The J and Z Trains

Today’s topic is the J and Z trains which run roughly between Wall Street and Jamaica Center. As the trains do minimal work in Manhattan and Queens, I am dedicating this posting to their entire line in all three boroughs it traverses. The J and Z trains are the trains that comprise the Brown Letter Line family, the J is the local version while the Z is the express version only running in the peak direction during peak morning and afternoon hours only. Traversing Wall Street, the Williamsburg Bridge, Broadway Junction, and Jamaica Center amongst other places, the trains are very significant in New York’s subway system going through a variety of neighborhoods and places.

In Manhattan, the trains start at Broad Street which is in the financial district near Wall Street. After leaving this area, it goes underneath City Hall and into Chinatown, the Bowery, and the Lower East Side. While the ride through Manhattan is short, comprising only 6 of the 30 stops, it is significant crossing areas of Lower Manhattan that are historic and reputable. In the opening movement through the financial district, the J and Z trains pass a heavy commercial area that is headquarters to many of the largest financial institutions worldwide. One can walk to those and additional subway lines which converge in Lower Manhattan. The area’s architecture was greatly influenced by the World Trade Center’s twin towers which are no longer present. Leaving this area, the trains approach City Hall which sits at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge just below the neighborhoods of Chinatown and the Lower East Side which they cross into. This area of Manhattan is home both currently and historically to working class immigrant communities with its buildings being generally 4 to 10 story attached tenements across small narrow streets. There is some commercial and industrial usage inside the buildings, some of which is at street level on the lower levels but is primarily residential. The boundaries of this area unlike other parts of Manhattan have changed frequently in large part due to the expansion of Chinatown. Formerly Italian and Jewish sections of this part of New York have been overtaken by this expansion while other areas have been overtaken by gentrification due to Manhattan’s constant residential demands. Generally speaking, the entire Lower East Side region (not the L.E. neighborhood alone) sits below Houston and Delancey Streets and is served by the J and Z trains below ground en route to Brooklyn.

The J and Z trains cross into Brooklyn across the Williamsburg Bridge where they remain above ground on Broadway of Brooklyn. Brooklyn is by far the most used branch of the service with 18 of the 30 subway stations. The M train runs alongside the two up to Myrtle Avenue where it turns off to Middle Village in Queens. The trains first come into Williamsburg where they separate the predominantly Jewish South Williamsburg from the hipster sections above the tracks. In a way Williamsburg as a whole mirrors the Lower East Side of Manhattan, both are connected by the Williamsburg Bridge and the J and Z trains, both are historically immigrant communities, both are currently in high demand for artistic sorts such as hipsters, musicians, and painters, both of are of special importance to their borough’s Jewish and Puerto Rican histories, and both are located near the East River and Downtown regions of their borough. The train then moves into divide Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick before reaching Broadway Junction and turning through East New York to go into Queens. The area served by the J and Z train in Brooklyn primarily consists of commercial districts on Broadway below the tracks, and residential areas with some industrial centers off of the tracks. The residential areas are comprised of a mixture of 3 to 6 story high Brownstones, 8 to 12 story high apartment buildings and public housing units varying from 2 to more than 12 stories high. The industrial areas are more common towards the East River but occur on occasion through the other neighborhoods traversed. Overall the section of Brooklyn traversed is somewhat gritty but is vital to the urban history of the borough. I have previously discussed Bedford Stuyvesant in the posting dedicated to the A/C trains and will save a discussion for the neighborhood of Bushwick in the M train posting and the neighborhood of East New York in the 3/4 train posting as we move on to discuss Queens.

The area of Queens served is rather short and residential with only 7 of the 30 stops. The neighborhood entered is Woodhaven which along with Ridgewood, Middle Village, and Howard Beach provide a direct border to Brooklyn with no physical boundary. Woodhaven appears more like Brooklyn than Queens with attached buildings, and less of a suburban feel with more densely populated neighborhoods right off of the trains. After leaving Woodhaven, the J and Z trains goes into the neighborhood of Richmond Hill before going underground again right before the end of the line at Jamaica Center. The remainder of the ride outside of Woodhaven takes place in a mixed industrial/commercial area with more detached housing further from the tracks found throughout the rest of Queens. Throughout Queens, the J and Z trains follow primarily along Jamaica Avenue above ground and Archer Avenue below ground. Ending at Jamaica Center and previously stopping at Broadway Junction, the J and Z trains allow transfers to several other Queens based public transit systems. While the route in Queens is short, it is useful as it allows a rider to take a train that goes back into Manhattan without making a circle through Brooklyn going directly across Brooklyn and into Manhattan. Because of where they intersect and allow transfers to, many of the Queens bound passengers on the J and Z trains are often able to easily access the LIRR and JFK International airport and use the two trains accordingly.

During the Reagan-Bush Years, an emerging rapper from Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Marcy Projects located near these lines named himself after them and now he is known worldwide as amongst the best ever (It’s Jay-Z if you haven’t figured it out). That just goes to show a traveler part of the influence that these two lines have. Overall, the J and Z trains are important to ride due to the neighborhoods traversed, the direct layout allowing easy access to Queens, Brooklyn, and Lower Manhattan, and the transfer points along the lines. The trains are a direct link that give a passenger an incredible view of the area viewed and run in a reliable and frequent manner. Because the lines have also influenced the growth of the communities directly across from Manhattan, their presence has been continually important. The two trains are two of the most underrated lines in the city for all of these reasons. As such, to truly see New York, the J and Z trains must be ridden by a prospective rider.