolished as part of rebuilding the interchange, leaving the southern exit bordering [[Maple Grove Cemetery (Queens)|Maple Grove Cemetery]] as the sole entrance and exit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://queenscourier.com/2011/construction-to-close-subway-entrance/|title=Construction to close subway entrance|author=Melissa Chan|work=Queens Courier|accessdate=2014-08-27}}</ref> A new entrance is being built next to [[Archbishop Molloy High School]] on Main Street; another exit on the same site had been closed since 2010.<ref name="dnainfo 20130528">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130528/briarwood/new-briarwood-subway-entrance-slated-open-fall|title=Entrance Slated To Open in Fall |author=Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska |work=DNA Info|date=2013-05-28|accessdate=2014-08-27}}</ref> Another new entrance currently exists on the south side of Queens Boulevard between the Van Wyck Expressway service and main roads.

Renovation, started in 2010, was to be completed by 2016, with a new elevator entrance and rebuilt, widened mezzanine corridors.<ref name="dnainfo 20130528"/> However, delays abounded, including the fact that the new Main Street exit was delayed, having been pushed back from August 2012, to October 2013, and then again to March 2014; [[lead paint]] needed to be removed, costing $0.3 million; and plans were changed during construction, costing $1.7 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131219/briarwood/reopening-of-briarwood-subway-entrance-delayed-until-spring |title=Entrance Slated To Open in Fall |author=Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska |work=DNA Info|date=2013-12-19|accessdate=2014-08-27}}</ref> The opening of the new Main Street exit was subsequently pushed forward to February 2014, then back again to May 2014 with elevator work to begin after the new entrance opened; the elevator was to be complete by late 2014 or early 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/central/subway-station-work-continues-in/article_dca67f6b-36ad-5064-82d8-95a94b864ba0.html|title=Subway station work continues in 2014|date=2014-01-23|work=Queens Chronicle|author=Christopher Barca|accessdate=2014-08-27}}</ref> A new entrance was opened in December 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/briarwood-subway-entrance-now-open/article_3e1a8d5e-f1f7-5611-ab04-138a8b6abb8c.html|title=Briarwood subway entrance now open|last=Gannon|first=Michael|date=December 11, 2014|website=|publisher=Queens Chronicle|access-date=2016-08-02}}</ref>

== Naming ==
The station's original name was '''Van Wyck Boulevard'''. Van Wyck Boulevard was the name of the wide thoroughfare that existed when the station opened in 1937. The [[Van Wyck Expressway]] was built over the boulevard in the early 1950s. The name was changed to '''Briarwood–Van Wyck Boulevard''' in 1998<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140317/briarwood/change-could-be-next-stop-for-briarwoodvan-wyck-subway-station-name/slideshow/503850|title=Change Could Be Next Stop for 'Briarwood/Van Wyck' Subway Station Name|last=Kern-Jedrychowska|first=Ewa|date=March 17, 2014|website=DNAinfo New York|publisher=|access-date=2016-07-28}}</ref> to avoid confusion with [[Jamaica–Van Wyck (IND Archer Avenue Line)|Jamaica–Van Wyck]] on the [[Archer Avenue Line|IND Archer Avenue Line]].<ref>A neighborhood association for the area in which the station lies campaigned for the name change in 1997 ({{cite web |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/14138475.html?dids=14138475:14138475&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+13%2C+1997&author=BY+ELIZABETH+BENJAMIN.+STAFF+WRITER&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=What's+in+a+Name%3F+All+Aboard+for+Briarwood!|title=What's in a Name? All Aboard for Briarwood! |publisher=Newsday |accessdate = 2013-02-07|date=1997-04-13 }}) [http://web.archive.org/web/19981201000000*/http://www.www.nycsubway.org/lines/qblvd  A page on the Queens Boulevard line on New York City Subway Resources accessed in 1998] includes this phrase in the station's description: "This station has a new secondary name, Briarwood, that hasn't appeared on the map yet."</ref>

Since 2008, community members had been pushing to rename the station again to simply "Briarwood" since it better reflected the neighborhood of [[Briarwood, Queens|Briarwood]], serviced by the station, and since "Van Wyck Boulevard" does not characterize the area well (the now-expressway runs through several other neighborhoods in Queens).<ref name=":0" /> State Senator [[Tony Avella]] and local community groups pressed for the name change. The legislation, proposed in January 2013, passed the [[New York State Assembly]] on June 19, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/central/briarwood-station-closer-to-renaming/article_e0509cc5-c96d-58d4-ac48-2b535c7aee29.html|title=Briarwood station closer to renaming|date=2014-08-07|work=Queens Chronicle|accessdate=2014-08-23}}</ref> In August 2014, it was announced that the station would be renamed '''Briarwood'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pix11.com/2014/03/10/neighbors-want-the-name-of-subway-station-changed/#|title=Neighbors want the name of subway station changed|date=2016-04-10|author=Greg Mocker|work=PIX11|accessdate=2014-08-27}}</ref> The station was formally renamed on April 17, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/queens/news/2015/04/17/briarwood-van-wyck-boulevard-subway-station-gets-simpler-name.html|title=Briarwood-Van Wyck Boulevard Subway Station Gets Simpler Name|work=NY1|date=2015-04-17|accessdate=2015-04-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://queenscourier.com/briarwood-station-name-shortened/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=briarwood-station-name-shortened | title=Briarwood station name shortened | work=Queens Courier | date=17 April 2015 | accessdate=22 April 2015 | author=Alina Suriel}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
In the 1988 comedy film ''[[Coming to America]]'', [[Eddie Murphy]]'s character, Akeem, tries to persuade his love interest to marry him and go to Zamunda, a fictional kingdom in [[Africa]]. He follows her onto the Briarwood station. When Akeem jumps the turnstile, "Van Wyck Boulevard" can be seen in the background above the token booth. They board the train which next stops at the [[Sutphin Boulevard (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Sutphin Boulevard]] station where she gets off.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/coming-to-america/article_9dc9c3c5-c423-562b-964d-034e3cad8f22.html|title='COMING TO AMERICA'|work=Queens Chronicle|accessdate=28 April 2016}}</ref> This scene, however, was actually shot at the unused platform and tracks of [[Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets (New York City Subway)|Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets]] station in [[Brooklyn]].

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscat|Briarwood (IND Queens Boulevard Line)}}
* {{NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?219:2897|IND Queens Boulevard Line|Briarwood/Van Wyck Boulevard}}
* Station Reporter—[http://www.stationreporter.net/ftrain.htm F Train]
* The Subway Nut—[http://www.subwaynut.com/ind/vanwyckblvdf/index.php Briarwood–Van Wyck Boulevard Pictures]
* [http://www.google.com/maps/@40.709635,-73.819728,3a,75y,50.57h,86.44t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sQFF6cllzA4ycyaGWARrfNw!2e0 Former Queens Boulevard entrance from Google Maps Street View] (now demolished)
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=40.708902,-73.819979&spn=0.00108,0.00142&t=m&z=20&layer=c&cbll=40.708917,-73.819989&panoid=zgPKNtho0BmP4PfmGlfRsg&cbp=12,257.53,,0,-10.11 New Van Wyck Expressway entrance (west side) from Google Maps Street View]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=40.708088,-73.820019&spn=0.001505,0.004823&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=40.708172,-73.82007&panoid=9zKmbUwxQS_C07lRztOohg&cbp=12,225.55,,0,3.3 Old Van Wyck Expressway entrance (west side) from Google Maps Street View]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=briarwood+van+wyck+boulevard&ll=40.70945,-73.820808&spn=0.002712,0.005676&client=safari&oe=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=us&hq=van+wyck+blvd&cid=5006107000801669076&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=40.709366,-73.820754&panoid=d7L6TT3ybkHg2BbzyN2QZw&cbp=12,86.67,,2,3.11 Van Wyck Expressway entrance (east side) from Google Maps Street View]
{{NYCS stations navbox|queens=yes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briarwood - Van Wyck Boulevard (IND Queens Boulevard Line)}}
[[Category:1937 establishments in New York]]
[[Category:IND Queens Boulevard Line stations]]
[[Category:Kew Gardens, Queens]]
[[Category:New York City Subway stations in Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Railway stations opened in 1937]]