Local politicians and the MTA held a community meeting about the York Street subway station in DUMBO on January 9, 2023. Expanding capacity and making the York Street F Station safe is one of the priorities for the council member and other elected officials. It is one of the deepest train stations in New York City but has only one exit and is not ADA accessible. However, the project is ranking low on the priority list of the MTA to upgrade stations in NYC due to low ridership, close by ADA station Jay Street MetroTech, the high costs of the project, the financial crisis of the MTA overall and other factors.
Construction history and constraints:
- A 2nd entrance for the station was originally planned but never built
- The Manhattan Bridge has six underpinning piers directly on the platform and many more in vicinity
- Originally constructed along with the Rutgers Tube that goes under the East River which limits how an additional entrance can be added
Ridership:
- Significant ridership growth from 4,100 in 2005 to 12,600 in 2019 daily
- 8,150 daily rides in November 2022 (not back to pre-pandemic levels)
2021 conceptual engineering and constructibility study & study findings:
- Study focused on how to connect vertical circulation to the existing tunnel structure, addressing the critical constraining factors
- Building an additional staircase near the center of the platform is possible
- Adding an ADA platform elevator is possible. Elevator and ADA access could be achieved without building a full second entrance
- Full additional entrance is possible and would most likely be located on Jay Street between Sand and High Street
- Either of these alterations would cost between $230 – $450M
The station is not part of the 2020-2024 MTA capital program because of its accessibility at the next station on the line and other factors. York Street will be considered for the next capital planning process but is not high on the list due to the most data-driven criteria and the cost of this specific project.
