Beach 98 Street-Playland (A Rush hours only, S to Rockaway Park)

Beach 98 St-Playland is named for Rockaways' Playland that used to occupy the oceanfront beach half a block south of the station on this narrow peninsula. The amusement park was only closed in 1985. Today a housing development occupies the same area, which provides some of the station's riders, along with some single family houses. Riders at this station are quite scarce, in 2009 it was number 418 out of 422 in terms of ridership, with only other stations in the Rockaways being worse.

The station itself is the typical Rockaway Line Station on its unique concrete elevated structure, that could definitely get a paint job, there is lots of paint peeling in the station. There are two side platforms each with two staircases down to a large enclosed by doors mezzanine area station house, where the token booth is adjacent to the turnstiles (although one set down from the Rockaways platform seems to be permanently closed), and there are benches and electric heaters to keep people warm in winter as they wait for the train. The platforms are extra long, designed to fit ten 85-foot LIRR trains. The exits are staircases down to Rockaway Freeway at varies places along the street that was built underneath the railroad when it was raised from the street to an elevated structure. There is also a small canopied area at the extreme eastern (front) end of the Rockaway Park-bound platform, even beyond the 10-car stop marker, that used to have a second exit with a special iron maiden turnstile where passengers could deposit the second token required to exit in the Rockaways (when it was charged a double fare until 1975). The portion of an uncanopied area on the Rockaway Park-bound platform has had a second larger chain-link fence installed in recent years in front of the older much lower simpler fence, unfortunately the old signs along this older fence weren't taken down so there now station signs behind this fence. A portion of the wooden canopied top is also missing from an area where the platform should have a canopy. The windscreen on the Broad Channel-bound platform is even worse, a metal windscreen where almost all the paint has peeled off.

Rebuilding: The station was completely rebuilt between 2009 and 2011 along with every other elevated stop on in the Rockaways. This rebuilding included replacing the original windscreens with green and cream full-height ones and modern full-height mesh windscreens at exposed ends of the platforms. To allow this rebuilding to occur Manhattan-bound trains skipped the stop from March 1, 2010 to April 19, 2010 and Rockaway Park-bound trains skipped from April 19, 2010 to July 2, 2010.

Due to Superstorm Sandy, the station was closed from October 28, 2012 until May 30, 2013 because flooding at the Rockaway Park with H train Shuttle Service only running between Beach 90 Street (one stop north) and Far Rockaway.
Photos 1-22: December 29, 2008; 23-26: November 30, 2012; 27-28: May 30, 2013; 29-51: September 13, 2012

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A Broad Channel-bound Shuttle train leaves Beach 98 St-Playland.

Looking across to the central portion of the Broad Channel-bound platform at Beach 98 St-Playland where the two staircases down to the mezzanine and exit are.

The two empty side platforms (like they almost always are, empty) at Beach 98 St-Playland. There have canopies over them for the majority of their length, with wooden (not metal) windscreens between the metal pillars that hold them up.

A seagull on top of the canopies roof at Beach 98 St-Playland.

Some extremely peeling paint in front of a payphone on the wooden walls between the pillars that hold up the canopy at Beach 98 St-Playland.

Looking across to the canopied area of the Rockaway Park-bound platform at Beach 98 St-Playland, notice how the wood is rotting and a paint job is needed and also that this portion of the canopy doesn't have a roof, its missing.

A Beach 98 St-Playland Sign on the windscreen station wall.

One of the two staircases down to the mezzanine level at Beach 98 St-Playland is closed, the plywood wall closing it off seems to have been there for quite a long time, but hasn't been fixed yet. There's no reason too, the station's low ridership is handled fine by the single staircase, no crowds either.

Looking down a staircase from the platform to the mezzanine with the white doors to the warm station house visible, the closed staircase is out in front. The This stairway is temporarily Closed sign looks like it's been there for over ten years since it has the old M logo on it, not the newer MTA logo.

The waiting area in the quite large station house within fare control with the turnstiles visible and the token booth that is aligned with them, this is probably left over from the days when a double fare was required to enter the subway system from here.

The old (extremely inefficient, in terms of electricity use) electric heater that provides warmth for waiting subway riders in the cold winter months.

A recently tiled wall of the station house at Beach 98 St-Playland. A lot of service changes and information posters plaster the walls. The electronic sign that buzzes when a train is approaching the station is also in view, allowing passengers time to get upstairs and get on.

R44 #5330 leads a four car Rockaway Park-bound Shuttle train into Beach 98 St-Playland.

R44 #5330 continues to enter Beach 98 St-Playland.

R44 #5328 trails a four car Shuttle train to Rockaway Park as it begins to leave Beach 98 St-Playland.

R44 #5328 and a four car Shuttle train have left 98 St-Playland.

A Beach 98 Street-Playland platform sign is behind a newer chain-linked fence added after the sign was installed.

Looking down towards the extreme western (front) end of the Rockaway Park-bound platform where there is now a no exit sign and an unstaffed exit with an iron maiden with a slot for depositing the extra fare used to exist.

Looking off of the elevated line at Beach 98 St-Playland, beyond the chain-link fence along the Rockaway Park-bound platform, small houses as well as an apartment building are visible in this photo.

The metal windscreen that is basically bare of paint along the Broad Channel-bound platform at Rockaway Park.

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