There's been no shortage of studies whose sole purpose is to remind New Yorkers of how crappy the subway system can be. Hot on the heels of reports by the Citizens Budget Commission and Straphangers Campaign—both of which confirmed that many of NYC's subway lines and stations are not in the best of shape—comes a new study, commissioned by State Senator Daniel Squadron, that set out to determine the worst subway stations in the 26th district (which covers Lower Manhattan and much of the western Brooklyn waterfront). The biggest offender: the Canal Street 1, which racked up multiple demerits for both its exterior and interior conditions. Rounding out the top five: the Borough Hall 2/3 and Rector Street R, which tied for second worst; the Broad Street J/Z at third; and a five-way tie (!) between the Broadway-Lafayette B/D/F/M, Canal Street A/C/E, Franklin Street 1, Second Avenue F, and Wall Street 2/3. (h/t Bowery Boogie)
To determine the results, a group of surveyors canvassed the 53 stations that fall under Squadron's jurisdiction during the summer, and looked for seven not-so-pleasant conditions both in and outside of the stations: ponding, leaking water, graffiti, broken stairs, deteriorating walls, rodents, and trash. Each station was then ranked according to the number of these conditions that were present at the interior and exterior; Canal Street, for example, had 11 of 14 of these conditions, including ponding, deteriorating walls, and graffiti both in and outside of the station. (The Canal Street 6 train seems positively pristine by comparison—it only ticked off one of the conditions, trash inside the station.)
The study includes individual report cards for all 53 of the stations, but here are some of the bigger takeaways:
· The most common issues include interior trash accumulation and ponding, and exterior deteriorating walls.
· There were more station failures in Manhattan than in Brooklyn.
· The subway line with the fewest station failures was, shockingly, the L.
The survey was released on October 9, just days before Mayor De Blasio and Governor Cuomo finally set aside their differences and hammered out a funding plan for the MTA's next five years. But in the report's conclusion, Squadron notes that a three-pronged approach could help address these station failures: Full Line Reviews, which were recently completed on the L and G lines (one is underway for the A/C/E lines); community input on how to improve the stations; and full funding for the MTA's Capital Plan. "These funds are crucial, as 45% of the stations surveyed are scheduled to receive station improvements under the current version of the 2015-2019 capital plan"—and now that funding is happening, maybe things will start to improve.
· Beneath the District: A Subway Station Study [State Senator Squadron's Office via Scribd]
· 2nd Avenue F Station is One of the Top 5 Worst in the Entire Subway System [Bowery Boogie]
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