96th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

96th Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Uptown island platform
Station statistics
Address	West 96th Street & Broadway New York, NY 10025
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40°47′39″N 73°58′19″W / 40.7941°N 73.972°WCoordinates: 40°47′39″N 73°58′19″W / 40.7941°N 73.972°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times)       2  (all times)       3  (all times)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M96, M104, M106
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms (in service) cross-platform interchange 2 side platforms (abandoned)
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904[1]
Accessible
Wireless service	[2]
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	13,008,596[3]  0.8%
Rank	23 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	103rd Street (Broadway–7th local): 1  157th Street (Broadway–7th express): no regular service Central Park North–110th Street (Lenox): 2  3
Next south	86th Street (local): 1  2  72nd Street (express): 2  3  91st Street (local; closed): no regular service
Next north	231st Street (via Broadway–7th): 1  135th Street (via Lenox): 2  3
Next south	72nd Street: 1  2  3
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only
Location

96th Street is an express station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 96th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it is served by the 1, 2 and 3 trains at all times.

96th Street station was part of the original IRT subway and opened on the inaugural date of October 27, 1904.^[1] At the time, the station served as the terminus of local trains and express service; express trains would run as locals north to 145th Street.^[4]

Station layout

Track layout
Legend
to 103 St to Central Pk N to 86 St to 72 St Upper level Lower level

G	Street level	Fare control (Elevators inside station house in median of Broadway; entrances on south side of 96th Street and north side of 95th Street)
M	Mezzanine	Crossover
P Platform Level	Side platform, not in service, used for maintenance and fare control
	Northbound local	← toward Van Cortlandt Park ( toward 241st Street late nights) (103rd Street) (No service: 157th Street)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound express	← toward Wakefield–241st Street (110th Street) ← toward Harlem–148th Street (110th Street)
	Southbound express	→ toward Flatbush Avenue (72nd Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue (Times Square–42nd Street late nights) (72nd Street) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry ( toward Flatbush Avenue late nights) (86th Street) → (No service: 91st Street)
	Side platform, not in service, used for maintenance and fare control

Currently, 96th Street operates in the same manner as other normal express stations in the subway system.^[5] There are two island platforms that allow for cross-platform interchanges between local (outer tracks) and express (inner tracks) trains heading in the same direction, in this case uptown or downtown.^[5]

During normal service, southbound local trains use track B1 and southbound express trains use track B2. Northbound express trains use track B3 and northbound local trains use track B4. These track designations are not posted in the station, but are used in the chaining of each individual track, used to measure distance by train crews on the subway.^[6]

North of 96th Street, the express tracks descend and turn east under West 104th Street and running northeast under Central Park on their way to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line at West 110th Street. The local tracks remain on the upper level to Riverdale, Bronx. After the express tracks diverge, a currently unused center track starts at approximately 100th Street. Some last minute design changes added the third track northbound, and a provision for a third track was also built into the lower level Lenox branch of the junction. This accounts for the extra space seen alongside the active tracks in this area.

The station was extended and widened in 1950 to accommodate longer trains. The extent of the original station is clearly visible, as the renovation was not done in the same style. Differences in the walls and ceiling are visible at the south end. The creation of a new entrance at 94th Street led to the closure of the 91st Street station, as it would have been pointless to lengthen it for 10-car local trains with an adjacent station only a few blocks away.^[5]

Unused side platforms

Original cartouche on the wall with the number "96"

Modern wall mosaics

Access to the station was originally from stairways along the sidewalks of Broadway, to the extreme north end of the side platforms, then to the center island platforms via an underpass.^[5] As of April 5, 2010, a new headhouse in Broadway's center median between 96th and 95th Streets rendered those entrances obsolete. New staircases and elevators descend to the platforms from the central station building. A former public restroom now being used as a community center in the median of Broadway north of 96th Street is sometimes mistaken for a former subway station headhouse; however, this structure was built decades after the subway station and conforms to the design of other public restroom buildings in New York City^[7] rather than to the design of IRT subway headhouses such as 72nd Street.

The station's configuration, with both island and side platforms, is unusual in the New York City Subway. As originally intended, the island platforms facilitated an easy transfer between local and express trains, while the shorter side platforms provided easy access from local trains to the street. This design was also utilized at Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall and 14th Street–Union Square on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line. When the subway first opened, it was possible to open both sides of the train at once. As this is not practical on more modern trains, only the doors facing the island platforms are used (to permit transfers between local and express trains), and the side platforms were abandoned.^[5]

Work is currently underway to turn the unused side platforms and former entrance/exits into storage space and offices. Switching system panels can be seen through new windows on the now walled off western side platform.

Station renovation and new headhouse

By 1981, the MTA had listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.^[8] In July 2006, Manhattan Community Board 7 approved an $80 million renovation of the station. Construction started in 2007 on a state-of-the-art headhouse in the median of Broadway between 95th and 96th Streets, with wheelchair-accessible elevators to the platforms; Broadway was reconfigured for four blocks to accommodate this. By 2008, renovation of the 40,000 square feet (3,716 m²) station was nearly finished below budget (only $65 million was used to complete the renovation) and on schedule.^[9] By 2009, the opening of the new headhouse was set to be 20 months early and $26 million cheaper due to budget cuts.^[10][11] The new headhouse opened on April 5, 2010 and replaced the underpass and side platforms.^[12] The side platforms became office and control space, and the entrances removed to accommodate narrowed sidewalks resulting from the roadway being displaced by the new headhouse and its island.^[13]

All of the beige tiles installed in the 1950s were removed and either revealed original tiles or were replaced with new tiles. The elevators opened on November 9, 2010 making the station ADA-accessible.^[14]

Local residents have voiced dissatisfaction with the significant loss of sidewalks adjacent to businesses.^[15] Also, the intersection of 96th Street and Broadway is dangerous, making the crossing to the new station entrance "treacherous".^[16]

Exits

Completed new headhouse

As 96th Street is a major transfer point, there are two sets of entrances and exits at the station.^[17] For the purposes of this article, entrance and exit are interchangeable. It is important to note that unlike more recent stations with full-length mezzanines, these entrance points are not connected; they can only be reached from the ends of the platforms. These distinctions are noted on the platforms.

• 95th–96th Street headhouse: In 2007, construction started on a domed, glass headhouse on the Broadway median between 95th and 96th Streets. The headhouse opened on April 5, 2010. Entrances are on both the 95th and 96th Street sides of the headhouse. Above each of the headhouse's entrances, and unusually for New York City Subway stations, the entrance's name plaque reads simply "96" in white letters upon glass, and light-up red circles containing the numbers "1", "2", and "3", the services of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line as of 2010. On the 96th Street side, there is a fare booth.
• Original 96th Street exits (closed): There were two staircases each at the southeastern and southwestern corners of 96th Street and Broadway.^{[18][lower-alpha 1]} Although fare control was at platform-level (on the unused side platforms), there was a free cross-under at this end of the station upon entering the paid area. This was due to an important sewer pipe which prevented engineers from building a mezzanine level similar to other express stations. The staircases and cross-under were closed when the headhouse was opened on April 5, 2010, but a part of the former full cross-under inside the fare control still exists.^{[5][lower-alpha 1]}
• 93rd–94th Street exits: There are two staircases each at the southeastern and southwestern corners of 94th Street and Broadway.^[18] There is a crossover within fare control at this end of the station.

In popular culture

96th Street Station is the location of a chase scene in the 1979 cult film The Warriors. However, the scenes were actually filmed at the unused outer tracks of the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station on the IND Fulton Street Line in Brooklyn. The exterior shots were filmed at the 72nd Street station.^[19]

Notes

1. Google Maps Street View picture of the exits in 2009.
   The same intersection in 2015. The exits don't exist.

References

1. New York Times, Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It, October 28, 1904
2. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
3. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
4. Some subway ifs and don'ts New York Times (on NYCSubway) Retrieved 2008-09-01
5. 96th Street NYCSubway Retrieved 2008-09-01
6. New York City Subway chaining Archived April 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. TheJoeKorner Retrieved 2008-09-01
7. Forgotten NY New York's Beaux-Arts Bathrooms
8. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "AGENCY LISTS ITS 69 MOST DETERIORATED SUBWAY STATIONS". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
9. Joey Arak (2008-09-16). "Subway Station of the Future Opens on Upper West Side". Curbed. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
10. Joey Arak (2009-04-29). "Cash-Strapped MTA Tinkering With New 96th Street Station". Curbed. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
11. http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/urbanite/blog/2009/04/mta_shaves_cost_features_from.html[]
12. Joey Arak (2010-04-05). "Subway Station of the Future Opens on Upper West Side". Curbed. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
13. MTA presentation to Manhattan community board 7
14. Leslie Albrecht (November 8, 2010). "Months After Grand Opening, MTA Says Elevators at 96th Street Station To Open Tuesday". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
15. 96th Street sidewalk models make us believe Curbed Retrieved 2007-09-01 Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
16. Pete Donohue (2014-04-05). "Treacherous intersection of W. 96th St. and Broadway getting a safety-promoting overhaul: DOT officials". Daily News. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
17. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Upper West Side and Central park" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
18. 96th Street station OnNYTurf Retrieved 2008-09-01
19. http://www.scoutingny.com/the-new-york-city-filming-locations-of-the-warriors-part-3/

External links

External video

96 St Station House, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; April 16, 2010; 2:14 YouTube clip

• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 96th Street
• MTA Opens New UWS Subway Entrance. NY1 local news channel. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
• Station Reporter – 1 Train
• Station Reporter — 2 Train
• Station Reporter — 3 Train
• Forgotten NY – Original 28 – NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• MTA's Facebook Web Page – 96th Street Pictures. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
• MTA's Arts for Transit – 96th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
• Head house from 96th Street from Google Maps Street View
• Head house from 95th Street from Google Maps Street View
• 94th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Lobby from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View

• Abandoned Stations – Abandoned Stations – 96 St platforms