From May 12 to May 16, New York opened a walk-in one-shot vaccination sites at eight MTA sites for anyone who wants to get vaccinated. Those who get a shot at one of these sites, Get your free shot and also get a free 7-day MetroCard or 2 free LIRR/Metro-North tickets. Gaby Acevedo reports.
What to Know
- Four new Metro-North Railroad stations are planned for the Bronx as work on the Metro-North Penn Station Access Project, which was put on hold because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and MTA funding uncertainty, has resumed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
- The project will bring four fully accessible Metro-North stations to Hunts Point, Parkchester, Morris Park, and Co-Op City.
- The commute from Co-op City to Penn Station, currently 75 minutes, will be cut to 25 minutes. The commute from Hunts Point to Penn Station, currently 45 minutes, will be cut to 16 minutes.
Four new Metro-North Railroad stations are planned for the Bronx as work on the Metro-North Penn Station Access Project, which was put on hold because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and MTA funding uncertainty, has resumed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
"As vaccination rates go up and COVID-19 abates, it's time to refocus our efforts on the critical infrastructure projects we need to deliver for New York's future and economic recovery from the pandemic," Cuomo said in a statement.
The project will bring four fully accessible Metro-North stations to the Bronx, giving them access to Penn Station. These stations will be located at:
- Hunts Point
- Parkchester
- Morris Park
- Co-Op City
Trains stopping at these future stations will serve an extension of the New Haven Line, offering rail options in the east Bronx to midtown Manhattan, as well as Westchester County and Connecticut.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
The commute from Co-Op City to Penn Station, currently 75 minutes, will be cut to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, the commute from Hunts Point to Penn Station, currently 45 minutes, will be cut to 16 minutes.
"Connecting Metro-North to Penn Station has long been an important next step not just for New York City's economic growth and development, but for protecting our environment and providing more equitable access to transit in our communities. This restarted selection process for a firm to build four new stations will expand access to transit in the Bronx and help to create a new corridor between Manhattan and the Mid-Hudson region," Cuomo went on to say in his statement.
Metro-North trains will use a rail line owned by Amtrak and used by its Northeast Corridor trains. This project will upgrade the line and update its infrastructure.
The project is one of numerous efforts to make Metro-North service more enticing and useful in the Bronx, according to the state. The last Metro-North station to be newly built where none had been before was also in the Bronx, at Yankees-E. 153rd Street. That station opened in 2009.
The reopened process will choose a firm to design and build the new stations and make track upgrades in the Bronx. As part of that process, the public will be able to review project documents online and at in-person sites in the Bronx, including the Morris Park Community Association and the Bronx Jewish Community Council.
Connecting Metro-North to Penn Station has long been an important next step not just for New York City's economic growth and development, but for protecting our environment and providing more equitable access to transit in our communities.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
"The most cost-effective capital projects are those that squeeze more mass transit service out of existing infrastructure, rather than always building something new from scratch," Janno Lieber, President of MTA Construction & Development, said in a statement. "By rebuilding this under-utilized Amtrak rail line to accommodate new Metro-North service, this project will give East Bronx residents better access to jobs, education and a full range of opportunities."
Catherine Rinaldi, President of MTA Metro-North Railroad, shared similar sentiments calling the project "exciting" and "transformative."
"This is an exciting project that will be as transformative for Metro-North as it is for the Bronx," Rinaldi said. "We look forward to doing everything we can to support this project to bring Metro-North service to an entirely new part of the Bronx and give customers on our New Haven Line -- historically our busiest -- a choice of new destinations as they plan their travel."
