Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station

The Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station (formerly Jamaica Center–Parsons Boulevard station and sometimes shortened as Jamaica Center station) is the northern terminal station of the IND and BMT Archer Avenue Lines of the New York City Subway, located at Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. It is served by the E and J trains at all times, as well as the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction.
This station opened on December 11, 1988, as Jamaica Center–Parsons Boulevard until being renamed in 2004.
The station is a major transfer point for buses from eastern Queens, and replaces the old 160th Street and 168th Street stations of the BMT Jamaica Line; the Jamaica Center station is located near the site of the former. It is also located close to the site of the Long Island Rail Road's now-demolished Union Hall Street station.
== History ==
===Planning and construction===
The plans for the Archer Avenue Lines emerged in the 1960s under the city and MTA's Program for Action.
The station's design started on December 7, 1973 and was completed on June 17, 1981 in-house. Bids on the station construction were received on September 21, 1981, and was awarded to A. J. Pegno Construction Corporation for $22,425,415. Work on the station commenced on October 12, 1981.
=== Opening ===
The station opened along with the rest of the Archer Avenue Line on December 11, 1988.
=== Artwork controversy ===
On December 14, 1991, a display titled "Astoria–Dreams of New York," a -long mural, consisting of seven portraits of first-generation Greek immigrants was removed from the station for not including any pictures of African Americans, seven days after going up. The artist, Eugenia Marketou, called the decision "censorship of the worst kind." The piece was removed at the request of the directors of the Arts for Transit program after a negative public reaction, which included their defacement with graffiti and protest stickers. A dozen African American riders had complained to the agency. On the same date, a $70,000 sculpture called "Jamaica Center Stations Riders, Blue," which was created by well-known African American artist Sam Gilliam, was unveiled at the station. The sculpture was funded through the MTA Arts for Transit program, which allocates 1 percent of capital construction costs for art projects. After negotiations between Marketou and his agency took place, it was reinstalled on February 6, 1992 with a banner stating "Portraits of the Greek Immigrant Community" added in addition to the tile. In addition, Marketou agreed to appear in front of it during three rush hours to explain it. One of the photographs was removed in the following two weeks. The exhibit was only scheduled to stay until May 6, 1992.
==Station layout==
The Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station contains two levels, each with two tracks and an island platform. The E train serves the upper level (IND) at all times. The J and Z trains serve the lower level (BMT); the former operates all times and the latter operates during rush hours in the peak direction. Like the other stations on the Archer Avenue Line, Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer is fully ADA-accessible. Both platforms are in length, standard for a full-length B Division train; however, since BMT Eastern Division trains are only long, there are fences at both of the unused ends of the lower-level platforms to prevent passengers from falling onto the tracks.
This station has tan brick walls and red brick floor on both levels; the ceilings are suspended and have metal slats and resembles a vaulted ceiling, except there are no curves.
This station has ten escalators and two elevators.
===Exits===
There are two entrances to this station.
* Exit 1: The first one is at the very east end of the platforms. It contains a mezzanine that has four escalators, two to each platform, and an ADA-accessible elevator serving both platforms. There is a large, single bank of turnstiles leading to fare control. One wide staircase and one escalator leads to a pavilion behind the streets at the northeast corner of Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue. A narrower staircase and escalator leads to the southeast corner. An elevator is present as well. This entrance contains a 1991 artwork called Jamaica Center Station Riders by Sam Gilliam made up of blue painted aluminum. 
* Exit 2: The second exit is near the middle of the platforms. Each platform contains two escalators to the mezzanine. The upper level also has one staircase to the mezzanine while the lower level has two. In this mezzanine there is more overlap of walls between fare control and the portion of the mezzanine for the station exits. In addition to the part-time bank of standard turnstiles, there are HEET turnstiles to provide access during off-peak hours. This entrance has three street stairs. Two of them, one of which also has an up-only escalator, lead up to the south side of Archer Avenue outside the bus boarding area. The staircase with the escalator has a brickwork design surrounding it while the other staircase at this entrance has an ultra-wide green metal fence. There is another staircase, the narrowest in the entire station at the northeast corner of Archer Avenue and 153rd Street.
===Infrastructure===
West of the station, both levels feature diamond crossovers. The upper level's crossover is just west of the platform, while the lower level is halfway between this station and Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue.
The tracks on both levels extend past the station for possible future extensions, but are currently used for storage. On the lower level, they continue one train length of about and end at bumper blocks at 160th Street; they were originally planned to extend as far as Merrick Boulevard. This was a planned extension toward 190th Street–Hollis Avenue (near the Hollis LIRR station). Where the lower level tracks end, there is a provision for a diamond crossover switch at the end of the tunnel (under 160th Street). On the upper level, the tracks extend around or just over 3 train lengths of about , curving south under the LIRR Atlantic Branch below ground. They then run under 160th Street within the York College campus and end at bumper blocks near Tuskegee Airmen Way (formerly South Road). This was the site of the line's original groundbreaking in 1973. The plan was for this line to use the LIRR Locust Manor Branch (Atlantic) ROW and run to Springfield Boulevard or Rosedale LIRR station. Where the upper level tracks stub end, there is a provision for a portal to go outside if the line going to Southeastern Queens is ever built. The tunnel was originally planned to curve west towards the Atlantic ROW just north of Liberty Avenue, running underneath the York College Athletic Field.
East of the upper-level platform, a Central Instrument Room (753CIR) is located deep in the tunnel on track D2A (upper level) bench wall.
East of the station, next to the D1A tail track on the upper level, the tunnel catwalk structure widens, and the track curves south along with the D2A track. Where the catwalk structure ends, there is a stairway to the lower level tail tracks.
==Ridership==
In 2018, the station had 10,681,269 boardings, making it the 27th most used station in the -station system. This amounted to an average of 922,959 passengers per weekday.
== Gallery ==
File:Jamaica Center Parsons Archer td (2019-02-20) 01.jpg|The western mezzanine
File:Jamaica Center art vc.jpg|Jamaica Center Stations Riders, Blue by Sam Gilliam
File:Parsons Bl Archer Av td (2019-03-27) 01 - One Jamaica Center.jpg|The main entrance, located at the northeast corner of Archer Avenue and Parsons Boulevard
==Jamaica Center Bus Terminal==
The subway complex includes the Jamaica Center Bus Terminal, a series of bus stops located along Archer Avenue (primarily along the south side of the street next to the LIRR right of way). The bus stop areas are lettered A through H. The western portion of the terminal (bays F through H and the bus layover area) is also known as the "Teardrop Canopy". It serves as a major transit hub within Jamaica. The former 160th Street Jamaica Elevated station on Jamaica Avenue that it replaced was also a major hub for trolley service when it was originally built. Several of the trolley lines were the predecessors to current bus service.
Jamaica Center is also a hub for dollar vans in the New York metropolitan area.
Route 	Jamaica terminal(if not the Jamaica Center Bus Terminal) 	Other terminal 	via 	Notes
MTA Bus 	MTA Bus 	MTA Bus 	MTA Bus 	MTA Bus
Q6 	165th Street Bus Terminal 	JFK International Airport 	Jamaica Avenue, Sutphin Boulevard,Rockaway Boulevard, North Boundary Road 	
Q6 LTD 	165th Street Bus Terminal 	JFK International Airport 	Jamaica Avenue, Sutphin Boulevard,Rockaway Boulevard, North Boundary Road 	Limited bus route to JFK Airport
Q8 	165th Street Bus Terminal 	Spring Creek 	Jamaica Avenue, 101st Avenue, Fountain Avenue 	
Q9 	165th Street Bus Terminal 	South Ozone Park 	Jamaica Avenue, Supthin Boulevard, Liberty Avenue,135th Street (Northbound), Van Wyck Expressway
Service Road (Southbound), Lincoln Street	
Q25 	Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue– JFK Airport Subway station 	College Point 	Parsons Boulevard, Kissena Boulevard, 127th Street 	
Q25 LTD 	Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue– JFK Airport Subway station 	College Point 	Parsons Boulevard, Kissena Boulevard, 127th Street 	Limited route to College Point
Q34 	Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue– JFK Airport Subway station 	Whitestone 	Parsons Boulevard, Kissena Boulevard, Union Street 	
Q41 	165th Street Bus Terminal 	Howard Beach 	127th Street, 109th Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard 	
Q65 	Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue– JFK Airport Subway station 	College Point 	164th Street, 45th Avenue, College Point Boulevard 	Originally the NY&QC Flushing-Jamaica and College Point trolley lines
Q110 	Parsons Boulevard Subway station orJamaica–179th Street Subway station	Belmont Park 	Jamaica Avenue, Hempstead Avenue 	
Q111 	Parsons Boulevard Subway station 	Rosedale or Cedarhurst 	All trips: Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, 147th Avenue,Cedarhurst trips: Rosedale Road, Peninsula Boulevard 	Originally Queens portion of the LIER Far Rockaway Line
Q112 	Parsons Boulevard Subway station 	Ozone Park 	South Road, Liberty Avenue 	
Q113 LTD	Parsons Boulevard Subway station 	Far Rockaway 	Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard,Nassau Expressway 	
* Originally the LIER Far Rockaway Line
* Evenings and overnights, Q114 buses operate local; no Q113 service operates at this time.
Q114 LTD	Parsons Boulevard Subway station 	Far Rockaway 	Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, 147th Avenue, Rockaway Turnpike 	
* Originally the LIER Far Rockaway Line
* Evenings and overnights, Q114 buses operate local; no Q113 service operates at this time.
NYCT Bus	NYCT Bus 	NYCT Bus 	NYCT Bus 	NYCT Bus
Q4 	to Cambria Heights 	to Cambria Heights 	Merrick Boulevard, Linden Boulevard 	
Q4 LTD 	to Cambria Heights 	to Cambria Heights 	Merrick Boulevard, Linden Boulevard 	Limited bus route to Cambria Heights
Q5 	to Rosedale or Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream 	to Rosedale or Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream 	All trips: Merrick Boulevard, Hook Creek Boulevard Green Acres trips: Sunrise Highway 	
Q5 LTD 	to Rosedale 	to Rosedale 	Merrick Boulevard, Hook Creek Boulevard 	Limited bus route to Rosedale
Q20A 	Merrick Boulevard and Archer Avenue 	College Point 	
*All trips: Archer Avenue, Main Street, Union Street
*Q20A: 20th Avenue
*Q20B: 14th Avenue 	
Q20B 	Merrick Boulevard and Archer Avenue 	College Point 	
*All trips: Archer Avenue, Main Street, Union Street
*Q20A: 20th Avenue
*Q20B: 14th Avenue 	
Q24 	168th Street and Archer Avenue 	Bushwick 	Jamaica/Archer Avenues, Atlantic Avenue, Broadway (Brooklyn) 	
Q30 	to Little Neck or Bayside 	to Little Neck or Bayside 	All trips: Homelawn Street, Utopia Parkway, Horace Harding Expressway Bayside trips: Springfield Boulevard 	
Q31 	to Bayside 	to Bayside 	Jamaica/Archer Avenues, Homelawn Street, Utopia Parkway,47th/48th Avenues, Bell Boulevard, Francis Lewis Boulevard 	
Q42 	to Addisleigh Park 	to Addisleigh Park 	Liberty Avenue, 174th Street, Sayres Avenue 	
Q44 SBS 	Merrick Boulevard and Archer Avenue 	West Farms 	Archer Avenue, Main Street, Union Street, Parsons Boulevard,Whitestone Expressway, Cross Bronx Expressway 	Travels via the Whitestone Bridge between Queens and the Bronx
Q54 	170th Street & Jamaica Avenue 	Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal 	Jamaica Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, Grand Street 	Successors to BMT streetcar service
Q56 	170th Street & Jamaica Avenue 	Broadway Junction 	Jamaica Avenue 	Successors to BMT streetcar service
Q83 	Parsons Boulevard Subway station 	Cambria Heights or Queens Village (late nights only)	Liberty Avenue, Murdock Avenue 	
Q84 	to Laurelton 	to Laurelton 	Merrick Boulevard, 120th Avenue 	
Q85 	to Rosedale or Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream 	to Rosedale or Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream 	All trips: Merrick Boulevard, Bedell Street, Conduit Avenue Rosedale trips: 243rd Street Green Acres trips: Green Acres Road	Part of the former NY&LIT Brooklyn-Freeport Line
NICE Bus	NICE Bus 	NICE Bus 	NICE Bus 	NICE Bus
n4 	to Freeport 	to Freeport 	Merrick Road, Merrick Boulevard 	Part of the former NY&LIT Brooklyn-Freeport Line
n4X 	to Freeport 	to Freeport 	Merrick Road, Merrick Boulevard 	Express to Freeport Station
==Nearby points of interest ==
* King Manor
* York College
* Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning
==References==
==External links==
* 
* Station Reporter — E Train
* Station Reporter — J Train
* The Subway Nut — Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Pictures
* MTA's Arts For Transit — Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer
* Parsons Boulevard entrance from Google Maps Street View
* 153rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
* 158th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
* Upper level from Google Maps Street View
*Lower level from Google Maps Street View
Category:Archer Avenue Line stations
Category:Program for Action
Category:New York City Subway stations in Queens, New York
Category:New York City Subway stations located underground
Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1988
Category:New York City Subway transfer stations
Category:Jamaica, Queens
Category:1988 establishments in New York City
Category:New York City Subway terminals