Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue is a station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway, and the westernmost station on the Flushing Line in Queens. It is served by the 7 train at all times and the <7> train rush hours in the peak direction. Despite its name, the station is not quite located at the intersection of Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue. It is located on 50th Avenue between Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue, both of which have entrances to the station.
History
This station opened on June 22, 1915 as a terminal for shuttle trains going into Manhattan via the Steinway Tunnel until the line was extended to Hunters Point Avenue on February 5, 1916. In 1981, the MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. The platforms at Vernon Boulevard were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains.
In 1997, this station was the site of a night station agent being killed for subway tokens. The result of this incident was a change in policy where night station agents do not have to empty the turnstiles after the evening station agent leaves unless police, a supervisor, or another employee is present. Since the introduction of the MetroCard, this process remains the same. Two armed NYCT guards clear the vending machines.
Station layout
This underground has two side platforms and two tracks. A black wall separates the two tracks for most of the station. Both platforms have a line of yellow columns along their edges. Most of these are normal I-beam columns, but in the middle of the platforms, cream colored arches, which is also the color of the station's ceiling, starting at about four feet off the ground support a short section of the columns. The platform walls have a mosaic gold and brown trim lineon top while the name tablets are mosaic white with white text reading "Vernon-Jackson Ave's" on a brown background and gold and brown border. There are also a few directional signs to the station's fare control areas reading "Vernon Ave" or "Jackson Ave" with an arrow beneath.
Exits
Each platform has two same-level fare control areas and there are no crossovers or crossunders connecting the platforms. The full-time fare control areas are just west of the middle of the platforms, though only the Manhattan-bound platform still has a token booth. Each area has a small regular turnstile bank and two staircases to the street, the northeast corner of Vernon Boulevard and 50th Avenue for the Manhattan-bound platform and the southwest corner for the Flushing-bound platform. The southern staircase's steel fencing does not have the standard black sign saying what station this is and what trains serve it. Each platform also has a larger, unstaffed fare control on their extreme east ends. On the Manhattan-bound platform, a wide, but short staircase goes up to some High Entry/Exit Turnstiles that lead to two street stairs, one to each northern corners of 50th Avenue and Jackson Avenue. This entrance at one time had a part-time token booth and regular turnstiles. The Flushing-bound platform has a similar arrangement with short staircase to a wide intermediate landing with an exit-only turnstile at each corner. Outside the turnstiles is a single street stair, each going up to each southern corners of 50th Avenue and Jackson Avenue.
