Senate Majority Leader Schumer, House Democratic Leader Jeffries, and MTA Announce Groundbreaking for Classon Av Station Accessibility Project in Brooklyn

$57 Million Project Funded by Federal Dollars Includes Complete Station Renewal

Project to Add Three Elevators, Widen Mezzanine Space, Refurbish Seven Staircases, and Install Four New Turnstiles

Project Adds 3,500 Square Feet of Space for Access to Elevators and Customer Circulation

View Draft Renderings of Classon Av Improvements

View Photos of Event

View Video of News Conference

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority today announced the groundbreaking to make the Classon Av ​station in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn a fully accessible station. Funds from the federal government cover accessibility improvements and related improvements to passenger circulation through the reactivation of approximately 3,500 square feet of public mezzanine space and two mezzanine-to-platform stairwells. Classon Av is one of 13 stations in the MTA's largest design-build bundle of accessibility upgrades awarded to date. The total package spans all five boroughs with a construction budget of approximately $850 million. Approximately $500 million is covered by federal funding including $360 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

"In recent years, the MTA has been making dramatic gains toward full system accessibility," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "Investments in transit accessibility benefit all New Yorkers - seniors, shoppers and stroller-pushing parents as well as people with disabilities - and we are deeply grateful to federal leaders like Senator Schumer and House Democratic Leader Jeffries for assuring the MTA captures its share of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to continue that unprecedented progress."

"Working with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, I'm proud our Bipartisan Infrastructure law created the funding to power critical modernization and accessibility upgrades like these at Classon Avenue ​Station in Brooklyn," said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. "With federal investments like this $57 million, the MTA can take on more projects to keep all New Yorkers moving and keep our economy going strong. These much-needed accessibility upgrades, including three elevators and a wider mezzanine, are key to modernizing the system and making public transit more accessible for the riding public, especially for New Yorkers with disabilities, who have long suffered from poor access to our region's mass transit."

"The ​train is an incredibly important subway line for the Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant communities that I am privileged to represent," said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "Today represents an incredibly positive step forward, particularly to make sure that those with physical challenges and those who have slowed down a little bit as they've become older can move back and forth and do the things necessary to live their best life. I'm proud that millions of dollars for this project have come from the federal government, in connection with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that under the leadership of President Biden and the partnership with Democrats in the Senate under Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats in the House of Representatives we were able to get over the finish line last Congress. Democrats will continue to put people over politics and deliver for the communities we are privileged to represent."

"Classon Av is part of the largest bundle of accessibility upgrades the MTA has ever undertaken," said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. "Today's groundbreaking exemplifies how innovations like design-build and bundling help us deliver critical accessibility projects better, faster, and cheaper."

"The accessibility and station renovation work at the Classon Av station will be complemented by the signal modernization work currently underway for the ​line to deliver a more reliable ride for customers," said NYC Transit Interim President Demetrius Crichlow. "The ​line has historically had less accessible stations than other lines but this past April, we completed two ADA projects - the Metropolitan Av which directly serves the ​line and the Lorimer St ​station which connects to it, so progress is surely underway and with support from our federal leaders, we hope to continue this momentum to build a transit system everyone can use."

"Everyone should be able to use our subway stations - whether you have a disability, a child in a stroller, or just can't always use the stairs," said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo. "I'm so excited to kick off the elevator construction at Classon Av and ensure anyone travelling to Clinton Hill or Pratt Institute has an accessible transit option."

The anticipated completion date for Classon Av is Q4 2026. The project encompasses a multitude of accessibility upgrades and related station improvements, including:

• Three new elevators; one connecting the street level to the mezzanine and two connecting the mezzanine to the platforms serving both directions.
• Four new raised boarding areas compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with new platform edge tactile strips.
• Staircases will be refurbished to ADA standards, receiving new stair treads, new handrails, and related repairs.
  • The staircase connecting the mezzanine to street level will be relocated to accommodate the new street-to-mezzanine elevator, rebuilt, and widened to improve passenger circulation.
  • Two currently closed mezzanine-to-platform staircases will be reopened, increasing the total number of mezzanine-to-platform staircases from four to six.
• One new curb ramp at the northwest corner of the plaza where the new street elevator is located.
• New turnstiles equipped with OMNY readers, including an automated wide-aisle fare gate to create an ADA-accessible path from the mezzanine to the mezzanine-to-platform elevators.
• Replacement of communications and public announcement systems, including upgrades to customer information screens.
• Related to the station accessibility work, the station will receive upgrades to fire alarms, sprinklers, and lighting, as well as targeted structural repairs and painting.
• In coordination with this project, Classon Av will also receive a station re-NEW-vation during the planned upcoming 24/7 service outage on the ​train.

MTA's Unprecedented Progress on Accessibility

The current capital program contains an unprecedented number of accessibility improvements, and the MTA has been awarding ADA upgrades at nearly five times the pace as previous capital programs. As of Monday, Aug. 5, the MTA has 38 stations in construction for accessibility upgrades.

With the completion of Beach 67 St ​, Metropolitan Av ​, and Lorimer St ​earlier this year, the MTA closed out its first design-build package which included a total of eight accessibility projects; project costs were covered by approximately 80% in federal funding. Additionally, Tremont Av ​​opened this year as a fully accessible station, raising the number of current accessible stations throughout the subway system to 151.

Across the Long Island Rail Road, three ADA projects were completed this year along the Babylon Branch: Copiague, Amityville, Lindenhurst. On Metro-North's Harlem Line, three accessibility projects were completed: Scarsdale, Hartsdale, and Purdy's.

For a list of subway and Staten Island Railway stations included in this design-bundle, see this press release.

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