Second Ave. Sagas

Roberts: NYCT stations in a state of disrepair

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

This weekend, on two separate occasions, I had the opportunity to see first-hand the state of the subway system. On Saturday evening, I took the N train from Pacific St. to Coney Island, and on Sunday, I used the Smith/9th Sts. subway stop coming to and going from Red Hook. Neither of these experiences presented much hope for the state of stations in disrepair.

The Smith/9th Sts. station has gotten a lot of press of late. Originally, the MTA had planned a full station overhaul as part of the Culver Viaduct Rehabilitation project. But when parts of the project were scaled back, the station rehab plans were placed in limbo. The station itself is a mess. The paint is beyond peeling; there are holes in the staircase; and it’s generally one of the ugliest and most run-down stations in the system. With views of Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bay of New York, it should be a crown jewel.

Meanwhile, on that N ride through Brooklyn, the Sea Beach line journeys through Gravesend and Bensonhurst en route to the modern marvel at Stillwell Ave. on Coney Island. As the N journeys through a trench in Brooklyn, decrepit station after decrepit station pass by. Walls are damaged by leaking pipes and dirty water. Paint is gone. Platforms are cracked. The train travels past a physically unsafe and visually unpleasant set of station.

These are just two examples of a widespread problem found in our subway system. The stations are in a state of disrepair, and according to New York City Transit President Howard Roberts, these conditions may be here to stay. Angela Montefinise and Kathianne Boniello had the story in The Post recently:

The head of New York City Transit acknowledges that less than a quarter of the Big Apple’s subway stations are in acceptable condition – and says the agency is an “unbelievably long distance” from bringing the rest up to par, even with higher fares.

“There’s not anything out there that anybody is very proud of,” NYC Transit President Howard Roberts Jr. told The Post in a wide-ranging interview about the fundamental problems plaguing the city’s 468 subway stations as the agency slashes its budget and talks about raising fares twice more in the coming three years…

Roberts’ response: It’s extremely bad, and it isn’t going to get better any time soon. Roberts said the number of stations in good condition could be “as low as 100,” far fewer than his agency’s capital plan suggests.

The issue, of course, is what it always is: The MTA doesn’t have the funds to do more than maintain the status quo. “We’re not doing as many rehabs, and we have very limited capacity to maintain and clean the stations we do have,” Roberts said to The Post. “We really do not have the funding to do a first-class job.”

According to the NYCT chief, the transit agency would have to employ over 800 more station cleaners and many more maintenance workers than it currently does. So as you look around at your surroundings each morning and wonder when those streaks of grimy water and patches of missing tiles are going to go away, just know that the answer is that they aren’t any time soon. As long as we have politicians who are reluctant to think out of the box in order to fund transit, our system will continue to suffer. And that status quo will just become more and more expensive to maintain.

We’re a long way from seeing our stations in a state of good repair, and that’s a damn shame.

Comments

3 responses to “Roberts: NYCT stations in a state of disrepair”

  1. Ray

    It’s confusing to me why an organization as large as the MTA cannot think its way thru this problem.

    Many stations in disrepair are in great neighborhoods. There are community boards, local business interests (BIDS), and other institutional stake holders that would benefit from a spiffy station stop. Why not set up a model where stakeholders can share or even assume the meager expense of maintenance. What is it, a part time janitor, routine replacement of light bulbs and an annual paint job? There’s no excuse for filth on the walls & floors, missing tiles or peeling paint (looks like no-one has touched it in 25 years).

    There are 468 stations that could be placed into commercial leasing portfolios. Incredible to me that these ‘holes in the ground’ are in the same city that plays host to projects by Vornado, Related, General Growth, Simon, Tishman Speyer etc. These firms are expert at leveraging foot traffic to create new revenue streams (MTA can hold the reigns to keep it all reasonable). We should have the best subway stations on Earth! The MTA just sealed a deal with Related for the Westside rail yards. They have all the contacts in-hand to make these deals. Every time I walk thru Union Square, Times Square or Herald Square – I keep thinking about missed opportunities.

    Where are the dollars going from advertising and sponsorship revenue? I would like to know when the ad contract is up – as it does not appear CBS is truly taking advantage. Every day we don’t demand more there is inventory moving thru the stations (and its us!). Technology has moved on. Cemusa’s street furniture campaign is closer to state of the art. The advertising contract should include the cost of new high resolution information displays (let’s say we need 2500 LCD monitors – another sponsorship oppty!), and high quality public address systems, let’s think big – how about sponsored platform doors and air-conditioning! And again, there should be enough money left over to empty the garbage, wash the floors daily, replace broken tiles and annually paint.

    Adopt A Station. Perhaps local residents, classrooms, churches or other organizations may want to pitch in to be part of the solution. It could be a joint fund-raising opportunity. Groups raise money all the time to build a play-ground or fix the local park. The MTA could provide a conduit for locals to contribute resulting in 50% toward the station and 50% to the local group.

    We have many incarcerated people who would probably would like the chance to get out and do something productive. Union’s aside (sure it would be an issue); these are often a ready and willing work-force.

    Naming rights. Two major donors (whom I’ve never heard of) have put their name on the NY State Theatre and our Library. There are 468 naming opportunities out there.

    And finally, and likely the easiest, the MTA vending machine could ask with every transaction if we (the riders) would like to add $1 more to the station rehabilitation trust fund. I bet we’d find $500 million dollars in the first six months.

    That’s enough.

    Reply
  2. Boris

    Ray,

    That’s an excellent idea. And there are many possible variations on this theme. For example, station maintenance can be “outsourced” to a company that would keep a certain percentage of ad revenue as long as the station meets some minimum cleanliness criteria.

    On the other hand, as Ben’s broken escalator post pointed out, sometimes private companies in charge of stations in their buildings fail in their responsibilities to keep things in working order- presumably because there are no consequences. So maybe it’s better to stick with non-profits or BIDs for station maintenance. In any case, something must be done, and soon.

    Reply
  3. Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog » Blog Archive » NYCTRC: What about an Adopt-A-Station program?

    […] know this already. We’ve had everyone from NYCT President Howard Roberts to the Straphangers Campaign and some local politicians tell us so. But the report contains some […]

    Reply

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