Contentious Subway Elevator Plan Moves Forward in NYC

Despite a June 14 protest by opponents of Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) construction of a new street-level elevator for the 68th Street-Hunter College subway station on NYC’s Upper East Side (UES), work is moving forward, with test pits being dug and utility work underway on nearby streets, Patch reports. In the works for 14 years, the US$146-million project also includes two additional elevators and four new reconstructed subway entrances. Opponents consist primarily of residents of the nearby Imperial House apartment building, who want the new elevator built on the southeast corner of East 68th Street and Lexington Avenue under the overhang of a Hunter College building. The elevator is being at the northeast corner, which Imperial House residents said will obstruct sightlines for those exiting a parking garage on East 68th Street. The anti-MTA protesters numbered approximately 24, with a smaller, but vocal, group of disability advocates supporting the plan. Work is expected to take approximately 36 months and be complete in December 2024.