A MASSIVE overhaul is coming to one of New York’s most troubled transit corridor, and officials say it is being shaped by lessons learned across the Atlantic.
The MTA is preparing for a $7.7 billion expansion of the Second Avenue Subway, its biggest single investment in decades.
Work is ramping up in East Harlem, where three new Q line stations are expected to open by 2032 (stock image)[/caption]
The MTA is preparing for a $7.7 billion expansion of the Second Avenue Subway[/caption]
Work is ramping up in East Harlem, where three new Q line stations are expected to open by 2032.
Two will sit beneath Second Avenue at East 106th and 116th streets.
A third will transform the 125th Street-Lexington Avenue station, a major hub that also sees more violent crime than any other in the city.
The move marks a turning point for the area, one of Manhattan’s poorest neighborhoods, and one with a long history of underinvestment.
Construction documents show the MTA plans to use eminent domain to take over at least 15 buildings in the area, many of them residential homes.
In recent years, several lots along East 125th Street have already been cleared in preparation.
MTA officials say they are applying techniques from Phase 1 of the project, which was completed on the Upper East Side, as well as borrowing best practices from Europe to finish the jobs faster and cheaper.
“East Harlem residents have waited decades for improved transit access,” said MTA spokesperson Eugene Resnick.
“Phase 2… will be a gamechanger for the local community.”
Some locals see it as long-overdue progress.
Others are afraid it will push them out.
“I mean, look at the neighborhood,” Bobby Jones, 42, who lives near the 125th Street station told Gothamist.
“It needs a facelift to bring more attraction here.”
He said visitors are turned off by the neighborhood’s graffiti, open drug use, and dirty sidewalks.
MTA Project: East Harlem Extension
- Project Budget: $7.7 billion – the MTA’s largest single-phase investment in 40 years
- Funding Sources: Mix of state support, federal grants, and MTA capital funds
- Sites Affected: Construction will require eminent domain for at least 15 buildings, primarily residential, and along East 125th Street
- Station Locations: Two brand-new underground Q stations at Second Ave/E 106th and 116th streets; full overhaul of the existing 125th St–Lexington Ave hub
- Prep Work Underway: Multiple lots along East 125th have already been demolished to make way for the revamped station and tunneling operations
“That’s why [they] ain’t gonna want to come around here,” he added.
Since 2021, the area has hosted a controversial supervised injection site and has one of the highest rates of psychiatric hospitalizations in the city.
“I avoid this station, I’d say probably after 9 pm,” said Neil Tetkowski, 69, who’s lived in East Harlem for 20 years.
Despite the safety concerns, many fear that the new subway could trigger rapid gentrification.
Carey King, who runs the nonprofit Uptown Grand Central, said a business improvement district is in the works to help residents shape the area’s future.
She said the BID would provide a direct funding stream for local cleanup, beautification and cultural projects.
“The big, beautiful, global vision would be that… our streets can be clean… our public art can shine,” King said.
“A lot of times, people just keep their heads down when they pass through here.”
Mayor Eric Adams supports the idea and said legislation to create East Harlem’s first-ever BID is on the way.
“They deserve a commercial corridor that is safe and clean,” Adams said. “One that is free of quality-of-life concerns.”
The BID, leaders hope, could help stop small businesses from being pushed out.
Still, long-standing cultural advocates are wary of what they say could be displacement disguised as investment.
“There needs to be more intention and equal distribution of funds,” said Sabine Blaizin of the Caribbean Cultural Center, located across from the Lexington station.
She warned the project could erase local places.
Rachel Weinberger, with the Regional Plan Association, called it a “Catch 22.”
“The trick is how to provide access without creating displacement,” she said.
“Sometimes, a transportation investment can help bring [needed amenities] – but at a cost.”
In recent years, several lots along East 125th Street have already been cleared in preparation[/caption]
