The MTA opened a new entrance—or "headhouse"—for the West 96th Street 1, 2, 3 station in Manhattan today. There's still more work to be done—according to the agency, the renovation includes "installation of new lighting, improved ventilation, a new public address system and a new customer information center along with new signage, security equipment and floor and wall tiles, restoration of historic station finishes and mosaics, and the installation of artwork"—but the biggest change is that customers will be able to walk directly to platforms.
At the 96th Street station, you had to walk down two flights of stairs (like these) and then back another flight to get to the trains. NY Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast said, "Eliminating the need to walk down and up extra sets of stairs to reach the train platform is a big plus of the new design."
There will also be elevators, which will allow disabled straphangers to use the station. Second Avenue Sagas' Benjamin Kabak was at the opening and reports that MTA CEO Jay Walker said, "We’re proud of how far we’ve come from the dark ages but at the same time we’re not satisfied with the level of service we provide," while non-voting MTA board member Andrew Albert noted, "I think it’s wonderful that we’re opening wonderful new stations. But it’s a dichotomy when you consider the service to be cut running through these stations.”
