Second Ave. Sagas

Smith/9th Sts. reopens as work impacts 14 lines

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

Alyson Shotz’ mosaic map was adapted from a 1779 nautical map of New York Harbor as seen from the shoreline of Brooklyn. (Photo: MTA Arts for Transit & Urban Design.)

I’m out of town, and I couldn’t make it to the Smith/9th Sts. reopening on Friday morning. But from all accounts, it was a rather muted affair. Local politicians and transit officials engaged in a fair amount of back-slapping, but they also acknowledged the pain they put the neighborhood through.

“This has been a long and complicated project and the community has demonstrated tremendous patience throughout, and for that we are extremely grateful,” Acting NYC Transit President Carmen Bianco. “The entire Culver project serves as an example of how in a system as old and vast as ours, renewing, rebuilding and rehabilitating must be an ongoing effort. We will never be in a position where we can step back and say it’s done.”

I’ll spare you the stock quotes from politicians. Instead, we can take a peek at what the MTA accomplished. The agency posted 84 photos to its flickr page, and while work remains, the station is now fit for passenger service. This part of the Culver Viaduct rehab cost $32 million and cost the neighborhood two years of subway service. In the meantime, work has included the following:

  • Expanded and rehabilitated station control house with new architectural finishes
  • Refurbished station agent booth, stairways, and escalators
  • Reorganized Fare Control Area
  • Installed new platform canopies
  • Installed new lighting, public address system, and signage throughout the station

    • Installed new decorative, architectural fencing at platform level

In other words, it’s a typical station rehab but for the system’s tallest stop. The Arts for Transit installation lends the once-decrepit station a calm air as well. Some of the new windows feature reproductions of old nauitcal maps, and a 14-foot tall mosaic honors the Red Hook area’s maritime history.

All in all this rehab project took far too long, but service is back now. Meanwhile, we have a bunch of other


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, there is no 1 train service between 14th Street and South Ferry due to Cortlandt Street reconstruction.

  • Free shuttle buses operate between Chambers Street and South Ferry.
  • 1 trains operate express in both directions between 34th Street-Penn Station and 14th Street
  • 2 and 3 trains run local in both directions between 34th Street-Penn Station and Chambers Street

Overnight Note: Downtown 1 trains run local from Times Square-42nd Street to 14th Street.


From 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27, downtown (Manhattan-bound) 1 trains skip 238th Street due to staircase repair at 238th Street.


From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, April 27 to 10 p.m. Sunday, April 28, downtown (Manhattan-bound) 2 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street due to track panel installation at Freeman Street. Note: 5 trains run between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street all weekend.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, April 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, 2 trains run local in both directions between 34th Street and Chambers Street due to Cortlandt Street reconstruction.


From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, 3 trains run local in both directions between 34th Street and Chambers Street due to Cortlandt Street reconstruction.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, April 27, and from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, April 27 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 28 and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, April 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, uptown 4 trains run express from 14th Street-Union Square to Grand Central-42nd Street due to tie block renewal at 14th Street-Union Square.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, downtown (Manhattan-bound) 4 trains skip 138th Street-Grand Concourse due to station rehabilitation at 149th Street-Grand Concourse.


From 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, there is no 5 train service between East 180th Street and Bowling Green due to station rehabilitation at 149th Street-Grand Concourse. 5 service operates between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street only.

  • For service between East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse, customers may take to 2 instead.
  • For service between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and Bowling Green, customers may take the 4 instead.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, uptown 6 trains run express from 14th Street-Union Square to Grand Central-42nd Street due to tie block renewal at 14th Street-Union Square.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, there is no A train service between 168th Street and 207th Street due to station painting at 175th Street. A service operates between 168th Street and Lefferts Blvd and between 168th Street and Howard Beach-JFK Airport. Free shuttle buses operate in two segments:

  • Between 168th Street and 207th Street, making stops on Broadway at 175th, 181st , 190th and Dyckman Street
  • Between 168th Street and 190th Street, making stops on Fort Washington Avenue at 175th Street and 181st Street only


From 10:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, April 27, from 10:45 p.m. Saturday, April 27 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 28 and from 10:45 p.m. Sunday, April 28 to 5 a.m. Monday April 29, Brooklyn-bound A trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due to survey and sample testing from manholes and tubes.


From 11:15 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, Manhattan-bound A trains run express from Euclid Avenue to Broadway Junction due to tie block renewal at Euclid Avenue.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, there are no C trains between 145th Street and 168th Street due to station painting at 175th Street. Customers should take the A instead. A trains run local between 145th Street and 168th Street.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, Brooklyn-bound C trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due survey and sample testing from manholes and tubes.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, Manhattan-bound C trains run express from Euclid Avenue to Broadway Junction due to tie block renewal at Euclid Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, April 27, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, April 27 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 28 and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, April 28 to 5 a.m. Monday April 29, Manhattan-bound D trains operate express from 36th Street to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center due to conduit installation on ceilings in station area and platform edge work at Union Street.


From 11:15 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the M line after 36th Street, Queens to 47th-50th Sts due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for the Second Avenue Subway project.


From 10:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the A from West 4th Street to Jay Street-MetroTech due to conduit installation on ceilings in station area and platform edge work at Union Street.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, there is no G train service between Church Avenue and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts due to tie block renewal north of Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. For F service, customers may take the A or C between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts and Jay Street-MetroTech. G service operates in two sections:

  • Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avs.
  • Between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts, every 20 minutes.


From 12:45 a.m. Saturday, April 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, J service operates in two sections due to escalator repair at Bowery:

  • Between Jamaica Center and Essex Street
  • Between Essex Street and Chambers Street, every 20 minutes.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, April 26 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, April 27, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, April 27 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 28 and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, April 28 to 5 a.m. Monday April 29, Manhattan-bound N trains run express from 36th Street to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center due to conduit installation on ceilings in station area and platform edge work at Union Street.


From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, Manhattan-bound R trains run express from 36th Street to Atlantic Avenue Barclays Center due to conduit installation on ceilings in station area and platform edge work at Union Street.

Comments

26 responses to “Smith/9th Sts. reopens as work impacts 14 lines”

  1. alek

    From 12:45 a.m. Saturday, April 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 29, J service operates in two sections due to escalator repair at Bowery:

    •Between Jamaica Center and Essex Street
    •Between Essex Street and Chambers Street, every 20 minutes.

    This is the most odd GO ever! Why they cannot just close off the esclator area and work on it while keep the full (J) service. Unless there is a work train using one of the tracks

    Reply
  2. Jerrold

    “…….due to Cortlandt Street reconstruction.”

    This REASON for a service change sounds like damn good news!

    BEN, do you know any more information about the reconstruction
    of Cortlandt St. on the #1 line?

    Reply
    1. John-2

      I haven’t seen any details, expect that the shell’s there ready to be completed and attached to whatever’s above it — or below it. (You’d think that at the very least the new station will have some sort of fare control within the Calatrava porcupine for easier access to and from PATH. The old layout downgraded the connections close to PATH where Cortlandt Street once was into iron maiden exit-only stairs, while fare control was placed in the wall below the WTC complex’s plaza, but with access only via the current PATH access point, at Greenwich and Vescey streets).

      Also, here’s hoping the MTA doesn’t make new Cortlandt Street look like new South Ferry (pre-Sandy). Or like the original pre-9/11 rehab for Cortlandt Street, which was done during the period where the MTA was still into ‘improving’, instead of restoring, the original look of the stations.

      Reply
      1. Jerrold

        I seem to remember that those iron maiden gates WERE useable for entry also, IF you had a token.

        Reply
        1. John-2

          Uptown Cortlandt might have been; I just remember downtown Cortlandt in the corridor to the south and west of the PATH escalators with an “EXIT ONLY” sign on the door leading to the stairs.

          Nowadays, of course, the station would have had a high-entry Metrocard option if it was still there, and a high-entry gate would be justified now on the downtown side (if they put the station back as it was from 1970-2001) because you now can get on downtown and continue to Brooklyn via the R transfer at South Ferry. But for all the money that’s being spent on the PATH headhouse and it’s proximity to Cortlandt Street, segregating the entrances of the two lines because the Port Authority and the MTA’s architectural design departments can’t play nice with each other would be idiotic.

          Reply
      2. Jeff

        The new Cortlandt station is fully integrated with the PATH Hub, and in fact the construction of the station is being managed by the PA since everything is interconnected.

        And the old station is completely gone. Its 100% a new station.

        Reply
        1. Nathanael

          And, for once, it’s going to be ADA-accessible. Perhaps because it’s managed by the PA rather than by NYC Subway.

          Reply
    2. Jeff

      Line is closed for the weekend for the demolition of the old station structure (the new structure was completed as part of the HUB). They still have yet to start on the new station.

      Reply
  3. Tower18

    They must be painting a classic fresco at 175th st, that’s like 3 or 4 weekends now for painting…when Fastrack was just on that segment not that long ago.

    Reply
    1. pea-jay

      It’s a pretty thorough paint job but I wish they would clean the tiles too.

      As for painting, 181 and 190 are still in pretty rough shape with 181 getting a slapdash paint job in sections without really doing a great job in any particular place.

      Reply
  4. asar

    Im gonna check out smith 9sts next sat. It seems pretty cool. Unless the f doesnt have any delays, it should be pretty fine on my schedule!

    Reply
    1. MaximusNYC

      Checked it out today. A lot of nice details — light-years away from the peeling paint and decrepit feeling of the old station. (But I did find the old station strangely enjoyable as a post-industrial ruin.)

      But one thing about the new station is super-cheesy. You know the section of the platforms that has no overhang (at the far end from the stairs)? The walls have tile mosaics at intervals that say SMITH 9TH ST. Or rather, they used to. Now the tile has been replaced by what appear to be vinyl decals of a mosaic — the same stuff the big subway platform ads are made of!

      It actually is good enough that if you’re looking at one of these signs from on board a train, you’ll probably think it’s a real mosaic. And I am guessing that they’re eventually going to replace the mosaics that used to be there — the northernmost sign like this on the Manhattan-bound platform is actually made of tiles that have tape over them, and no grout between them yet.

      I’m guessing that this was done in the rush to finally finish the station and get it open. It’s both creative and desperate. Hope the real mosaics get installed soon.

      Reply
      1. MaximusNYC

        Aha — the MTA even put a picture of one of these fake mosaics (without identifying it as such) in their Flickr feed!

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/m…..342736277/

        Reply
      2. Kai B

        Hah, I didn’t even realize they were fake when I walked by them on Friday.

        I was wondering how those were installed so quickly when they were still blank slabs just two weeks ago.

        Reply
      3. MaximusNYC

        The station has a lot of other issues also. From the ground you can see that the exterior surfaces are at best half-finished — lots of yet-to-be-resealed concrete, temporary scaffolding, metal paneling with plastic wrapping still partially attached, etc.

        And I noticed that some of the corrugated metal panels that make up the exterior walls alongside the upper flight of escalators have very visible openings to the outside around their edges. Not sure if this is just sloppy work that’s going to stay that way, or if some kind of edging is going to be added to cover these gaps.

        It feels like they made a big push to get the interior looking just good enough for public use. But the work is far from done.

        Reply
  5. D in Bushwick

    So why weren’t elevators added to this station?

    Reply
    1. Kai B

      Expense related to the complexity is what I heard most frequently yesterday.

      Reply
    2. Berk32

      Well look at the station location (Google maps works fine if you aren’t familiar with it) and ask yourself – Where would elevators be placed?

      The main platforms area is over the Gowanus Canal – so you want the elevators to be placed on the road bridge?

      The station house and fare control is west of the platforms – one has to take 2 long escalators to get to the platform level- if an elevator was placed at fare control, it wouldn’t be near the platforms.

      Extending the platforms west would’ve been the only way they could have begun to consider adding elevators. And if ADA laws don’t require them to do it – they aren’t doing it. (Also I doubt they have the space around the station house under their control to do it anyway)

      Reply
    3. Epson45

      heres your answer: http://landing.newsinc.com/wpi…..D=24768848

      Reply
      1. Berk32

        Thank you clueless anchorwoman for summing things up…

        “It’s too expensive”
        “Still..”

        Reply
        1. Chris C

          They also said at least twice that it was a ‘new’ station when it clearly isn’t.

          Is he so bad at his job that it took 4 takes to get his report right? lol

          Reply
  6. Kai B

    It does appear, according to the MTA’s Weekender, that the G is running to Church Ave, since the one-track operation is in the northern section (north of Nassau Ave). Therefore there isn’t a constraint south of Bedford-Nostrand.

    Weekend, 5 AM to 11:59 PM, Sat and Sun, Apr 27 – 28

    The last stop for some trains headed toward Court Sq is Bedford-Nostrand Avs

    • Transfer at Bedford-Nostrand Avs to continue your trip.

    Note: At Greenpoint Av, all trains board at the Church Av-bound platform.

    What is very strange is that only “some trains” will terminate at Bedford-Nostrand. I have never seen this verbiage (or operation) in my 5+ years of reading these weekend service changes.

    I am about to head “downtown” so I’ll see what’s actually up.

    Reply
    1. Kai B

      Very interesting service pattern. Essentially every other northbound train turns at Bedford-Nostrand while the rest go through to Court Square. I was lucky and got one of the ones going through.

      And yes, the southern stations are being served since the one-track section is north of Nassau.

      Reply
  7. paulb

    The blue mosaic is dazzling.

    Reply
  8. petey

    the wall in that picture looks great.

    Reply
  9. Nathanael

    ” Expanded and rehabilitated station control house with new architectural finishes”

    How specific. An expanded station control house. In other words, an architectural ALTERATION. That triggers the ADA new build requirements, MTA.

    I suspect people in wheelchairs are getting exhausted what with the number of times they’ve had to sue the city (and other agencies like the MTA), because of its flagrant refusal to even consider obeying the law.

    Reply

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