MTA unveils ‘stunning’ $30M staircase at Times Square subway stationBy David Meyer
May 16, 2022
Transit officials on Monday unveiled a new staircase and entryway at the Times Square subway station that they said cost the transit authority a cool $30 million to build.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber said the “stunning… first class” 15-foot wide staircase at the “center” of Broadway Plaza at 43rd Street Street would provide tourists and others with a clear path in and out of the “Crossroads of the World.”
The new staircase is 450 square feet bigger than its predecessor, which was also not as centrally located, Lieber said.
“It was so inconvenient. You saw so many tourists coming down there and being disoriented. Not anymore,” he said of the previous, narrower stairway. “The new entrance provides direct access to Times Square.”
The project also included a new $10 million elevator from the street to the mezzanine, which was paid for by Jameston, which owns 1 Times Square. Elevator users can access the platforms via a different elevator from the mezzanine that opened last year, officials said.
Taxpayers and riders are on the hook for the $30 million cost of the staircase, street-level canopy, expanded turnstile area, 18 new close-caption surveillance cameras and a mosaic by the artist Nick Cave, officials said.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2022/05/16/mta-unveils-stunning-30m-staircase-at-times-square-subway-station/
