By Gus Saltonstall
A new elevator opened Tuesday within a busy Upper West Side train station.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that the new mezzanine-to-platform elevator at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station serving the southbound A, B, C, D lines and the northbound 1 line is now open.
The elevator was constructed using a public-private partnership model, where the elevator was paid for and constructed by developer Global Holdings, but will be maintained by the MTA.
“The MTA is utilizing innovative methods, like public-private partnerships, to deliver accessibility better, faster and cheaper,” said MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer, in a news release. “The new 59 St-Columbus Circle elevator is proof that smart construction strategies can deliver real results for riders while saving millions in the process.”
The 59th Street-Columbus Circle station was already accessible, but the MTA decided to add the additional elevator due to the high number of passengers who travel daily through the Upper West Side station.
Along with the new elevator, MTA crews installed security cameras, upgraded the security system, and made upgrades to mechanical, electrical and communications systems within the elevators at the station.
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Would be nice if they finished the one on 81st. Also isnt there already a ramp down.
“constructed by developer Global Holdings, but will be maintained by the MTA.”
This explains how it was constructed expeditiously and why it will be out of service on 6 months.
You are always so confident that everything sucks and nothing works.
Care to make a wager on that timeline Bill? Loser donates to the WSR?
You’re obviously not a regular user of MTA escalators or elevators. Everyone knows how poorly run the MTA is.
any updates on 72nd st broadway rehab?
The 72nd/Broadway elevator was out when I needed it a couple of weeks ago. Does anyone know what’s wrong with it? Elevator repairs take a day or two.
Nothing wrong with the elevator, everything wrong with the people maintaining it
It’s not a repair, it’s a scheduled replacement that was announced in advance and is still several months from completion.
per an earlier story in WSR they went out of service way back in July, 2025, and were supposed to be back by “end of March, 2026” (quoting from the MTA….) https://www.westsiderag.com/2025/07/23/elevators-at-busy-uws-train-station-out-of-service-for-next-8-months-replacement-work
Those are outdated times. The elevators did not go out of service in July 2025 as the project was delayed. They went out of service some time in 2026 during this planned renovation.
I can’t help but noticing how shiny the tiles are in the perimeter around the elevator!
“paid for and constructed by developer Global Holdings,”
Did they donate it ?
Private companies get things done so much faster and cheaper than the government or MTA.
Wish the elevator went up all the way up to the street.
So people in need of the elevator cannot take it from the street level, but need to take the (currently one?) elevator from the street to the mezzanine and then maneuver through the station to the new elevator to get down to the platform? Am not sure how this helps. Or am I mistaken?
Thank you thank you and please more of this! Some of us cannot manage the stairs.
Some time ago there was a lot of controversy surrounding “….innovative methods, like public-private partnerships…” Many believed that the public was ALWAYS left with the short end of the stick – and without means of redress. The then-new escalator at the east side of the Union Square subway station was installed by the family who tore down the old S. Klein store to build on the site. The escalator was part of the ‘deal’ with the City. According to commuters, the escalator was broken more often than running. A similar case is the mediocre escalator on 42nd Street leading to the Times Square subway station.