BY BEN VERDE
Transit authorities unveiled
a shiny new entrance and mezzanine
inside the Nostrand Avenue
subway stop on the A/C
line, following a months-long,
$2 million project to restore the
long-shuttered Bedford-Stuyvesant
entryway.
The new access point on
the corner of Bedford Avenue
and Fulton Street aims to cut
the commute time for people
who live west of the station,
and reduce crowding at
the existing entrances, said
bigwigs at the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
Even a two-minute walk
to a different entrance could
cause someone to miss the
train, said MTA Chief Customer
COURIER LIFE, F 12 EBRUARY 12-18, 2021
Offi cer Sarah Meyer
at a Feb. 4 press conference.
“That’s taking precious minutes
off of someone’s commute,
and when that makes a
difference between catching
a train and missing it, that
savings in time adds up even
more,” she said.
The Bedford Avenue and
Fulton Street access point
was closed to the public for
over 30 years, after the NYPD
transit bureau determined
they could not adequately police
the corridor when subway
crime ran rampant.
“That was then, this is
now,” said Meyer. “The city
is a much safer place, the subway
is a much safer place.”
In the last year, violent
The Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street entrance of the Nostrand Avenue station on the A/C lines reopened to
the public Feb. 4 after decades closed. Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit
crime and instances of vandalism
have risen in the subway
as the coronavirus pandemic
has caused ridership to plummet.
However, overall crime is
nowhere near the levels seen
in the 1970s, which caused entrances
like the one on Bedford
Avenue to shutter.
The new entrance provides
an in-station transfer between
the Rockaway-bound and Manhattan
bound platforms, and
the mezzanine is well-lit with
LED lights. NYPD offi cials
said offi cers will regularly be
stationed on the platform and
subway cars.
Although the upgrades
don’t come with an elevator
to make the station compliant
with the Americans with Disabilities
Act, Meyer said that
the stop is on the shortlist for
the 2020 fi scal year to receive
accessibility upgrades pending
federal funding.
The massive project was
funded with $1 million from
the MTA, $750,000 provided by
former Assemblymember Tremaine
Wright, and $250,000
from former state Sen. Velmanette
Montgomery.
“I am so pleased and greatly
appreciate the work by MTA
NYC Transit forces to get this
work done in such a short time
and in such diffi cult circumstances,”
Montgomery said.
“This is a huge win for the Bedford
Stuyvesant community.”
WELCOME
BACK!
Nostrand Ave station entrance
reopens after over 30 years
NYC VACCINE FOR ALL:
SAFE, FREE, EASY
nyc.gov/covidvaccine
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD MSc
Commissioner
Let’s take back our city.
One vaccination at a time.
/covidvaccine