YORKVILLE — Months after opening to the public, the Second Avenue Subway's 83rd Street entrance had to be closed after three of its escalators broke, officials said.
The 83rd street entrance of the 86th Street Station has been closed since Sunday, with a posted notice saying that the entrance will be closed indefinitely while escalator repairs are ongoing — with no end date.
An MTA worker told passersby on Tuesday that work would most likely be done by the end of the week, but the MTA would not officially comment about when the entrance would reopen.
Sprinklers inside the station were activated by faulty sensors earlier this week. The water damaged three escalators at the station entrance, according to the MTA.
Crews are working around-the-clock to repair them, which includes examining every step to make sure they're safe before they're restarted, officials said.
Commuters were directed to use the 86th Street entrance/exit — through signs that have been posted around the station, announcements being made on the northbound Q trains and in each Second Avenue Subway station.
But commuters said the closure has made rush hour on the corner a mess.
"It has created a bit of a logjam during the morning and evening rushes now with about half the egress capacity as the station had before," Justin Shea, 31, who lives around the corner, said in an email. "It has forced a large number of people into the north entrance at the station which slows down the entrance/exit process."
Shea said he counted roughly 12 MTA employees posted at various areas near the station entrance, directing foot traffic. Barriers have also been placed on the station's mezzanine to keep entrance and exit traffic separate and the 86th Street exit is completely blocked off inside the station so no one can get out that way.
"I was surprised that no prior notice was given about this disruption as it is somewhat major and creates an impact to those accessing the subway from the south," Shea added.
