Subway stations across the city are getting some much-needed upgrades through the MTA's “Station ReNEWvation Program."

 

The project was the vision of New York City Transit President Richard Davey. It aims to improve the cleanliness, safety and overall customer experience when riding the trains. 

 

 "When I started as president, I asked the question, 'if we are shutting the station down, what work are we doing?" said Davey. "And the answer was none. We said 'well wait a minute, if we are shutting the stations down on weekends, we could be doing super cleaning, painting, installing new concrete." 

 

The MTA piggybacks off the weekend scheduled track maintenance at stations, giving transit workers 55 hours to complete all of the renovations. 

 

News 12 got an exclusive look at the work being done at Brooklyn's 7th Avenue B and Q line station. Subway tiles were replaced, LED lights were installed, structures were repainted, and new concrete was installed on the mezzanine. 

 

To date, the MTA has completed renovations at 49 stations. They plan to complete 50 stations per year, targeting a new station each weekend. 

 

The stations are chosen based off of customer satisfaction surveys. The ones that are reported to be in the worst condition receive attention first - and people who ride the subway say they think this work is needed. 

 

"I think it's always necessary," said Andrea Smith, a subway rider. "New York is an old city so it always needs help with the infrastructure. I think they should add more artwork that could make it more fun." 

 

The project is funded by the Subway Action Plan that was established in 2017. The state and city jointly funded the plan to help improve the more than 100-year-old system.