CLINTON HILL — Two Clinton Hill subway stations will close for at least six months for major renovations, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The Clinton-Washington C and the Classon Avenue G stops are among 30 stations that will close citywide for improvements that will make them “cleaner and brighter” and easier to navigate, Cuomo announced Friday.
The upgrades will also include more Wi-Fi hotspots, adding mobile payment stations to replace your MetroCard and placing USB ports on trains and in stations so straphangers can charge their mobile devices.
The project is slated to be finished by 2020, but the majority of the work should be done in the next two years, according to Cuomo.
The MTA says closing the stations entirely will allow them to work more quickly. Work on each station is expected to last between six months and a year, as opposed to the two or three years it would take if improvements were made during overnight hours or on weekends.
The renovations will be staggered so not all of the stations will be closed at once, but a specific timeline for each station hasn’t been set, an MTA spokesman said.
“As we develop those plans, we’ll work with the community and its elected officials to spread the word about them and ensure everyone has time to plan for them,” spokesman Adam Lisberg said.
He said it hadn’t yet been determined whether shuttle buses will service riders at closed stations.
The announcement left some local commuters balking at the idea of shuttering a station entirely.
“It seems much more disruptive to close the station altogether, especially for people who take it every day for work,” said Clinton Hill resident JJ Goode, a 34-year-old father whose son’s daycare is near the Classon Avenue station.
Others said they’d prefer to forego the renovations altogether.
Crystal Smith, a 30-year-old from Jamaica, Queens, who passes through the Clinton-Washington station for work, said the condition of the stations didn’t bother her as long as they’re open.
“Just keep the trains running,” she said.
