14 St-Union Square (4,5,6)

The 4,5,6 at Union Square has two island platforms for the four-track line along with closed and tiled off former exit side platforms along the local tracks. The remains of the decorative terra-cotta wall tiles, primarily from these exit platforms, now reappear in the mezzanine as part of the Arts For Transit Installation. The two directions of the station are offset from each other with the downtown platform farther north than the uptown one. The station is also located on a bit of a curve, severe enough that the northern half of the downtown platform employs gap fillers to make them more manageable. After the reconstruction and reconfiguration of the Times Square Station on the 42 Street Shuttle in 2021, this is the last subway station to employ gap fillers. These fillers close after a train has arrived in the station (there is a short but noticeable delay in the doors being open when entering) but leaving trains start moving with the gap fillers still deployed and this movement causes the gap fillers to close with trains looking like they are pushing the gap fillers away.

The mezzanine level above the platform is not just one passageway but a series of three above the platforms and another to the west of them providing unique views above the tracks and platforms. The mezzanine and staircases up to it are exclusively at the front of the train on each platform (because of the way the platforms are offset from each other) with 5 staircases connecting the platforms to these mezzanine corridors above but no elevators even though the street elevator for the N,Q,R,L is in this portion of the station. The connection to the L train (two staircases via an intermediate mezzanine) and its platform elevator is along the southern side of the mezzanine with the mezzanine passageways basically free-flowing into the N,Q,R,Ls at its NW corner. Elevators haven't been installed to the 4,5,6 platforms because of the sharp curves that results in too wide a gap between the train and the platform to meet ADA requirements.

For exits starting at the SW corner of the mezzanine, high turnstiles lead out to two street stairs to the SW corner of 14 Street and 4 Avenue. The main fare control area with a full time token booth and wide bank of turnstiles is across form here it leads to two standard streetstairs at the SE corner of 14 Street and 4 Avenue. To the NE corner things are a bit more complicated with first the elevator and then two escalators and a wide staircase arrive at 14 Street beyond the corner of the intersection with what becomes known as Union Square East, these are right next to the entrance to a Food Emporium owned by Zeckendorf Towers, a high rise housing development. The final entrance is from the NE corner of the mezzanine and has high turnstiles that lead to a single MVM and an entrance right at the SE corner of 15 Street and Union Square inside an existing building.
Photos 41: June 6, 2004; 2-5: April 21, 2007; 6-15: December 31, 2009; 16 & 17: August 12, 2011; 18-29: September 16, 2011; 30-32: September 22, 2011; 33-42: November 3, 2012; 43-47: September 22, 2011; 48: September 3, 2023; 49-51: September 24, 2023.