Toll money starts building subway elevators, with Bryant Park first in line
Crews have started on four elevators and a step-free passage at the linked Bryant Park and 5th Avenue stations, one of six accessibility projects the toll is paying for.
Crews have begun building the first subway elevator funded by congestion pricing revenue. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the groundbreaking Thursday at the connected 42nd Street-Bryant Park and 5th Avenue stations in Midtown, where an accessibility overhaul is now underway. It is one of six station projects paid for by the toll that got started this week.
What changes at the Bryant Park and 5th Avenue stations
Four elevators are planned, and three of them will carry riders between the mezzanine and the platforms. Among them, one will run from the 42nd Street-Bryant Park platform to the walkway that leads to the Times Square Shuttle. Another will join the mezzanine with the platform on the 5th Avenue side.
A step-free passage will also connect the B, D, F and M lines at 42nd Street-Bryant Park with the 7 line at 5th Avenue. At both stations the platforms will be reconstructed, and riders will get accessible fare gates, better stairways and accessible restrooms.
According to Hochul, the Bryant Park hub and the other five stations together will make daily trips better for over 100,000 New Yorkers.
The other five congestion pricing station projects
Kingsbridge Road, 167th Street, Gates Avenue, Briarwood and Parsons Boulevard are also getting ADA work paid for by the toll. New signs will mark projects that congestion pricing made possible. “New Yorkers want to know how this program is working,” said Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chair and CEO, pointing to new subway cars, modern signals and accessible stations as examples.
Since January 2025, drivers heading into Manhattan below 60th Street have paid a congestion toll. The program brought the MTA $550 million in year one, and daily traffic into the zone dropped by more than 70,000 vehicles. The MTA expects the toll to supply $15 billion for its 2020-2024 Capital Plan. That money breaks down as $3 billion each for signals and the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway, $2 billion for new railcars and buses, $2 billion to make 23 stations accessible and $5 billion to keep existing infrastructure in good repair.
The accessibility push stems from a lawsuit settlement. The MTA agreed to make 95% of its 472 subway stations ADA accessible by 2055, and it promised 81 accessible stations by 2025.
Quick answers
Which subway stations are getting congestion pricing ADA upgrades?
42nd Street-Bryant Park/5th Avenue, Kingsbridge Road, 167th Street, Gates Avenue, Briarwood and Parsons Boulevard.
What is being built at the Bryant Park station?
Four new elevators, a step-free passage to the 7 train at 5th Avenue, rebuilt platforms, accessible fare gates, better stairways and accessible restrooms.
How much did congestion pricing raise in its first year?
The MTA collected $550 million in the program's first year.
