Just months after opening, $2.4 billion Hudson Yards station plagued with problems

Shirleen Allicot Image
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Hudson Yards station plagued with problems
Shirleen Allicot has a look at the problems at the new Hudson Yards subway station.

HELL'S KITCHEN, Manhattan (WABC) -- The Hudson Yards subway station just opened six months ago at a price tag of $2.4 billion, but there are reports that it is plagued with problems -- everything from leaky ceilings to broken escalators.

At first brush, the station appears beautiful, with its canopy entrance way. But get inside after a rainy day, and some say you need your umbrella.

"Coming from Queens over here to the West Side, there really weren't that many subway options," commuter Chris Aiola said. "So this was really an easier commute for me."

A half a year after it opened, and Aiola can't believe his eyes. The station that took 13 years to complete already looks wet and weary.

"It even happens when you're on the escalators," he said. "So you have all this water dripping not only on you, but on the machines, too."

Water stains riddle the entire ceiling above the escalator, and at the bottom of the stairs, it can get really wet.

Aiola snapped photos after a particularly rainy day and tweeted them with the hashtag #MTAfail.

The bathrooms are closed, and two out of the four escalators are shut down. So how does this happen to a multi billion-dollar project?

"There's no reason why a brand new station should have water coming into the the station," MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said. "For lack of a better word, it's unacceptable."

Ortiz said the Yonkers Contracting Company is responsible for the waterproofing, or in this case, the lack hereof.

"We've ordered the contractor to go in and do everything it can as quickly as possible to address the issues immediately," he said.

Meanwhile, riders are just going to have to cope.

"It kind of drips down your head," Riverdale commuter Valerie Cruz said. "I have to prepare myself with a hat and gloves as I'm passing down this way."

It is expected to take eight to 10 weeks for repairs to be made.

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