The 96th Street station (also known as the 96th Street–Second Avenue station) is a station on the IND Second Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Second Avenue and 96th Street on the border of the Upper East Side/Yorkville and East Harlem neighborhoods in Manhattan, it is the northern terminus for the first phase of the Second Avenue Line. The station is served by the Q train at all times, as well as limited N trains and one northbound a.m. R train during rush hours; all three routes terminate at the station. There are two tracks and an island platform.
The station was not originally proposed as part of the Program for Action in 1968, but a later revision to that plan entailed building a Second Avenue Subway with one of its stops located at 96th Street. Construction on that project started in 1972, but stalled in 1975 due to lack of funding. In 2007, a separate measure authorized a first phase of the Second Avenue Line to be built between 65th and 105th Streets, with stations at 72nd Street, 86th Street and 96th Street. The station opened on January 1, 2017, as a terminal station, with provisions to extend the line north to Harlem–125th Street in Phase 2. Since opening, the presence of the Second Avenue Subway's three Phase 1 stations has improved real estate prices along the corridor. The 96th Street station was used by approximately 6.2 million passengers in 2019.
The station, along with the other Phase 1 stations along the Second Avenue Subway, contains features not found in most New York City Subway stations. It is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, containing two elevators for disabled access. Additionally, the station contains air conditioning and is waterproofed, a feature only found in newer stations. The artwork at 96th Street is "Blueprint for a Landscape", a mural by Sarah Sze.
History Background
The Second Avenue Line was originally proposed in 1919 as part of a massive expansion of what would become the Independent Subway System (IND). Work on the line never commenced, as the Great Depression of 1929 crushed the economy. Numerous plans for the Second Avenue Subway appeared throughout the 20th century, but these were usually deferred due to lack of funds. In anticipation of the never-built new subway line, the Second and Third Avenue elevated lines were demolished in 1942 and 1955, respectively. The Second Avenue Elevated had one station at 92nd Street and another at 99th Street,See: and the Third Avenue Elevated had a stop on nearby Third Avenue at 99th Street.See:
Unrealized proposals As part of the New York City Transit Authority's 1968 Program for Action, the construction of the full-length Second Avenue Subway was proposed. It was to be built in two phases—the first phase from 126th to 34th Streets, the second phase from 34th to Whitehall Streets. The line's planned stops in Manhattan, spaced farther apart than those on existing subway lines, proved controversial; the Second Avenue line was criticized as a "rich man's express, circumventing the Lower East Side with its complexes of high-rise low- and middle-income housing and slums in favor of a silk stocking route." People protested for almost a year over the lack of stations at 72nd and 96th Streets; while a Lenox Hill (72nd Street) station was added in October 1970, the 96th Street station was still not in the official plans, despite the proximity of the Metropolitan Hospital Center to the proposed station. In response to public outcry, the MTA announced the addition of a station at 96th Street in 1971.
All Second Avenue Subway stations built under the Program for Action would have included escalators, high intensity lighting, improved audio systems, platform edge strips, and non-slip floors to accommodate the needs of the elderly and people with disabilities, but no elevators. Space at each station would have been used for ancillary facilities. The stations were to be made with brick walls and pavers alongside stainless steel, and would have relatively small dimensions, with mezzanine ceilings. Damaz & Weigel received a contract for the design of the 96th Street station.
A combination of Federal and State funding was obtained, and despite the controversy over the number of stops and route, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 27, 1972, at Second Avenue and 103rd Street."Second Avenue Subway: Timeline". nycsubway.org. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Construction began shortly thereafter on what was to be the 99th–105th Streets segment, which was projected to cost $17.48 million (worth about $ today). However, the city soon experienced its most dire fiscal crisis yet, due to the stagnant economy of the early 1970s, combined with the massive outflow of city residents to the suburbs, and in September 1975 construction on the line stopped, and the tunnels were sealed. Over the next few decades, the MTA regularly inspected and maintained the tunnel segments (spending $20,000 a year by the early 1990s), to maintain the structural integrity of the streets above, and in case construction would ever resume. Trespassers would often camp in the tunnels until the MTA increased security.
In 1999, the Regional Plan Association considered a full-length Second Avenue Subway, which include 96th Street as one of its planned 31 stations. The station would serve the Metropolitan Hospital at 97th Street and the then-new high-rise buildings south of 96th Street.Metrolink , p.20
Construction In March 2007, plans for the construction of the Second Avenue Subway were revived. The line's first phase, the "first major expansion" to the New York City Subway in more than a half-century, included three stations in total (at 72nd, 86th, and 96th Streets), which collectively cost $4.45 to $4.5 billion.* Its construction site was designated as being from 105th Street and Second Avenue to 63rd Street and Third Avenue. The MTA awarded a $337 million contract—one that included constructing the tunnels between 92nd and 63rd Streets, building a launch box for the tunnel boring machine (TBM) at 92nd to 95th Streets, and erecting access shafts at 69th and 72nd Streets—to Schiavone Construction, Skanska USA Civil, and J.F. Shea Construction. The line's construction commenced on April 15, 2007, In April 2007, the second round of planning for the station was finalized.
A ceremonial ground-breaking for the Second Avenue Subway was held on April 12, 2007, three blocks north of the station. The contractor prepared the initial construction site at 96th Street on April 23, 2007. A TBM was originally expected to arrive six to eight months after construction began, but the utility relocation and excavation required to create its "launch box" delayed its deployment from 96th Street down to 63rd Street until May 2010. The forced evacuation of two buildings near the 96th Street station delayed the contractor's plan to use controlled blasting to remove bedrock in the southern section of the launch box. The station itself could not be bored because of the soft soil there. Instead, slurry or diaphragm walls, wide and long and about deep, were built alongside the sections between East 93rd and 95th Streets. Between East 91st and 93rd Streets, where the rock becomes shallower, secant piles did the same work at shallower depths. Earth excavation was conducted between walls once they were installed, and box structures were built using a bottom-up construction method. Temporary decking constituted the top of the boxes, and the decking both braced the excavation and supported the walls and Second Avenue traffic.
By the beginning of 2012, the slurry wall for the station site was being taken down. On June 25, 2012, a $324.6 million contract was awarded to E.E. Cruz and Company and Tully Construction Company for the station's plumbing, electricity, ancillaries, and entrances. In March 2013, the bulkhead separating the new construction from the 1970s-era tunnel at 99th Street was completed.
On March 19, 2013, a construction worker got stuck in waist-deep muck at the station site; he was extricated after four hours of rescue efforts, but nearly died after the incident.Most, Doug, The race underground : Boston, New York, and the incredible rivalry that built America's first subway, First edition, New York : St. Martin's Press, February 2014. .
In mid-2013, work had resumed in the tunnel segment between 99th Street and 105th Street, involving the addition of track and signals, mechanical and plumbing equipment, and upgrading the tunnels to meet modern fire code standards. , the station was 65% excavated. Rails for the line had arrived and were being stored in the station cavern; about one-third of the rails for the line had arrived by then, enough for tracks to be laid from 105th to 87th Streets. By spring 2014, the mezzanine was completed, and roof slabs were being installed; tracks and signal brackets were also installed north of the station. By April 2015, the station was 67% complete, and by April 2016, the station was 91% complete. The station was scheduled to be completed by June 2016, but this was later pushed back to fall 2016.
On December 22 and 23, as part of an open house hosted by the MTA, the public was invited to tour the 96th Street station before it opened, to generally positive acclaim. The station opened on January 1, 2017.
Phase Two Phase 2, which does not have a set timetable for construction, is planned to extend service from 96th Street to Harlem–125th Street. During Phase 2, both East Harlem segments, between 99th Street and 105th Street, and between 110th Street and 120th Street will be connected, modified, and used for normal train service. In 2007, the MTA reported that the segments were in pristine condition. Under the approved plan, the MTA estimates to complete Phase 2 between 2027 and 2029, by which the Q and rush-hour N trains will be extended to Harlem–125th Street.
Station layout GroundStreet levelExits/entrancesMezzanineMezzanineFare control, station agent, OMNY machinesPlatform levelTrack 2← toward via Brighton ()← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Sea Beach (select rush hour trips) (86th Street)Island platform Track 1← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Brighton (86th Street)← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Sea Beach (select rush hour trips) (86th Street) The 96th Street station is served by Q trains at all times as well as limited N trains and one northbound a.m. R train during rush hours. This station is the northern terminus of the Second Avenue Subway; the next stop to the south is 86th Street. It has two tracks and an island platform. The station is built so that it is more wide open than most other underground subway stations in the system. Its design was likened to a Washington Metro station by Michael Horodniceanu, President of MTA Capital Construction. The platform is approximately 49 feet (15 m) below ground, making the station the shallowest of the three Phase 1 stations. The platform for the 96th Street station, like the other Second Avenue Subway stations, is wide. As with other stations on the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway, it was designed and engineered by a joint venture of Arup and AECOM.