This station opened on May 28, 1917 under the
Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad, an affiliate of the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. From the late-1950s into the 1960s the New York City Transit Authority had a proposal to realign the BMT Jamaica Line between Grant or Nichols Avenue (east of
Crescent Street station) and 80th Street and Jamaica Avenue (just west of this station). This realignment would have also included a bi-directional express track. The realignment was never carried out. "85th Street" was added to the name in 1966. In February 2023, the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would temporarily close for renovations as part of a station renewal contract at four stations on the Jamaica Line. On August 12, 2024, the Queens-bound platform closed. The closure shifted to the Manhattan-bound platform in mid-January 2025. Work includes platform renewals, replacement of stairs, canopies, and windscreens, installation of artwork, and minimizing the gaps between the train and the platform edge. The work is being performed by Gramercy PJS Joint-Venture. ==Station layout==