The long-stalled $156.5 million federal grant to make five Bronx and Upper Manhattan subway stations accessible is finally cleared to move, according to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The 2024 award is earmarked for elevator installations, platform fixes and other upgrades at Wakefield–241st Street, Kingsbridge Road, 167th Street, 145th Street and 110th Street, where riders with mobility disabilities have been pushing for basic access for years.
Back on May 1, Gillibrand, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, publicly pressed the Biden administration to stop sitting on the money after it got caught in an internal agency review. In that release, lawmakers warned the grant had “remained unobligated and in limbo under the new internal grant review process” and urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to wrap up its review so the MTA could finally get shovels in the ground, according to Gillibrand's office.
Which stations will get upgrades
The Federal Transit Administration’s FY2024 project list shows the MTA was selected for $156,503,053 to upgrade Wakefield–241st Street, Kingsbridge Road, 167th Street, 145th Street and 110th Street. According to FTA’s FY24 project list, the work will include elevator installations, platform gap reductions, tactile platform edge warning strips, stair repairs and improved signage.
Why the money was delayed
The Brooklyn Eagle reported Tuesday that Gillibrand said the grant “can finally move forward” after more than a year of delays, with the timing landing just hours before DOT Secretary Sean Duffy was scheduled to testify before the Senate appropriations subcommittee. The outlet noted the MTA had been the only FY24 All Stations Accessibility Program awardee still waiting on its money, a sore point New York lawmakers had repeatedly raised with the department.
What the MTA says and next steps
The MTA has previously said it plans to bundle the five stations into a single package and use ASAP funding to advance design and speed delivery. Bundling and design-build procurement would help deliver elevators faster, according to an MTA announcement. Exact timelines will still hinge on when DOT formally obligates the award and when procurement and contracting steps are completed.
Once DOT obligates the grant, MTA project managers can move the five stations from planning into contracting, a shift advocates say could radically change daily commutes for Bronx riders who now face stairs at nearly every stop. Gillibrand’s office has pointed out that only about 32 percent of the city’s subway stations are fully accessible, a statistic echoed on the FTA’s project page that underscores how critical this chunk of funding is for riders who have been waiting on elevators for decades.
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