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QUEENS WEEKLY, AUGUST 18, 2019
Most Queens subway stations are crumbling
DiNapoli report says that age and wear-and-tear are taking their course at many stations
BY MARK HALLUM
State Comptroller Tom
DiNapoli issued a report
on a declining state-ofgood
repair across all
subway stations that is not
surprising anyone — not
even the MTA.
The report derived
MTA data from 2017 that
showed that of the 15,500
components across all 471
stations in New York City
Transit, 29 percent of them
were worn or damaged, an
increase of two percentage
points from 2012 numbers.
Things are particularly
bad in Queens, according
to DiNapoli’s findings, as
44 percent of all subway
stations in the “World’s
Borough” were found to
have “worn or damaged
structural components.”
The Flushing-Main
Street Station of the 7 line
stood out in the report
as the most heavily used
stop in the borough, but
also sporting a dismal 45
percent of the structural
components worn or
damaged. Platform edges,
ventilators and other
structural components had
seen the greatest spike in
poor repair between 2012
and 2017.
But the MTA claims that
while the data is correct,
the comptroller’s office
may have misrepresented
the data. One transit expert
who weighed in claimed
anyone with familiarity
with city’s transit system
is already aware of
these problems and the
government’s priorities
may be misplaced in
addressing them.
“Years of underfunding
for the MTA capital
program has translated
into a longer list of needed
repairs in New York City’s
subway stations, fewer
stations in good condition,
and ever-increasing
rider aggravation,”
DiNapoli said. “The rising
number of potentially
hazardous worn or
damaged platform edges
is particularly troubling.
On the plus side, the MTA
has been able to reduce
the number of the most
serious station defects,
but a lot more needs to be
done to address declining
station conditions. It is up
to the MTA to prioritize
its limited resources to
ensure its next capital
program improves
service and conditions
for riders.”
The MTA defended the
state of its infrastructure
claiming that the data
oversimplifies different
types of issues, with some
components not posing any
sort of safety issue.
“As the comptroller
notes in his report,
NYC Transit has made
significant strides at station
repairs systemwide thanks
to a station maintenance
program that focuses on
addressing individual
components with serious
defects,” MTA spokesman
Tim Minton said. “This
is in lieu of performing
major structural work
throughout a station –
work that often requires
closures or bypasses that
inconveniences customers.
The comptroller’s
conclusion about the
number of stations in
fully repaired condition is
flawed in that many more
stations contain only minor
issues, affecting neither
safety nor the customer
experience. Those stations
are understandably
not prioritized for
immediate repair.”
Larry Penner, a transit
historian who spent 31 years
with the U.S. Department
of Transportation Federal
Transit Administration’s
New York office, told QNS
that the figures came as
no surprise.
“This is nothing anyone
in the transit industry
did not already know,”
Penner said.
With the state
focusing on widespread
improvements across all
systems and lines while
facing a $1 billion deficit
by 2022, Penner said other
improvements such as
Phase 2 of the Second
Avenue Subway should be
placed on hold.
“At the end of the day, it
is a question of available
funding to keep the 471
subway stations in a state
of good repair. You also
have the added challenge
of making many more
stations ADA compliant
by adding elevators,”
Penner continued. “The
challenge facing the
MTA as it develops the
next 2020 – 2024 Five
Year Capital Plan which
may be between $30 to
$40 billion is dependent
upon how much funding
is raised from Congestion
Pricing which does
not kick in until
January 2021.”
In Woodside, local
leaders have watched as
the 61st Street-Woodside
Station has fallen into a
state of ruin. Debris has
been seen falling from
elevated tracks near stops
which documentation
is clear have declined,
striking cars and nearly
causing injury.
The MTA has claimed
that it has crews walking
the 7 line on the ground
and at track level, on foot,
twice a week. QNS has filed
a Freedom of Information
request with the agency
in March seeking
documentation from these
inspections, but has not
heard back from the MTA
since April regarding
the inquiry.
Reach reporter
Mark Hallum by
email at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4564.
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
/schnepsmedia.com
