UPPER EAST SIDE — The MTA unveiled renderings of what the East 68th Street-Hunter College subway station would look like after a $70 million revamp during a public meeting on Wednesday.
By 2020, the commuters traveling through the East 68th Street subway station can expect a new glassy elevator, a new Lexington Avenue entrance and an extra stairwell on East 69th street, according to renderings the MTA unveiled at a Community Board 8 meeting.
The meeting this week was strictly informational, and community members with concerns and questions are encouraged to attend a public hearing with the MTA on April 26, which will be held at 2 Broadway and begins at 4 p.m.
The project is meant to make the heavily-trafficked station more accessible, MTA officials said. Preliminary images show three elevators — one on the southeast side of East 68th Street, replacing the space where a flower kiosk currently stands, and two below street level — and two new stairwells.
One stairwell is located on the southwest corner of East 69th Street, jutting out into the street in place of three parking spaces.
The other staircase is planned for 931 Lexington Ave., mid-block between East 69th and East 68th streets. MetroDrugs is currently renovating that space and details of an acquisition are still unclear, according to MTA officials.
In addition, the stairs on the southeast corner of 68th Street will be widened and the stairs on the northwest corner will be rehabbed. The existing stairwell on the northeast corner of 68th roughly 30 feet east to make room for the new entrance on Lexington Avenue, according to the MTA.
For the first time in four years, since the project was shut down by concerned residents on East 69th Street, the MTA presented revamped plans to CB8 on Wednesday.
Locals were concerned that adding stairwells on East 69th would crowd their "pristine" street and make it more dangerous, but MTA officials assured the project would have minimal impact on the area.
The MTA says it will keep existing entrances to the station open during construction.
The project will still need approval from the Federal Transit Administration before construction can start in 2017.
