West 72nd Street B/C Station To Close, MTA Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The West 72nd Street and Central Park West subway station will close Monday for at least six months, the MTA announced.

The West 72nd Street station is one of three Upper West Side B/C stations being renovated as part of the MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative. The Enhanced Stations Initiative includes structural repairs and cosmetic fixes such as new stairs, floors, countdown clocks and LED lighting.

"We appreciate our customers’ patience while we do these critical repairs and improvements," NYC Transit President Andy Byford said.

"These temporary closures will prepare these stations for decades of continued service. We’re deploying customer service personnel to help riders through this transition and will hold the contractor to the aggressive work schedule."

The subway station is expected to reopen in early October, the MTA said.

The West 110th Street B/C station in Frederick Douglass Circle closed in early April and the West 86th Street station is scheduled to close on June 4. Service on the M10 bus line, which runs along the route of the B/C trains, has been increased during the renovations, the MTA said.

When the West 110th Street Station closed, Upper West Side and Harlem politicians called the MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative a blown opportunity. Politicians and advocates criticized the program for failing to upgrade subway service and failing to make the stations accessible to all passengers.

The MTA first announced the station closures in February.

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