View Photos of Work Being Completed Over the Weekend
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced crews have completed renovation of the 21 St-Queensbirdge subway station in Long Island City, Queens as part of New York City Transit’s Re-NEW-vation campaign to bring targeted resources to rebuild components of the station within a 55-hour window. The Queensbridge re-NEW-vation brought several enhancements to the station to increase cleanliness and safety. Crews renewed the main entrance awning, performed concrete and tile repairs on the platform, installed new LED fixtures in poorly lit areas of the station, and repaired damaged stairways. Crews also scraped, primed, and painted the entire station. Work was also completed to clean and rehabilitate critical back-of-house facilities utilized by NYC Transit employees.
With 13 station re-NEW-vations announced last month for the Q2 2023, NYC Transit is on track to complete 34 stations by the end of June, with a goal of 50 re-NEW-vated stations by the end of 2023. Thus far in 2023, NYC Transit has completed 17 re-NEW-vations.
Stations are selected based on planned weekend outages to minimize impact to customers, and following initial deep cleanings and repairs, routine and specialized cleaning will maintain this level of cleanliness.
“I am delighted to welcome customers at Queensbridge to their Re-NEW-vated station, as we continue to pursue our goals of faster, cleaner, and safer service” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey. “I am especially glad that customers at a station which serves the largest public housing development in the United States will benefit from a station environment that is visibly enhanced, bringing tangible improvements to their daily experience while we are already performing critical work to keep our system fast and reliable.”
“Whenever a New Yorker heads up or down those steps to enter our subway system, they deserve to walk into a station that is clean, safe and welcoming. Thank you to the MTA for its work to give the 21st Street – Queensbridge station a facelift and create an inviting space for our neighbors as they go about their commutes,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. "I look forward to additional stations across the borough receiving these much-needed maintenance upgrades in the months to come.”
"I am excited for our Western Queens subways to get the attention they deserve! Our subway lines are the heartbeat of our city and the main mode of transportation for our commuters," said Council Member Julie Won. "The long overdue reNEWvations at 21st St- Queensbridge F-train and Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave 7-train stations are much appreciated by our community. The increased lighting, cleanliness, and other upgrades will increase ridership and lead to overall safety and satisfaction for our neighbors."
About the Station Re-NEW-vation Program
The Station Re-NEW-vation Program is one of the major initiatives in NYC Transit’s Faster, Cleaner and Safer plan to improve subway customer experience. The program was initiated with a soft launch over the summer of 2022 on the BD line in the Bronx, deep cleaning and renovating components of nine stations along the Grand Concourse line while the stations were closed for state of good repair work. Cleanliness is one of the top five attributes customers cite in surveys that would improve satisfaction and encourage them to travel more. In response, NYC Transit developed this program integrating renovations into planned station outages.