The Third Rail August 2007 - BMT Avenue H Station Landmarked

Original Fiske Terrace station (above), looking northeast. In 1905 the line was below grade at this point to pass under the nearby Manhattan Beach Crossing of the LIRR. Just six weeks later, same location (below) looking southeast toward Avenue H. The roadbed is torn up in preparation for building the temporary station while construction of the new four-track line proceeds.

insisting, ''We have to obey the fire codes, so I'm afraid the headhouse [entrance structure] will have to come down […] The architects will try to design something that will fit in with the character of the neighborhood.''

The Community Stands Firm

The community was firm that they wouldn’t let the adverse decision of the MTA, which was not subject to community or city review, stand. They began a petition drive and also gained support from Borough President Marty Markowitz and Borough Historian Ron Schweiger.

have to go,’” the Skyline reported.

The New York Daily News quoted Ms. Parker as citing “a fire at the Intervale station in the Bronx, which was made of wood.” The remark referred to the elevated station at Intervale and Westchester Avenues on the IRT White Plains Road Line, whose wooden mezzanine burned on March 15, 1989. That case, however, was an arson attack in which three men attempted to rob the token booth and spread and ignited a flammable liquid when the railroad clerk balked at their demand for money. The clerk, Micki Shaheed, was not seriously injured.

The New York Times on March 30 expressed the community’s concern in “A Community's Future May Rest on a Station's Past” by Tara Bahrampour: “Sentiment is not the only reason for their opposition to this $20.2 million project. Residents of Fiske Terrace, a community of Victorian houses that abuts the station, have applied to the city for historic district status for their neighborhood. They worry that a new station could threaten their chances for historic designation.”

The New York MTA insisted the structure was a fire hazard. The Times quoted Ms. Parker as