Elevator work starts at 42 St-Bryant Park, one of 6 subway stations getting ADA upgrades paid for by congestion pricing

Riders who can't use stairs will eventually be able to get through one of Midtown's busiest subway hubs. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that the MTA has started construction to make the 42 St-Bryant Park and 5 Av station complex fully accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act, paid for with congestion pricing revenue, according to the governor's office. 6sqft described it as the first subway elevator project built with congestion pricing money to start construction.

What's being built

• Four elevators: three new mezzanine-to-platform elevators at 42 St-Bryant Park, including one linking the Times Square Shuttle pedestrian passageway to the northbound platform, plus one mezzanine-to-platform elevator at the 5 Av 7 station.
• A step-free transfer: a new accessible corridor inside the station between the B, D, F and M platforms at 42 St-Bryant Park and the 7 at 5 Av.
• Station work: rebuilt platforms at both stations, accessible fare gates, four upgraded stairways, accessible restrooms at 42 St-Bryant Park and repairs at 5 Av.

The state says the work will benefit more than 100,000 riders a day. The MTA is also turning four empty storefronts inside the Times Sq-42 St station into restaurant space as part of the same push along the 42nd Street corridor, the release said. The announcement did not give a completion date.

Five more stations

Bryant Park is one of six accessibility projects now under construction with congestion pricing money. The other five are Kingsbridge Rd on the 4 and 167 St on the B and D in the Bronx, Gates Av on the J in Brooklyn, and Briarwood and Parsons Blvd on the F in Queens, according to the governor's office. Together, the state says, congestion pricing will pay for accessibility upgrades at at least 23 subway stations.

"New Yorkers want to know how this program is working," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. The agency is putting up signs at Bryant Park, and in the coming weeks at other sites, to mark projects paid for by the toll.

The money behind it

Drivers have paid a toll to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street since January 2025. The program raised $550 million in its first year, and more than 70,000 fewer vehicles entered the zone on a typical day, 6sqft reported. The governor's office says congestion pricing revenue is backing $15 billion in MTA capital work, including $3 billion for the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway, $3 billion for new signals, $2 billion for new railcars and buses, $5 billion for repairs and $2 billion for accessibility.

The work also counts toward a legal settlement that requires the MTA to make 95% of its 472 subway stations accessible by 2055, with set targets for each decade along the way, 6sqft noted.