Renovated 110th Street B/C subway reopens
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- A Manhattan subway station that has been closed for more than four months is back in service, and the MTA's new president says the renovation is more than just cosmetic.
The 110th Street B/C subway upgrades were desperately needed, and there are new railings, artistic tiles, clear partitions and large digital information screens.
NYC Transit President Andy Byford says it could be coming to a station near you.
"Subject to funding, we will renovate, completely modernize 150 stations," he said. "And the following five years, we will renovate and modernize another 150 stations."
The initial station shutdown was met with protestors who were not happy and wondering why the renovation didn't include making the station handicap accessible.
It is a question many still have.
"If they spent a lot, that definitely should've been a consideration," commuter Amanda Humes said. "Things take time. It's an old system. I'm glad to see some improvements, is better than no improvement at all."
Byford insists the work that was done was less about aesthetics and more about necessity.
"To put the elevators in would've required a much longer closure," he said. "This work was not intended to install elevators...This has been about addressing basic underlying infrastructure of these stations, rebuilding platforms, redoing columns, putting right decades of underinvestment where columns are literally wearing away."
Several other stations along the West Side are also being renovated, like 72nd Street, and are expected to reopen soon.
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