Contents

Locust Manor station

Locust Manor
Locust Manor Station in March 2015.
General information
Location	Farmer's Boulevard and Bedell Street Locust Manor, Queens, New York
Coordinates	40°40′30″N 73°45′54″W / 40.675022°N 73.764897°W / 40.675022; -73.764897
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Atlantic Branch
Distance	12.2 mi (19.6 km) from Atlantic Terminal[1]
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	NYCT Buses: Q3, Q85
Construction
Parking	No
Accessible	No; accessibility planned
Other information
Fare zone	3
History
Opened	June 1869 (SSRRLI) c. 1876
Closed	June 1876[2]
Rebuilt	1876, 1959,[3]2018-19
Electrified	October 16, 1905 750 V (DC) third rail
Previous names	Locust Avenue (1867–1929)[2]
Passengers
2012—2014	1,389[4]
Rank	64 of 125
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Jamaica toward Penn StationorGrand Central Far Rockaway Branch weekdays Laurelton toward Far Rockaway Long Beach Branch Laurelton toward Long Beach
Former services Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Cedar Manor toward Flatbush Avenue Atlantic Division Higbie Avenue toward Valley Stream
Location

Locust Manor is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch in the Locust Manor neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The station is located at Farmers Boulevard and Bedell Street and is 14.0 miles (22.5 km) from Penn StationinMidtown Manhattan.

The stop serves the Rochdale and Locust Manor sections of Queens – along with its Rochdale Village cooperative apartment complex.

The Locust Manor station first opened in 1869, and it was rebuilt in 1876.^[5][6][7][8] For many years, it served as the stop for the racecourse on which Rochdale Village was erected, known as the Jamaica Race Course.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

In February 1956, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) petitioned the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) for permission to close and remove the station if racing was transferred from Jamaica Race Course to Belmont Park due to low ridership.^[5] The station was used by 80 riders on weekdays, and by 30 riders on non-racing Saturdays. The LIRR suggested that riders use the Higbie Avenue station instead.^[6]

On August 23, 1956, the PSC rejected plans to build a permanent railroad station alongside Jamaica Race Course, and approved a revised plan to close the Locust Manor station and a bridge at 120th Avenue, which would save $1,087,000. The PSC ruled that it was not justified for the LIRR to spend $847,000 on a new station in light of public knowledge about the closure of the racetrack in 1958.^[7] The PSC permitted the LIRR to construct temporary facilities instead.^[10] The LIRR's application was opposed by the counsel for the Mayor's Committee on Slum Removal, who stated that as soon as racing ended in 1958 at the track following the rebuilding of Belmont Racetrack, and the modernization of Aqueduct Racetrack, a builder would start work on the site.^[9][11][12]

On May 19, 1957, the PSC granted the LIRR permission to discontinue the Higbie Avenue and Locust Manor stations following the completion of a station between them at Farmers Boulevard.^[11][12] The new station would initially be accessed by a stairway at its southern end and by a pedestrian walkway at the northern end, which would be extended to Bedell Street after Jamaica Race Course was replaced by a housing project. The PSC also directed the LIRR to combine the project with its planned Old Southern–Rosedale grade crossing elimination project, and approved its $8,170,000 estimated cost.^[13] The new station included high-level platforms and Populuxe shelters for passengers.^[8] The reconstruction project was completed in 1959.^[11]

The station underwent extensive renovations between 2018 and 2019, during which time it received upgraded features such as LED lighting and improved staircases.^[11][12] The project also saw a complete reconstruction of the pathway connecting the station with Bedell Street and 134th Avenue – including the addition of a pedestrian ramp, making the walkway ADA-accessible.^[11][12]

In March 2022, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it would be making the Locust Manor station and several other non-wheelchair-accessible stations in Queens compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, thus making the stations wheelchair-accessible.^[14][15][16] Elevators would be installed at the Locust Manor station to make it accessible.^[17] The MTA approved contracts for the elevators' construction in November 2022.^[18]

This station has two high-level side platforms, each eight cars long.

This station has two exits; one exit, is on the northeast portion of the sprawling Rochdale Village housing co-operative. At that end of the station, the staircase leads to a walkway linking Bedell Street and residential 134th Avenue, in between two private Rochdale parking lots; both ends of the walkway are connected via a pedestrian underpass below the tracks. The southern exit leads to Farmers Boulevard, between Garrett Street and Bedell Street. There are platform shelters near the exits. Ticket machines are located within the pedestrian tunnel on the north end of the station, at the base of the eastbound LIRR station staircase.

• Media related to Locust Manor (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons
• Locust Manor – LIRR
• Locust Manor LIRR timetable
• Farmers Boulevard entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View