8 Brooklyn Subway Stations to Be Renovated by 2018

BROOKLYN, NY — Eight Brooklyn subway stations will be renovated by the end of 2018, part of a $27 billion, four-year Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) budget that received final approval last week from state regulators.

New York State has pledged $8.3 billion of that sum, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

The specific work to be done at each of the stations (as well as about 20 in other boroughs) will depend on their needs, MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said Wednesday, but will likely involve infrastructure like stairs and platforms.

Cuomo's office has also promised that renovated stations will receive new lighting, signage, art, better cell phone reception and free wifi.

The eight Brooklyn stations slated for rehabilitation are:

• The Prospect Avenue station at the intersection of Park Slope, South Slope and Gowanus (R Train)

• The 53rd Street station in Sunset Park (R Train)

• The Bay Ridge Avenue station at the border of Sunset Park and Bay Ridge (R Train)

• The Flushing Avenue station on the border of Bed-Stuy and Williamsburg (G Train)

• The Classon Avenue station on the border of Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill (G train)

• The Clinton-Washington Avenue station in Clinton Hill (G Train)

• The Kingston-Throop Avenue station on the border of Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights (C Train)

• The Van Siclen Avenue station on the border of East New York and Cypress Hills (C Train)

Gothamist reported in January that these eight stations may be closed completely for six to 12 months during the work, but that there was still a chance some of them would remain partially open.

Ortiz, the MTA spokesman, said Wednesday that he did not have an update on whether stations would be shuttered completely or partially, or how long construction would last.

A total of 32 subway stations will receive rehabilitation work

In addition to the station work, other subway improvements are also coming, the MTA has said.

Using previously approved funding, the authority has already purchased 300 new subway cars for the A, C and F lines, Ortiz said.

On top of that, the newly approved capital plan will pay for at least 940 additional cars to be worked into the system, he said.

Those cars could wind up on the A, F or R lines, Ortiz said, although final decisions have yet to be made.

The 2015-2019 budget will also fund nearly 1,400 new buses for lines throughout the city.

Last week's funding announcement comes after two years of negotiations between state and city legislators.

However: The massive $27 billion sum hasn't actually been set aside by either party, leading some lawmakers to question the viability of the plan.

But both Cuomo, who has made New York City transportation a top priority for his administration, and Tom Prendergast, the CEO of the MTA, have said the money will be available when it's needed.

Images courtesy of the MTA