Cabanamaner

Unfortunately, the ESI project has been postponed/cancelled due to lack of funding, so those stations won't be seeing renovations for the foreseeable future (though Westchester Sq on the will get a renovation when it receives it's ADA upgrade). IIRC, 57th Street-6th Avenue and 145th Street should reopen next month.

Absolutely. Jamaica Center has become a hub for the homeless and those annoying metrocard swipers. The moment you set a toe in that station, you'll have at least 5 people swarming you, begging for you to buy a metrocard swipe.

Thank goodness. Sutphin-Archer is a station that has NOT aged well, despite it being relatively new in terms of the subway system. It's roof is falling apart and it's just become completely filthy.

IIRC, dwell time is the amount of time a train spend in a station. Reducing dwell time is important to keeping trains running on time. It is usually lengthened when people hold the doors open, preventing it from leaving.

Thankfully, the folks who did the 4th Ave line renovations are also doing the Concourse Line renovations. The ESI work on the CPW has been shoddy, if not completely jarring. So far, the work on the Concourse lines has been much more intensive and noticeable, whereas the CPW stations were seemingly left alone until about a few weeks before their opening, where it felt like they rushed the repairs just to get the station open on time.

Most likely just supports for the express tracks above.

Nostrand Avenue actually does have a crossover, though it's no longer in service. It was part of the closed mezzanine the station has that stretches all the way to Bedford Avenue and, in my opinion, should be reopened.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought this. The pre-renovation lights clash so hard with the sleek, modern look of the new lights. They should've just kept the station closed until the end of the month. The ESI work on the IND stations has been sloppy compared to the BMT stations. I'll be very irked if they screw up on the Concourse stations.

Nope, the mezzanine is completely empty aside for a trash can in the middle.

My thoughts exactly. I've detested Phase 2 ever since discovering that it wouldn't send the SAS to The Bronx. If the goal is to alleviate crowding on the , then having the SAS go to at least 3rd Ave-149th Street is a must. The actually Phase 2 plan seems to needless complicated, with a sharp curve onto 125th and having to be incredible deep underground in order to avoid disturbing both the IRT Station and the Metro-North Station. Granted, building a new tunnel in between Manhattan and The Bronx ain't cheap.

Well, the construction walls at 163rd have been removed. The station actually looks a lot better and I dig the new art that was installed. The stairs leading to the 163rd street entrance/exit have been removed on both platforms, essentially confirming that this exit won't reopen anytime soon. Quite a waste of a pretty large mezzanine, I feel it would be pretty easy to install elevators there.

I'm really not a fan of those half-height turnstile walls or whatever they're called that are in place at the ESI stations. I've seen people simply reach over the wall, push the emergency door bar on the other side, and walk through effortlessly. It's almost like the MTA made it easier to beat the fare. I'm sure they could be come up with a stylish design that, you know, doesn't rob them of money?

Maybe because some of the work is ESI related?

As of today, the construction walls at 110th Street were taken down and the result are... barely anything. The station opens next month and looks identical to how it did before it closed, with the same tiles, artwork, etc. The only thing different seems to be the new floor and platform edge strip, which could've been installed while the station remained open. I understand that part of the ESI work is structural and not all cosmetic, but they could've at least been a little more imaginative.

Curious, did Broadway Junction ( platforms) ever have a full length mezzanine? I see some evidence of it on the ceilings, but I can't find any records of it online. I refuse to believe that such a massive station was built with only one entrance/exit, but I can't imagine where any other exits could've been before being closed.

There's this bootlegger that frequently uses the in The Bronx to sell his stuff. He's an elderly looking man who just rambles on as mostly everyone ignores him. On one occasion, he boards the train as usual and begins his usual shtick, trying to convince anyone who will listen to buy his DVDs. At the next stop, a second bootlegger enters the train, also selling DVDs. This other bootlegger is much more charismatic and energetic than the elderly man, and is actually able to convince some on the train to buy his stuff. The first bootlegger stands behind him in horror with a crushed, defeated look on his face as his rival claimed his territory right in front of him. Truly the most heartbreaking thing I've ever seen on the subway.

That's NY for you. Some people are too oblivious for their own good. Although, I doubt they could make out what the conductor was saying over those muffled speakers.

The 174th-175th Streets station has an additional closed entrance/exit on the southbound platform on the west side of the Grand Concourse, nearest to 174th street.

They actually dug up the staircase at the corner of 163rd Street and St. Nicholas Ave, so it's possible. It even has the construction shed that the other station entrances at 163rd have. Fingers crossed.

The Barclays Center announcement is rather recent (2012-ish), so I think that's why they used Kathleen instead of Dianne.

Jessica Ettinger is the best for me. She has this assertive and firm tone to her voice that makes her sound like a true, rugged NYer. My favorite of her announcements is for Fulton Street. The way she says it is so enunciated and powerful. I'm not a fan of Kathleen's announcements, especially her monotone as hell "Atlantic Avenue - Barclay's Center". But it all boils down to personal preference I suppose.

I recently passed by 163rd Street & Amsterdam Avenue to see how work was progressing on the ESI rebuild, and I noticed that they actually dug up the closed 163rd street entrance at street level! Reopening it would finally give a purpose to the large abandoned mezzanine that this station has. It's a shame that no elevators are planned for this station, since it's size could easily accommodate them.

I've wondered the same thing myself. Uptown trains are always delayed at East 180th Street, waiting for the to cross in front and then over to the Dyre Avenue track. If i'm not mistaken, the MTA actually considered making the the WPR express back in the '90s, but community intervention put a stop to it.