The Metropolitan Transportation Authority broke ground Thursday on accessibility upgrades at the Times Square-Bryant Park subway complex, a project funded by congestion pricing revenue. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the work includes four new elevators, modern fare gates, and rebuilt platforms and stairwells at a station serving more than 100,000 daily riders.
Jamie Torres Springer, whom Lieber introduced as leading the agency's construction and development work, said the station is one of more than 23 that will become fully accessible through congestion pricing funding, and that the project required reusing a decommissioned subway track to find space for the new elevators. He said two of the elevators will connect the mezzanine to the BDFM platforms, one will serve the 7 train platform at Fifth Avenue, and another will link to the passageway connecting Bryant Park and Times Square stations.
Rep. Jerry Nadler credited congestion pricing with funding the upgrades, saying the program took effect nearly two years ago and has survived legal challenges. Another elected official who spoke afterward said he had cast his vote for congestion pricing, put the station's volume at 110,000 daily riders and 13 million passengers a year, and credited Gov. Hochul's support for the program.
During questions on other topics, a reporter from Channel 7 Eyewitness News asked about an incident involving a rider identified as Kyle Taylor, who said he was manhandled by officers from the MTA's Eagle team fare enforcement unit. Lieber said officers involved have been placed out of service pending an investigation, and that the New York Police Department, which was present at the scene, has not made arrests or filed charges.
A reporter from Gothamist and WNYC asked whether the incident bolstered the mayor's office's push for free buses. Lieber said the MTA was not pursuing free bus service and that a physical altercation does not mean fare payment should be eliminated, comparing fare enforcement to parking ticket disputes.