39th Ave-Dutch Kills station (Photo: Facebook Dutch Kills Civic Association)
Jan. 28, 2019 By Christian Murray
The 39th Avenue subway station in Astoria reopened today after nearly seven months of renovation work.
The reopening was announced by the MTA via twitter at about 2 p.m. today and comes just four days after the reopening of the nearby Broadway station.
Straphangers and local organizations, such as the Dutch Kills Civic Association, took to social media to post photos of the revamped station, which had not seen extensive repairs since 1917.
The MTA closed the 39th Avenue and Broadway stations in July with an anticipated opening in February. Both stations reopened ahead of schedule.
39th Ave-Dutch Kills Station (Photo: Facebook Dutch Kills Civic Association)
The station—now called the 39th Avenue-Dutch Kills Station– features a repaired mezzanine, refurbished stairways, brand new countdown clocks, elaborate murals and customer information screens.
The MTA has now overhauled four Astoria subway stations, with the 30th and 36th Avenue stations closed for nine months before reopening in June 2018.
The next phase for the MTA is completing the Astoria Blvd station. The MTA said in April that it would close the station down for nine months after the completion of the 39th Avenue and Broadway stations.
The work centers on bringing four elevators to the station, which requires the entire mezzanine to be demolished and replaced. Work on the station has been ongoing since June.
It is unclear when the full closure will take place.
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13 Comments
39th Ave. Station will always be Beebe….as well as 36th Ave/Washington and 30th/Grand.
I like the way the wireway on the platform looks. It’s the same like at 30th Ave.
So full of anticipation my younger sister and I would wait for the train arriving from Ditmars. The first stop was our own at 4 and 6 years of age we were delighted to know that very soon we would board with our mother and we would be standing outside the motormans compartment looking at the glistening rails that shortly would disappear into the darkness, the tunnels with all there lights of green, yellow and red. The clattering and screeching of the steel wheels sang a wonderful tune especially when hitting cross tracks. Amazed we were for, it was a great treat in the 50’s to be a kid and enjoy the trains. The wooden platforms have all but disappeard having been replaced with concrete and now the extensive work that all but replaces a bygone time that will remain with me always!
What really sucks is that aesthetically looks good but the service sure works like it’s 1950z
Love the elevators at Astoria Boulevard but they need to add them to all stations. It should be included in every station renovation going forward.
There is no room on the sidewalks for elevators. Astoria Blvd is getting one because there’s room there to install it. Things can’t just be done because people really really want them to be.
Aside from that, invalids have access to Access-A-Ride, which can provide them door to door service for the same cost as a subway or bus ride.
Look up reviews about Access-A-Ride’s service, it’s pretty horrific.
Fast Forward invilves adding elevators at 50 additional stations to ensure that all riders are no more than two stops from an accessible station
Great nice work however is it more IMPORTANT to have pretty stations or trains that run on time with no derailments and good tracks and oh yes signals and switches that are not 100 years old and crap out often causing potential dangers to say the least and massive train delays you choose pretty stations or safety upgrades
It is more important to have stations in good structural condition (which this renovation accomplished) so that passengers are not in danger of the platform collapsing and debris falling from the ceiling. There’s more to this renovation than decorations. As they always say:
A cover is not the book
So open it up and take a look
‘Cause under the cover one discovers
That the king maybe a crook
Chapter titles are like signs
And if you read between the lines
You’ll find your first impression was mistook
For a cover is nice
But a cover is not the book
I’m glad they’re putting in elevators for the Astoria Blvd. station.
The others that were just completed, were mostly cosmetic renovations with no elevators or escalators, even ‘tho they’re badly needed.
Very nice but I would rather have handicapped access first and formost! And I am not handicapped ?
totally agree but sorry to say you will need that elevator someday take it from a 67 year old! pretty is nice but practical is a necessity as you age!