370 Jay Street

370 Jay Street
370 Jay Street in March 2018
Map
General information
TypeOffice
Architectural styleModernist
Location370 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY
11201
United States
Coordinates40°41′34″N 73°59′16″W / 40.692804°N 73.987731°W / 40.692804; -73.987731
Completed1951
Renovated2015−2017[1]
OwnerCity of New York
Technical details
Floor count13
Design and construction
Architect(s)William Haugaard and Andrew J. Thomas
Renovating team
Renovating firmMitchell−Giurgola Architects

370 Jay Street, also called the Transportation Building[2][3] or Transit Building, is a building located at the northwest corner of Jay Street and Willoughby Street within the MetroTech Center complex in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. The site is bounded by Pearl Street to the west, and was formerly bound by Myrtle Avenue at its north end; this portion of the street has since been de-mapped.[4][5][6]

The site has historically served as the headquarters for the operating agency of the New York City Transit System, built by the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT). After 1953, it housed the New York City Transit Authority and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which succeeded the BOT. The building is notable for housing the revenue-collecting operations of the New York City Subway, performed by money trains on nearby subway lines, which were connected to the lower levels of the building via passageways.

The building is one of the earliest modernist buildings in the city.[7][8][9] When it opened in the 1950s Lewis Mumford praised it for its design, and architect Robert A. M. Stern in the 1990s considered it a historic building and potential landmark.[2][5] In recent times, however, the building has been viewed as an "eyesore" within the Downtown Brooklyn landscape, and has fallen into disrepair as the MTA has gradually vacated the building since 1990. In 2012, New York University (NYU) reached an agreement with the MTA to take over the building and renovate and restore it to become part of its Brooklyn Campus. NYU started moving into 370 Jay Street in 2017.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYU-370JaySt-Construction was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Dunlap, David W. (April 26, 2012). "As Transit Building Is Remade, a 'Stirring' Memorial Will Be Removed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  3. ^ "Late B. of T.'s Rare Insight Saved Ol' Bronze Monicker". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 16, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved October 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BOT-1949 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NYTimes-35Landmarks-1996 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Request for Approval of TSCA Risk-based Clean-up of PCBs: 370 Jay Street Brooklyn, New York" (PDF). TRC Environmental Corporation, New York University, United States Environmental Protection Agency. September 22, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference BklynArchGuide was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Gray, Christopher (February 20, 2005). "Streetscapes/Brooklyn; Can Nearly Half a Building Add Up to a Landmark?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYCDOT-Willoughby-Jan2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).