Construction will begin on two elevators at the Queensboro Plaza subway station next month and the MTA has announced that 7 train service will be suspended between Queensboro Plaza and 34 St-Hudson Yards for six weekends.
The service changes are scheduled to go into effect starting the weekend of Feb. 4 as the MTA installs two elevators at the southern entrance of the station to make the station fully accessible. One of the elevators will be from street level to the mezzanine, with another elevator between the mezzanine and two platforms.
The MTA will also be updating the pedestrian bridge, which goes across the 11-lane wide approach to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, two of which are bike lanes.
The project, which is budgeted for $74 million and scheduled to be completed by mid-2024, will also include an expanded mezzanine, new platform edges and upgrades to the existing street and station stairs to current ADA standards.
“The improvements coming to Queensboro Plaza will greatly benefit tens of thousands of riders,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey in a statement. “Accessibility is such an integral part of mass transit, especially for a city like New York where mass transit is essential for many.”
The first closure between Queensboro Plaza and Hudson Yards is scheduled to go into effect from 12:15 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, through 5 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, according to the MTA.
Service will also be down from 3:45 a.m. on Saturdays to 10 p.m. on Sundays during the following weekends:
- Feb. 11 – Feb. 12
- Feb. 25 – Feb. 26
- Mar. 11 – Mar. 12
- Mar. 25 – Mar. 26
- Apr. 22 – Apr. 23
During the disruptions, customers will be able to transfer to/from the E, F and R lines at 74 St-Broadway or to/from the N and W trains at Queensboro Plaza for service between Manhattan and Queens.
The Grand Central Shuttle will operate all night and W service will run Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Astoria-Ditmars Blvd and 34 St-Herald Square in addition to N train service.
The MTA will also be providing free shuttle buses. The shuttles will run between the Queensboro Plaza and Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue stations, and in Manhattan between the Times Square and 34th Street-Hudson Yards stations.
Additional weekend service changes are expected later in 2023 and again in 2024, according to the MTA.
The MTA says the Queensboro Plaza station is a busy transfer point that served approximately 70,000 riders on an average weekday in November 2022 — an estimate that includes both customers who swipe in at the station and those who are transferring between the 7 and N/W trains.
The MTA said that an accessible elevator is also going to be constructed on the station’s north side, with an anticipated completion date of 2025.
The elevator will be financed, constructed and maintained by a private development company that obtained a zoning density bonus in return for constructing an elevator.
The developer plans to build a 26-story apartment complex adjacent to the station at 25-01 Queens Plaza North.
