Plan for Broadway Junction Overhaul Includes Two New Public Plazas

Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction subway station is set to undergo a $500 million overhaul, with Mayor Eric Adams and MTA construction boss Jamie Torres-Springer announcing plans Tuesday to make the station fully ADA-accessible while creating an acre of public space around the hub.

The MTA is putting $400 million into overhauling the Broadway Junction Station — an East New York transit center where the A,C, J, Z, and L lines all converge. The coming changes include accessibility-focused upgrades like installing seven new elevators, replacing all the escalators and adding a street entrance on the east side of Van Sinderen Avenue, according to Torres-Springer. The plan also includes structural improvements and a new coat of paint for the elevated train trestles.

Torres-Springer, while speaking at a news conference at the adjacent Callahan-Kelly Playground, said the Broadway Junction station fix-up will establish accessible transfers between all the train lines that run there.

“From the MTA point of view, Broadway Junction is the heart of the MTA,” Torres-Springer said. “It’s great connectivity. And we’ve all recognized that for many, many years. And we just needed to make the improvements to unlock all of the opportunity in this district.”

“This is a very big project,” he added. “I would say we are essentially rebuilding the entire station that you see behind us here.”

The overhaul is funded through the MTA’s current capital plan, according to City Hall. The transit agency is expected to select a contractor to lead the design and construction work later this year with a five-year timeline for the project’s completion.

Additionally, the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is funding a project to construct two new public plazas on either side of Van Sinderen Avenue and Fulton Street, to the tune of $95 million, Adams said. Those funds will also go toward new pedestrian safety features, bike lanes and signage on Van Sinderen Avenue between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Adams, who spent part of his childhood in the East New York and Brownsville sections of Brooklyn, said this project is part of his vision to revitalize a community that has been overlooked for too many years.

“Growing up in Brownsville, using the J line, the A line, the L, double L, to move throughout the city, for far too long this amazing connection of our subway system has been ignored,” the mayor said. “I am who I am, because of this neighborhood. And I’ve seen how members of this community have been left behind for too long. Too often government has made promises and then broken them. That ends in this administration.”

The anticipated completion date for the public space project is sometime in 2030, with planning and community engagement set to begin this summer and a groundbreaking expected in 2027, according to the mayor’s office.

Both the station renovation and public space additions will generate a projected $11.6 billion in revenue for the city over the next three decades and 2,300 construction jobs, Adams said. Many of those jobs will be made available to area residents.

The mayor said the project was conceived with a large amount of community input led by the local City Council member, Sandy Nurse (D-Brooklyn), and the planning process will continue to involve nearby residents.

“The plan reflects what the community wants and needs for our city,” Adams said. “Because enhancement should not mean displacement. It’s about people who lived here should have a voice here. And that is what we’re doing.”

Nurse — a progressive council member who’s a frequent critic of Adams — thanked him for allocating the funds to remodel public spaces around the junction. But she cautioned that “intentional and deliberate” community engagement is essential to developing the area without contributing to gentrification.

“I know you have a vision for this junction,” Nurse said. “And I believe that with intentional and deliberate community planning, there is a pathway to transform the junction in a way that is just and a way that safeguards this community from displacement and gentrification. And I know, that is your goal, as well. And so I’m very committed to working with you.”

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in amNY. Click here to see the original story.

Related Stories

• Developer Presents Plans for Broadway Junction Towers During a Virtual Town Hall
• ADA Transformation of Broadway Junction Coming With Installation of Elevators
• Borough Pres Adams Proposes Moving Municipal Offices to East New York

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.