[4] Prior to the Dual Contracts, trains either operated down Broadway to Broadway Ferry (which closed upon the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge tracks to Essex Street) or Lexington Avenue, eventually merging onto the Myrtle Avenue El.

In 2024, the MTA announced that the Gates Avenue station would become fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.

Each platform has beige windscreens and red canopies (both with green frames) that run along the entire length except for a small section at both ends.

The 2002 artwork here is called Dream Train by Chris Robinson and features mass transit-related stained glass windows in the station house and the windscreens.

On the west end, each platform has a single staircase leading to an elevated station house beneath the tracks.