stations

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS - Ninth Avenue Lower Level

Sunset ParkJune 2024

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS - Ninth Avenue Lower Level

Hidden beneath active platforms in south Brooklyn lies a forgotten lower level that once was a crucial connection in the subway system.

The place where it started... It was the summer of 2024, the first time we ever urbexed. This place was the closest spot we knew of and during this summer it was a hotspot for other explorers as the workers in the adjacent yard left the entrance we'd always use to get in open 24/7. Of course after everyone started finding out about how to get down there, they locked up that for good, though there are still other ways to get down there. The 9th Avenue station has a deep history, the last time it was used for regular passengers was the 1970's to service the Culver Shuttle. Nowadays it's used as a storage area for both employee equipment as well as work trains and other trains awaiting being scrapped. When we went, the R32's were still being stored in this lower level to await scrapping, and afterwards the R46's started being stored here temporarily as they started to be phased out. Unfortunately, since we were still really new to urbexing and such, no real good documentation was done, just some shitty iPhone pics. But it marked the start of us, MCELLO.JLLY

Photo Gallery (Extras in the Gallery tab)

An R68 D train departing the station late at night as we prepare to enter the lower level

An R68 D train departing the station late at night as we prepare to enter the lower level

First look at the R32 parked on the southernmost track.

First look at the R32 parked on the southernmost track.

Close up of the R32, train #3872, long gone by now. Looking down the platform at the other portal

Close up of the R32, train #3872, long gone by now. Looking down the platform at the other portal

The iconic photo that served as our profile picture for years

The iconic photo that served as our profile picture for years

Inside the R32, walking between cars

Inside the R32, walking between cars

Looking down the platform towards the staircase that leads back up to the upper level

Looking down the platform towards the staircase that leads back up to the upper level

Staircase going up to the Coney Island bound platform

Staircase going up to the Coney Island bound platform

Running back from the lower level before a train passes by

Running back from the lower level before a train passes by