Tuesday, February 4, 2020

North side L-train entrance opens at Avenue A on Monday



The L train's new Avenue A north entrance — for Eighth Avenue-bound commuters — will debut on Monday (Feb. 10). The Brooklyn-bound side arrived this past Nov. 4.



MTA officials note that the entrance is opening with "temporary finishes" ...



With this debut, the MTA will close the north-side entrance on First Avenue on Feb. 17 for renovations.

Here's the full schedule of what to expect from The L Project e-newsletter:

• Starting on Friday night (around 10), Feb. 15, you'll use the Avenue A north entrance to access trains in both directions on weekends and weeknights.

• On Monday, Feb. 17, the First Avenue north entrance will close for reconstruction. Like the other side, this will take about three months, so we're estimating a May 2020 completion. While this work is happening, both entrances to the First Avenue Station will be located at Avenue A.

• Once we complete the First Avenue entrances, the ones at Avenue A will close again for a bit so we can do the final finishes.

When all the construction is wrapped up, the revamped 14th Street First Avenue station will have four entrances — including the two on either side of 14th Street at Avenue A as well as two new platform-to-street ADA elevators that will be ready for use this summer. (Find more details on this MTA advisory.)

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Trader Joe plus this new entrance represents the biggest quality of life improvement I've ever seen in the EV.

Anonymous said...

New entrance, yes, secretive california corporation, not so much.

MrNiceGuy said...

This is such great news! It's a small thing to walk an avenue block. But walking two Avenue blocks daily (plus schlepping in the wrong direction from the train car towards Avenue 1), will save so much time over the course of a year. And make the 1st Ave L-train platform feel less congested. win/win/win/win!

Anonymous said...

Lol @ Trader Joe's as QoL improvement.

Gojira said...

I'll say it - I hate the new TJ, and will continue to shop at the smaller one. Hate the layout, hate the fact that even though it's twice the size there's absolutely nothing in it not available at the 14th and 3rd branch, hate the fact that they wasted an entire ground floor on an entryway instead of bringing in some of the stuff available in the California TJs which I have never seen here. And I do miss Associated.

Stephanie Betancourt said...

Great news for the owners of real estate in the area and the renters here as well! All of the people who are employed by the establishments such as the cafe's, restaurants and bars will enjoy a shorter commute to work. Thank you MTA of the update!

Anonymous said...

Over 2 1/2 years of shutting down 14th St, closing down several businesses, and driving residents of these blocks crazy with 24/7 work to save less than a block walk for some people is the definition of underwhelming .

MTA- leave already!

Anonymous said...

The new TJ's is fantastic. Hate is a hateful word.

Will said...

I'm earnestly so happy they're adding these exits––such a no-brainer, but honestly also a bummer that they took so long to do it.

Anonymous said...

At this point, who cares if it takes a few more months for the completion of this entrance to be completed. I for one am happy this has arrived. We certainly needed this for it will make things a tad bit easier. And with the presence of TJ and Target, Alphabet City is receiving some much needed upgrades. Finally. Instead of bemoaning this after that, let's celebrate something for once. At least our money spent on overpriced subway fares is going towards something that is actually useful.

Gojira said...

Anon. 1:23 - Oh, puhleeze. I'm hating a thing, not a person. Get over yourself.

noble neolani said...

I'm not convinced TJ's had anything to do with the demise of Associated, a store I avoided for several years. Yes TJ's is another big chain but it's not owned by Bezos for starters, the prices and quality are good and it is now 2 blocks from my home.

The 1st ave L station expansion is fantastic for everyone, especially since it has an elevator for those that need it.

The next big conversation or controversy will come when Steiner East Village leases its commercial spaces on Ave A.

noble neolani said...

@Gojira

It has one thing the Union Sq store doesn't have, shorter lines.

Anonymous said...

@Gojira. I guess if you prefer aisles which are always blocked and impossible to actually stop to take time to check out an item you may have overlooked before because all you ever wanted to do was get in and get out, never surprised that the store was out of an item, shelves always being stocked during busy hours,especially in the produce section, always a check out line, then I guess union square is 'the TJ ' for you. For me, the new TJ makes me actually feel like a shopper once again, not cattle in a cattle car.

Sarah said...

"Over 2 1/2 years of shutting down 14th St, closing down several businesses, and driving residents of these blocks crazy with 24/7 work to save less than a block walk for some people is the definition of underwhelming ."

I think all of your neighbors who can now use the station because IT'S NO LONGER INACCESSIBLE TO THE DISABLED IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW might have something to say about that.

MTAtoxic said...

@Sarah
"I think all of your neighbors who can now use the station because IT'S NO LONGER INACCESSIBLE TO THE DISABLED IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW might have something to say about that."

The accessibility issue could have been solved without the new entrances. The new entrances were a cover for when the MTA was originally going to take out all their tunnel asbestos and silica from that access point- before the Governor showed how dumb they are; the entrances and access were to sugar-coat this to the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

Sheer nonsense

Anonymous said...

"Alphabet City is receiving some much needed upgrades" - Please elaborate, if you can.

Anonymous said...

The comments crack me up: damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'm glad the old school East Village complainers are still alive and well.

Anonymous said...

TJs is owned by a German firm. Lemme guess, you probably also believe that shake shack is better than In-N-Out.

MrNiceGuy said...

The EVGrumps are at it again! Now they're complaining about getting a new subway entrance, amazing!

As a reminder, the MTA needed to use the block on 14th between 1st and A to store and move materials into the subway tunnel as part of the L-train reconstruction project. The Avenue A entrance was a bonus we got for our troubles. There is no downside to gaining the entrance, especially for people who can't use stairs and now can use the elevator.

The EVGrumps -- where every rainbow is ruined because it's adjacent to a cloud...

Sarah said...

Whether or not that's even true, adding accessibility is hardly underwhelming. Just admit that you didn't think or care about your disabled neighbors.

MTAtoxic said...

Unrequited optimism is a disease of the New East Villagers. Let the MTA trash your neighborhood for almost 3 years, and welcome all the ugly suburban chain stores as some great sign of progress.

MTAtoxic said...

Sarah said...
"Whether or not that's even true, adding accessibility is hardly underwhelming. Just admit that you didn't think or care about your disabled neighbors."

Your beloved MTA blocked wheelchair access on 14th St for a year. <28" passageways and completely unnavigable sidewalks and crossings. They finally changed that when we got them really bad PR and had a press conference at their offices- among other things. The MTA has been in violation for years on ADA judgements. While one of the ends may have turned out well, it did not justify their means which was to unnecessarily destroy the quality of life of residents, particularly ones with disabilities, as well as businesses. Great EV article below explains all this.

https://evgrieve.com/2018/09/nightmare-scenario-for-residents-who.html