30 Av, 36 Av Stations Return to Service after Significant Structural Repairs and Safety and Functional Improvements

See Before and After Photos of the Stations, and Transit President Byford’s Visit to the Stations and Nearby Businesses, Here

MTA New York City Transit announced that the 30 Av and 36 Av stations on the Astoria Line reopened for service at noon today, following successful on-time repairs and improvements that restored and modernized the stations – originally opened in 1917 – for thousands of  customers.

"This is a great example of an innovative program that delivers a far better customer experience for our riders,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota.  “While we work to improve train service with the Subway Action Plan and Fast Forward Plan, it’s critical we also continue to improve our station environments.”

NYC Transit President Andy Byford welcomed customers and employees at the reopened stations today before visiting and patronizing local businesses nearby.

“These stations were in desperate need of repairs to their deteriorating structures, but now they look and feel brand new, which is amazing for two above-ground structures that had been in daily continuous use for more than 100 years,” said President Byford. “I thank our customers and the entire Astoria community for their patience as we made these critical repairs.”

The work at 30 Av and 36 Av included repairs to deteriorated concrete and steel structures, and rehabilitated entrances including staircases, railings and canopies; improvements and repairs to mezzanines and platforms; waterproofing; security cameras, glass barriers and railings for increased light and transparency; improved signage for easier navigation, including digital, real-time service information; and glass and wire mesh platform windscreens for added light and safety.

In the mezzanine at 30 Av, laminated glass panels in colorful abstract geometric patterns by Stephen Westfall replaced deteriorating windowless wooden wall panels, bringing color and natural light to the previously dark station waiting area. Crews also added a new staircase for exiting from the Astoria-bound platform at the 30 Av station to the street-level intersection of 30th Avenue and Newtown Avenue.

In the mezzanine at 36 Av, colorful glass windows in geometric patterns by Maureen McQuillan illuminate the station waiting area, replacing deteriorating and chipped wooden panels that previously blocked out the natural light.

MTA NYC Transit is in the process of repairing or upgrading all stations on the Astoria  Line. The 30 Av and 36 Av closed for eight months during the repairs, and the Broadway and 39 Av stations will close for up to seven months beginning Monday, July 2. Improvements and repairs at the Ditmars Blvd station also began in April, with the station remaining open to service throughout the project, which is scheduled for completion by June 2019. At the Astoria Blvd station, the entire station mezzanine will be demolished and rebuilt to accommodate the installation of four new elevators and other accessible features. A redesigned mezzanine will provide additional vertical clearance from the street below, to avoid strikes by trucks driving underneath the elevated structure.

NYC Transit staff conducted extensive community outreach before and during the repairs at 30 Av and 36 Av, meeting with local community boards and elected officials and working with local businesses to develop a marketing campaign to help drive customers to patronize them. A similar campaign is in development to help local businesses during repairs at Broadway and 39 Av stations.

On May 23, NYC Transit President Byford unveiled “Fast Forward: The Plan to Modernize New York City Transit,” which seeks to modernize the subway’s signal system on a significantly accelerated timeline, redesign the entire city’s bus network, and improve customer service and communications. The plan also proposes to add in the span of five years enough new elevators to ensure that all subway riders will not be more than two stops away from an accessible station.  The plan proposes the addition of 180 elevators over the course of 10 years. 

The MTA Board awarded the $150 million contract to Skanska with AECOM in April 2017 for work at 30 Av, 36 Av, Broadway and 39 Av. These four stations originally opened for service in July 1917.