Editing 63rd Street lines (section)

===Construction===
[[File:21 St Queensbridge platform west side.JPG|thumb|The [[21st Street–Queensbridge (IND 63rd Street Line)|21st Street–Queensbridge]] station]]
Plans for the 63rd Street Line were approved by the [[New York City Board of Estimate]] on June 3, 1969.<ref>{{cite news|title=East River Tunnel Gets City's O.K.|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2010/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman%201969%20Grayscale/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman%201969%20Grayscale%20-%205367.pdf|access-date=July 29, 2016|work=[[The Herald Statesman]]|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]|date=June 4, 1969|page=5|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706174148/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2010/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman%201969%20Grayscale/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman%201969%20Grayscale%20-%205367.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Groundbreaking ceremonies for the line took place on November 24, 1969, at Vernon Boulevard and 21st Street in [[Queensbridge Park]], Long Island City.<ref name=LeaderObs-63rdStTunnel-Nov201969>{{cite news|title=To Break Ground For 63rd St., East River Tunnel|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971%20-%200628.pdf|access-date=July 29, 2016|work=New York Leader-Observer|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]|date=November 20, 1969|page=8|archive-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216072301/http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971%20-%200628.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Laurino, Hails Tunnel As Key To Queens Future|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971%20-%200638.pdf|access-date=July 29, 2016|work=New York Leader-Observer|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]|date=November 27, 1969|page=2|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708132729/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971/Forest%20Parkway%20NY%20Leader%20Observer%201969-1971%20-%200638.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author1=[[Associated Press]]|title=Subway Tunnel Started|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/Lockport%20NY%20Union%20Sun%20Journal/Lockport%20NY%20Union%20Sun%20Journal%201969/Lockport%20NY%20Union%20Sun%20Journal%201969%20-%206018.pdf|access-date=July 29, 2016|work=[[Lockport Union-Sun & Journal]]|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]|date=November 24, 1969|location=New York City|page=17}}</ref> Workers tunneled westward from Queens, as well as in both directions under [[Roosevelt Island]]. Four {{Convert|38|ft|m|-square|adj=mid}} prefabricated sections of the 63rd Street Tunnel were constructed at [[Port Deposit, Maryland]], then towed to New York and sunk under the East River.<ref name="Prial 1971">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/30/archives/first-section-of-63d-st-tunnel-lowered-to-bottom-of-east-river.html|title=First Section of 63d St. Tunnel Lowered to Bottom of East River|last=Prial|first=Frank J.|date=August 30, 1971|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2016|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125941/http://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/30/archives/first-section-of-63d-st-tunnel-lowered-to-bottom-of-east-river.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The first of the tunnel segments was delivered in May 1971<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/19/archives/harbor-welcome-is-given-tube-for-queens-subway.html|title=Harbor Welcome Is Given Tube for Queens Subway|date=May 19, 1971|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 3, 2018|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125842/http://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/19/archives/harbor-welcome-is-given-tube-for-queens-subway.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and was lowered into place on August 29, 1971;<ref name="Prial 1971"/> the last section was lowered on March 14, 1972.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/14/archives/citys-first-subway-tunnel-in-40-years-cut-through-subway-tunnel-is.html|title=City's First Subway Tunnel in 40 Years Cut Through|last=Prial|first=Frank J.|date=March 14, 1972|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 3, 2018|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203130126/http://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/14/archives/citys-first-subway-tunnel-in-40-years-cut-through-subway-tunnel-is.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The double-deck, {{convert|3140|ft|m|adj=on}}<ref name=LeaderObs-63rdStTunnel-Nov201969/> tunnel under the East River was "holed through" on October 10, 1972, with the separate sections of tunnels being connected.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/11/archives/governor-rockefeller-and-mayor-lindsay-attend-holing-through-of-63d.html|title=Governor Rockefeller and Mayor Lindsay Attend 'Holing Through' of 63d St. Tunnel|date=October 11, 1972|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125416/http://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/11/archives/governor-rockefeller-and-mayor-lindsay-attend-holing-through-of-63d.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

One section of the line that ran through Central Park was controversial because it called for {{Convert|1500|ft|m}} of [[cut-and-cover]] tunneling, which would require digging an open trench through Central Park.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/02/archives/mayor-asks-engineers-to-ease-subway-tunnel-impact-in-park-integrity.html|title=Mayor Asks Engineers to Ease Subway Tunnel Impact in Park|last=Burks|first=Edward C.|date=June 2, 1970|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125115/http://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/02/archives/mayor-asks-engineers-to-ease-subway-tunnel-impact-in-park-integrity.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 1970, [[Manhattan Community Board 8]] held a meeting so constituents could voice concerns about the project's impact.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/25/archives/board-sets-hearing-on-trenches-in-park.html|title=Board Sets Hearing on Trenches in Park|date=May 25, 1970|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203124226/http://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/25/archives/board-sets-hearing-on-trenches-in-park.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The next month, Mayor [[John Lindsay]] told city engineers to write a report that studied ways to reduce the project's impact.<ref name=":8" /> The results of the report, released in January 1971, called for using [[tunnel boring machine]]s underneath Central Park to reduce disruption.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/21/archives/study-suggests-a-big-reduction-in-central-park-subway-digging.html|title=Study Suggests a Big Reduction In Central Park Subway Digging|last=Andelman|first=David A.|date=1971|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125910/http://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/21/archives/study-suggests-a-big-reduction-in-central-park-subway-digging.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 1971, the NYCTA published advertisements in newspapers, seeking construction bids for the tunnels under Central Park. After the advertisements had run for three days, the NYCTA withdrew them after community and conservation groups objected.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/11/archives/transit-unit-retreats-on-park-tunnel.html|title=Transit Unit Retreats on Park Tunnel|last=Oelsner|first=Lesley|date=February 11, 1971|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125521/http://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/11/archives/transit-unit-retreats-on-park-tunnel.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that month, the NYCTA finally agreed to halve the width of the proposed {{Convert|75|ft|m|adj=on}}-wide cut, which resulted in a proportionate decrease in the area of affected parkland. The NYCTA also agreed to reduce disruption to the [[Heckscher Playground]], located above the proposed subway tunnel's path, by cutting construction time from three years to two years and by constructing a temporary playground nearby.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/27/archives/transit-authority-agrees-to-modify-central-park-plan-transit.html|title=Transit Authority Agrees to Modify Central Park Plan|last=Ranzal|first=Edward|date=February 27, 1971|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203123709/http://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/27/archives/transit-authority-agrees-to-modify-central-park-plan-transit.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In March, the NYCTA again sought construction bids.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/26/archives/bids-sought-for-subway-tunnels-in-central-park.html|title=Bids Sought For Subway Tunnels in Ceratral Park|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|date=March 26, 1971|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203123211/http://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/26/archives/bids-sought-for-subway-tunnels-in-central-park.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The sections that connected to the existing Broadway and Sixth Avenue Lines were holed through on October 11, 1973.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/11/archives/subway-link-gains-with-mid-town-work.html|title=Subway Link Gains with Midtown Work|date=October 11, 1973|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125509/http://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/11/archives/subway-link-gains-with-mid-town-work.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Construction on the section between 5th Avenue and Park Avenue began in August 1974. The project involved digging a {{Convert|45|ft|m|adj=on}}-high cavern underneath the street.<ref name="NYTimes-63StLightEndTunnel-1976">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/09/24/79780193.pdf|title=Coming: Light at End of 63d St. Tunnel|last1=Burks|first1=Edward C.|date=September 24, 1976|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 27, 2015|archive-date=October 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005130248/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/09/24/79780193.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 20, 1975, New York mayor [[Abraham Beame]] announced significant cutbacks to the plan. Construction of the Southeastern Queens extension was deferred until 1981, and the Long Island Rail Road extension through the lower level of the 63rd Street tunnel was canceled for the foreseeable future. However, it was still anticipated that the Queens Boulevard super-express and the Archer Avenue Line up to Parsons/Archer would still be completed. The Queens project, although curtailed, was given priority because it was "more advanced in construction".<ref>{{cite news |title=Beame Trims Plan For New Subway |first=Edward C. |last=Burks |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1975/03/21/76540541.pdf |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 21, 1975 |page=1 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=September 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930165921/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1975/03/21/76540541.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

By January 1976, the tunnel was 95% complete.<ref name=":9" /> In May, construction was briefly halted when residents jumped into utility pits to protest the cutting of trees near the Lexington Avenue station.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/12/archives/protesters-halt-work-on-63d-street-subway.html|title=Protesters Halt Work On 63d Street Subway|date=May 12, 1976|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 9, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209182604/http://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/12/archives/protesters-halt-work-on-63d-street-subway.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A US federal judge issued a stop-work order on May 13,<ref>{{cite news | title=Work on Subway Halted by Court | work=The New York Times | date=May 13, 1976 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/13/archives/work-on-subway-halted-by-court-us-judge-is-considering-charge.html | access-date=February 9, 2018 | archive-date=February 10, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210120959/http://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/13/archives/work-on-subway-halted-by-court-us-judge-is-considering-charge.html | url-status=live }}</ref> but issued another verdict five days later that allowed construction to proceed.<ref>{{cite web | title=Despite Protests, Judge Allows Work on 63d St. Subway Station | website=The New York Times | date=May 18, 1976 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/18/archives/despite-protests-judge-allows-work-on-63d-stsubway-station.html | access-date=February 9, 2018 | archive-date=September 30, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930132605/http://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/18/archives/despite-protests-judge-allows-work-on-63d-stsubway-station.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Construction resumed on May 25, after three weeks of protests, and the trees were cut down anyway.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/25/archives/trees-come-down-as-subway-goes-on.html|title=Trees Come Down as Subway Goes On|date=May 25, 1976|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 9, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210002547/http://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/25/archives/trees-come-down-as-subway-goes-on.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In summer 1976, the NYCTA announced that "it will take an extra five or six years—until 1987 or 1988—to complete the new Manhattan–Queens trunk subway line from Central Park to Jamaica via the new 63rd Street tunnel." The main cause of the delay was the 5.8-mile "super express", although it was expected that the three new Archer Avenue line stations could be ready sooner. As an interim measure, the NYCTA proposed a new station at Northern Boulevard, adjacent to Queens Plaza, which could possibly open by 1983 or 1984.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Subway Line Delayed 5 or 6 Years |first=Edward C. |last=Burks |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/07/29/78829669.pdf |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 29, 1976 |page=35 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007135712/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/07/29/78829669.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live }}</ref> However, there were also a lack of federal funds, so this could not be completed immediately.<ref name="NYTimes-QBLBypassDelay-1976">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/06/06/76395030.pdf|title=Shortage of U.S. Funds May Delay Subway Link|last1=Burks|first1=Edward C.|date=June 6, 1976|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 27, 2015|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007135711/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/06/06/76395030.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> By this time, there were only going to be seven stations on the 63rd Street and Archer Avenue Lines combined.<ref name="NYTimes-NYCSvsWorld-63Archer-1976">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/08/07/75544552.pdf|title=New York Improving Subway, But Still Trails Foreign Cities|last1=Burks|first1=Edward C.|date=August 7, 1976|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 27, 2015|archive-date=April 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403161847/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/08/07/75544552.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, these two lines were part of the same route, the 63rd Street–Southeast Queens line.<ref name=":9" />

The Manhattan portion of the line was completed in 1976. The ''Times'' noted:

{{blockquote|Underneath Central Park lie two eerily quiet sets of tracks. They have advanced equipment – welded tracks, fluorescent lighting and rubber-based pads under the rail – that have not yet been installed on most of the system's 230 operating miles.

These tunnels were finished in 1976. This year, the contractor will tear down his two-story office in Central Park, remove the fence near Fifth Avenue and restore foliage and the bird house he damaged, at a cost of $300,000.

By 1981, five years after completion of the tunnel, the Transit Authority expects to put it to use; its brand new quiet tracks will be used as a storage yard for out-of-service trains.<ref name="nyt-1978-05-09">{{cite news |title=Planned 40-Mile Queens Subway, Cut to 15, is Costly and Behind Time |first=Grace |last=Lichtenstein |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/05/09/110949691.pdf |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 9, 1978 |page=68 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=September 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930165921/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/05/09/110949691.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

====Zoo York Wall====
{{see also|Zoo York (Central Park)}}
The Zoo York Wall was a [[graffiti]] wall within the line's length through Central Park, where subway writers and other street artists "made their marks" in the early 1970s. It was a temporary wall, erected by the NYCTA in 1971 to block unauthorized entry into the site of the 63rd Street Line running underneath the [[Central Park Zoo]]. Its name originates from the 63rd Street Tunnel (which it was supposed to guard), then called the "Zoo York Tunnel". During the tunnel's construction (1971–1973), the tunnel provided a subterranean gathering place for very early subway artists who hung around together in Central Park, and was named ''[[Zoo York (Central Park)|Zoo York]]'' by ''[[ALI (graffiti artist)|ALI]]'', founder of the SOUL ARTISTS graffiti crew. The name came about because it was in a ''zoo'' in New ''York'', hence "Zoo York".<ref name="Mervyn 1974"/>

Armored with polished aluminium in the futile hope of resisting spray-paint and permanent marker ink, the wall did little to dissuade teenage graffiti writers from climbing over and descending into the tunnel during its construction. [[Graffiti artist]]s also marked their territory by "tagging" the wall which had been put up around the construction site. Upon completion of the subway project in 1973, the "Zoo York Wall" was torn down.<ref name="Mervyn 1974">{{cite book |last1=Kurlansky |first1=Mervyn |last2=Naar |first2=John|title=The Faith of Graffiti  |year=1974 |publisher= Praeger Publishers, Inc. |location= New York}}</ref>

The name came about because the Central Park Zoo at that time was a classical 19th-century [[menagerie]], populated by wild animals displayed in open-air cages, who paced the bars back and forth [[neuroticism|neurotically]]—always hoping for an escape, yet paradoxically blind to the world beyond their cramped quarters. ALI noted that by contrast, here were these feral teenagers, himself included, living in a free society, who sought nothing more wholeheartedly than to crowd together in a deep, dark hole in the ground. Marvelling at their perverse urban psychologies, ALI decided that all city people were insane for seeking imprisonment in tiny apartments, offices, subway cars and the like, and declared that New York City itself was "not ''New'', but a ''Zoo!''" He named the tunnel itself "Zoo York".<ref name="Mervyn 1974"/>