Church Av Station Accessibility Upgrades Complete
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
BROOKLYN - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced it has finished upgrades at the Church Av B Q subway station in Brooklyn.
According to the MTA, the station received accessibility upgrades, including two new stairways, a new fare array, a transfer bridge connecting the Manhattan and Brooklyn-bound platforms with a customer information screen, and two elevators to connect the street to the platform. The platform edges were also reconstructed with new ADA raised boarding areas and tactile edge strips. As part of MTA’s “Revive” program, crews also made repairs on the structural steel and concrete and upgraded the electrical systems and communications.
This station is the second in ADA Package 3, a bundle that was the first to be awarded using a public-private partnership (P3) model. This means the contractor is required to finance the project with “equity and bonds to be reimbursed in installments only if the project is built and maintained to MTA standards.”
MTA says 30% of the budget was awarded to DBE firms, or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms. Urbahn Architects, Dewberry, Forte Construction and EAE Halmar International served as the design-build team. Otis Elevator was the elevator manufacturer and installer.
“I am so proud of the way that we are knocking out these ADA projects, five times as fast as our MTA predecessors,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Every New Yorker deserves to be able to use our amazing subway system. It’s a lifeline and an affordability solution, and there is a special link between affordability and the populations we serve with accessibility projects.”
“Church Av is our sixth newly accessible station this year, and we were able to create an entirely new entrance with minimal disruptions to subway service,” said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “The project’s public-private partnership is a great example of the innovative procurement methods that the new MTA is implementing to deliver accessibility better, faster and cheaper.”
“Providing accessible stations is key to ensuring NYC Transit can provide safe, efficient and reliable service for all riders and the upgrades made at Church Av do just that,” said NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow. “I look forward to continuing to deliver on this mission as we build out our network of accessible subway stations.”
“For me, accessibility means giving me the ability to get out of my house every day in the morning, so I can go to work, go to school, go to my doctor’s appointment, but also to enjoy all that New York has to offer,” said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo. “With this project, we are telling all New Yorkers that they belong.”
