While New Yorkers, out of breath and late, throw their hands up upon seeing the dreaded “Planned Work” posters in subway stations, transit crews of the MTA are hard at work, creating brighter and better station environments for when train service resumes.
Lucky for those who frequent the Morris Park 5 subway station, the MTA announced on Thursday, Oct. 19 that transit crews had completed functional and aesthetic upgrades to the station in the Morris Park section of the Bronx.
“Morris Park is a major transit stop for our residents in the East Bronx, many of whom will now benefit from the cosmetic upgrades at the station,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
This work is part of New York City Transit’s Station Re-NEW-vation Program, which uses previously planned weekend service outages as an opportunity to conduct repairs, deep cleans and upgrades to 50 subway stations.
“The Station Re-NEW-vation program is delivering faster, cleaner, and safer service, with tangible results customers see and experience firsthand,” said New York City Transit Authority President Richard Davey.
The Station Re-NEW-vation program is part of the transit authority’s “Faster, Cleaner, Safer” plan announced in October 2022. The goal of the plan is to increase customer satisfaction by 10% by June 2024, and survey responders cited station cleanliness as a priority to increase satisfaction. According to the MTA, the Re-NEW-vation program will now be permanent, pledging to its customers that 50 stations will be upgraded every year.
“Subway customers tell us that an efficient, clean, and safe ride starts with better station environments,” said Davey.
Just last week, the crews worked on repairing the concrete floors on both the mezzanine and platform levels of the Morris Park station. They smoothed over tripping hazards and repaved 1,000 square feet of flooring.
The station walls and the yellow safety stripes along the edge of platforms received a fresh coat of paint, and the platform benches received a fresh coat of finish. Windows were freed from sticker residue, floors from gum and walls from graffiti.
Since November 2022, the MTA has announced the station renovations in a staggered manner, with the pilot round of stations all being in the Bronx portion of the D line.
Re-NEW-vations are conducted at stations that see lower customer satisfaction, especially in terms of cleanliness.
Morris Park is the first of the most recent round of stations announced on Oct. 12 to be renovated under the program. Gibson expressed her gratitude to the MTA “for ensuring our Bronx stations and commuters are included in the expansion of this important Re-NEW-vation project.”
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