User:Kew Gardens 613/History of closed New York City Subway entrances

This is a history of New York City Subway entrances that have been closed, demolished, or were planned to be closed, and those that have been reopened, which accompanies a List of closed New York City Subway entrances, and a List of reopened New York City Subway entrances. The list does not include entrances to stations that have been closed or for stations that have been demolished. Many entrances were closed between the 1970s and 1990s due to concerns over crime, low ridership, and to cut costs by reducing station staffing. The two main waves of closings occurred in 1976 and 1991, as the country was in the midst of recessions. As crime has decreased, and as ridership has gone up, these entrances, for the most part have not been revisited. During some station renovation projects, closed entrances have been reopened.

Much of this information comes from websites such as stationreporter.net (now defunct), subwaynut.com, nycsubway.org, old photos, old tax photos, aerial photos, Google Maps streetview, public hearing notices, NYCTA board materials, newspaper clippings, Google Books, personal observations, whether they are images or memories of using the entrances in question, and through research done as part of Alan Minor's master's thesis. This list is on Wikipedia–a subpage of my userpage–so that this list can be crowdsourced and can be easily added to, and with citations. One of the goals of this list is to migrate the information from here to the relevant articles once they are sufficiently referenced. Another main purpose is to eventually create an article in the mainspace, which would require a lot of research. Proper citations would be appreciated, whether they are newspaper articles detailing their closure, New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) documentation, or images showing their existence. Additional information would be appreciated, including additional locations where closed entrances are located, the locations of demolished/removed entrances, more specific locational information including street corners and on mezzanine, the existence of entrances to private buildings and underground passageways connecting stations, and dates when the entrances in question closed, and if possible, why they closed.

In response to a request made by State Senator Martin Dilan, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) stated that 119 stations either had a closed street stair or closed control area, and that 130 stations had closed entrances. Within these 130 stations, there are 114 closed control areas and 298 closed street stairs. 188 of these were connected to closed control areas, with the remainder connected to control areas that remain open.

Closings: pre-1970
1904 exit protest

1922 West End open hours; more

Vernon-Jackson 1924

Entrance locations-decision-High Street-1928

Planning-station agents-Fulton-1928

Stations built by the IRT have seen various entrances closed part-time as early as 1921 due to lower ridership initially. On March 6, 1926, the IRT announced that its newly completed entrance at Vernon Avenue at the Vernon—Jackson Avenues station would be closed between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. to cut costs by eliminating the need to employ four people. The earliest reported closure occurred before 1929, when an entrance to the northwestern corner of Fulton Street and William Street on the Seventh Avenue Line was closed and demolished.

East end mezzanine Ocean Parkway, Brighton Beach station, east end, 11th Avenue end of Fort Hamilton Parkway Sea Beach Line

On November 15, 1921, the IRT successfully applied to the New York State Transportation Commission, asking for permission to install 500 automatic turnstiles at stations with low enough ridership that they would not impede service to save money. In November 1921, cage-like automatic turnstiles had been installed on the BRT at Ocean Parkway, Brighton Beach, and Metropolitan Avenue.

On November 17, 1922, the BRT issued notices informing riders that automatic turnstiles at five stations on the Sea Beach Line would be placed into service on November 20, allowing entrances to be open at all times. Automatic turnstiles placed at the 17th Avenue end of 18th Avenue station, the 15th Avenue end of New Utrecht Avenue station, and the Eighth Avenue end of Eighth Avenue station allowed these entrances, which were closed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., to be open at all times. Agents would be on duty during hours of heavy weekday traffic at these three entrances. The installation of automatic turnstiles at the Avenue T end of Avenue U station and the Avenue O end of 22nd Avenue station allowed these entrances to be opened; they had been closed at all times for some time due to low ridership.

In 1922 the BRT began installing automatic turnstiles to existing stations to allow it to save labor costs by eliminating the need for ticket agents. The installation of these turnstiles enabled entrances that had been closed late evenings and nights due to low ridership, which was insufficient to justify the hiring of additional ticket agents, to be kept open. On December 30, 1922, the BRT issued notices informing riders that automatic turnstiles were installed stations on the Jamaica Line, and would be placed into service on January 3, 1923. They were installed at the ends of stations that were closed overnight between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. as ridership did not justify the cost of having stations staffed by two station agents at all times. With the automatic turnstiles, the entrances would be open at all times. The automated turnstiles were installed at the Puntine Street end of the 168th Street station, the 149th Street end of the Sutphin Boulevard station, the 123rd Street end of the 121st Street station, the 102nd Street end of the 102nd Street station, the 95th Street end of the Woodhaven Boulevard station, the Forest Parkway end of Forest Parkway station, the Elderts Lane end of the Elderts Lane station, and the Railroad Avenue end of the Cypress Hills station. The automatic turnstile entrances at 121st Street, 102nd Street, Woodhaven Boulevard, and Forest Parkway would be supplemented by agents during hours with heavy weekday traffic. The notice asked riders to cooperate and not insert foreign substances and mutilated coins into the fair boxes so as to keep both ends of stations open. It noted that turnstiles would not operate if foreign substances were inserted into them, requiring the closure of entrances.

In January 1923, the BRT started installing automatic turnstiles at the Neck Road end of the Avenue U station on the Culver Line. The Gravesend Civic Improvement League had been campaigning for the opening of this end, which had been closed, for two months.

On January 15, 1923, the BRT began work installing automatic turnstiles a the ends of multiple stations on the Fulton Street elevated, allowing them to be open between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when their change booths were unstaffed. These entrances included the Eastern Parkway end of Rockaway Avenue station, the Hopkinson Avenue end of Saratoga Avenue station, the Buffalo Avenue end of Ralph Avenue station, the Utica Avenue end of Reid Avenue station, the Lewis Avenue end of Troy Avenue station, the Kingston Avenue end of Tompkins Avenue station, and the Verona Place end of Nostrand Avenue station.

The BRT issued notices to riders on January 23, 1923, announcing that automatic turnstiles were installed at one end of four stations on the West End Line, and would be placed into service on January 25, allowing entrances, which were closed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., to be open at all times. These included the 79th Street end of the 79th Street station, the Bay Ridge Avenue end of the 71st Street station, the 60th Street end of the 62nd Street station, and the 45th Street end of the Fort Hamilton Parkway station. Ticket agents would be on duty at these four entrances during busy weekday hours.

Caton Avenue end of Church Avenue, west end of Liberty Avenue Line stations

BRT/IRT description fare control-41 such controls-use BRT-layout 18th Avenue BRT

cHANGE cANARSIE-INSTALL

1930 1 Wall Street-removal/relocation

IND opening vandalism

Stations built by the Independent Subway System are widely considered to be overbuilt with large mezzanines, multiple entrances, and entrances at every corner of an intersection to bracket a future surge in ridership. Due to lower ridership initially, several entrances were closed soon after they opened or were never opened. For instance, vandalism occurring as early as the IND Eighth Avenue Line's opening day prompted the closure of various entrances - at least part time - just two months after opening, including those at 97th Street (since reopened) and 95th Street at 96th Street, as well as 104th Street at 103rd Street. On November 14, 1932, it was announced that some secondary IND entrances would be closed when their change booths were not staffed due to thefts from turnstile coin boxes. The 95th Street and 97th Street entrances at 96th Street were closed when the change booth was not staffed. The 95th Street entrance was only staffed between 7 AM and 10 AM, while the 97th Street entrance was only staffed between 7 AM and 3 PM. The 109th Street entrance to the 110th Street station was also closed. On June 18, 1933, it was reported that, due to delays in the delivery of the turnstiles necessary for the opening of the Concourse Line, 46 turnstiles would be borrowed from stations on the Eighth Avenue Line, coming from stations where change booths were not staffed or where entrances were closed.

The 104th Street exit was boarded up after a woman using the bathroom at the exit was molested. It is reported that turnstiles from these entrances were relocated to the Concourse Line by that line's opening in July 1933. Other lightly-used entrances at Carroll Street were closed as early as 1939, just around six years after the station opened. Other closures occurred around the late 1940s and 1950s, including some entrances from 118th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard to 116th Street.

1931 125th IRT

By May 1935, the Board of Transportation padlocked automatic turnstiles in areas without change booths due to high levels of fare evasion.

Taskforce entrances

Myrtle entrances; more; opening; more; continued; more; more; more

In 1935, multiple stations on the IND in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn, including Fort Hamilton Parkway, had unopened entrances. The NYCBOT wanted ridership to increase to a level that would justify staffing them.

In 1937, entrances at each end of stations on the Queens Boulevard Line were closed, a change booth was put in the center of mezzanines, and chain-link fences were installed along the length of the mezzanines, requiring riders to head to the center of the mezzanine to get to the platform.

The Ely Avenue station opened on August 27, 1939, with the 21st Street entrance being open and operated by automatic turnstiles between 5 AM and 9 PM every day except Sundays and holidays.

92/QBL entrance; more

Push reopen Fort Hamilton; more; continued; more

In January 1939, work to install high turnstiles at 18 IRT stations was completed, with work remaining at two other stations. Work to install these turnstiles had been going on for over a year. The New York State Transit Commission approved the installation of the new turnstiles after the IRT provided assurance that the change would not mean a loss of jobs for station agents. Most stations with the high turnstiles were staffed during certain hours. 1 or 2 of the 18 stations were Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line stations while the remaining stations were Manhattan Railway Company stations.

1940 Elmhurst

1941 request open Woodhaven NE

Fort Hamilton 1941

On April 4, 1946, the civic committee of the 24th Assembly District Democratic Club held a meeting to protest the closing of the Junius Street entrance to the Junius Street station.

1948 rOOSEVELT; more

Bedford 1950; more

1950 Warren

1952 East exit 67th OPEN

1954-Ocean Parkway-agent-automatic turnstile

1954 947 booths

1954 West 8th

Change booth cuts; more

Grand Avenue change booth 1956; more

77th Street weekend closure

Opposition change booth change; more; give in; continued; more; more; continued; more; protest

Automatic station entrances

Elmhurst 1954

On November 21, 1956, the TA announced that it would eliminate 50 change booths, mainly on the IND, in the following six months to save $1,000,000 a year. Four booths on the IND-at 74th Street-Broadway, 207th Street, Jay Street, and Canal Street-were already removed. The IND had 205 full-time booths and 54 part-time booths. Where change booths were closed, they would be replaced with automatic turnstiles. The TA was also experimenting with machines dispensing tokens and change, and was considering packaging sales of tokens in large quantities so riders would always have some on hand. In stations where there currently were two change booths at separate entrances, the TA planned to replaced them one in the center of the station in the mezzanine. The people staffing the 50 change booths would not be laid off, but would make up for shortages of railway clerks, eliminating the need for the TA to pay a significant amount in overtime. 200 jobs would be eliminated over time with attrition.

In September 1959, the TA opened an automatic turnstile at the President Street entrance to the Carroll Street station, following a request by City Councilmember Thomas J. Cuite.

1961 Elmhurst Avenue request

July 1961 tHIRD eL STAIRWAYS

East 5th Street opening 1962; more; more; more

1962 Rockaway Line-OPEN 44, 59, 67

Elmhurst 1962; more; Grand; continued; more

67th; 64th Road

April 1964-West 6th

Times Square Arcade 1964

Bill-attendant-around clock-all entrances and exits-not close-unattended entrances-Liberty El-west end Boyd Avenue

On April 27, 1965, the TA announced that 175 subway entrances would be closed between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. as part of an anti-crime drive. Eight entrances were already closed by this point, with 15 to 29 additional entrances to be closed every day until 175 were closed. Among the entrances that were expected to be closed first were the two Washington Avenue entrances at Clinton-Washington Avenues on the Crosstown Line. These closures were met by protests. In the first week of May 1965, eight entrances in Brooklyn were closed, with 80 additional locations being considered. The locations that were closed included the south end of the mezzanine at Metropolitan Avenue on the Crosstown Line, the north end of the southbound platform at Rockaway Avenue on the Fulton Street Line, the mezzanine at Lafayette Avenue on the Fulton Street Line, the northern end of the mezzanine at Fulton Street on the Crosstown Line, and the northern and southern ends of the mezzanine at Bedford-Nostrand Avenues on the Crosstown Line.

More

On May 1, 1965, the TA made public a list with the 178 stations that would have entrances closed between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., including 71 on the BMT, 79 on the IND, and 28 on the IRT. Seven stations already had some entrances closed. In May 1965, New York City Transit Authority Chairman Joseph O'Grady said that he was considering closing some subway entrances as part of an anti-crime drive.

7th Avenue

Protests; more; continued; more

On December 10, 1965, the TA announced that the entrances at the northern end of 46th Street would immediately be open later until 10:10 p.m. weekdays due to ridership surveys. Assemblyman Thomas V. La Fauci urged the change to accommodate evening students at William Cullen Bryant High School. ; more

Despite the closures, some previously unopened entrances were opened later on, either due to increased ridership or community pressure, such as entrances from Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street to Nostrand Avenue on the IND Fulton Street Line.

Reopening Jamaica El entrances overnight asked

Background
Between the 1970s and 1990s, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), closed dozens of subway entrances throughout the system due to steep declines in the system's ridership, cut operation costs, and improve security. Many of the entrances closed were located out of view of token booth clerks or were accessed by winding, narrow passageways that made them prone to crime. Entrances that were closed were decided based on their impact on additional walking times, and on ridership. Many of the closed entrances were already open only during specific times each day.

Entrance closures were often made in conjunction with station rehabilitation projects, such as the renovation of stations under the Station Modernization Program and Station Renovation Program during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In other cases, entrances were closed at the request of local communities or were closed in response to crimes that occurred in these areas. In some cases, entrances that were initially slated for closure were kept open with other entrances closed instead.

Many closed entrances were equipped with electromagnetic sensors so that they can be unlocked by station agents in case of emergencies. Despite this, there are no plans to reopen entrances closed during this time period.

1970 hours Caton Avenue; 1972

1970 booth Fort Hamilton; more

1972 reopening sought 11th Avenue;

1970
From April 1971 to February 1972, eight percent of the system's 830 token booths, or 67 of them, were closed, mostly part-time, to save $1 million annually. A spokesman for the NYCTA said that crime was not a factor in the decision, which was was "purely economic". Most booths were closed for one or two shifts but remained open during peak hours, usually in the morning. Among the cuts made was the closing of the token booth at 88th Street. It was originally open until 9:15 p.m., but began closing at 2:15 p.m.. This change, which affected 650 riders, was fought by three local block organizations.

1972 Wyckoff

In the last years of Mayor John Lindsay's administration more than 200 entrances, most of which were infrequently used, were closed for portions of the day or were closed entirely to reduce costs by closing token booths. Dozens of subway entrances were closed in 1976 and 1977 as part of service cuts.

On June 24, 1975, the NYCTA closed the Lorimer Street entrances and token booth at the Lorimer Street station from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.. This change was opposed by a group of local residents.

In November 1975, attendants at the part-time token booths at 85th Street–Forest Parkway, 104th Street, and 111th Street were removed. Assemblymember Frederick D. Schmidt said that this change left the stations "wide open to vandalism." In January 1979, Assemblymember Schmidt and the Woodhaven Block Association circulated a petition requesting the reopening of the token booth at Forest Parkway, and the assignment of a TA policeman to curb loitering and vandalism there.

Bill keep entrances open

In April 1976, the Seventh Avenue mezzanine and entrance to the Eighth Avenue station was closed due to high levels of vandalism, high maintenance costs, and low passenger volumes. Planning Board 10 recommended reopening the entrance in 1978.

On December 15, 1976, the NYCTA announced a proposed package of service cuts to cut the agency's budget by $30 million to balance its budget, as was mandated by the Emergency Financial Control Board. A public hearing on the plan was held on January 5, 1977, and the cuts were approved by the NYCTA board on January 14.

On January 24, 1977, due to the fiscal crisis, the MTA enacted a $30 million package of service cuts, closing 23 part-time token booths, and making 57 full-time booths part time at 52 stations. These booths would be closed from about 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and street entrances leading to these control areas would be closed overnight. At 20 of the locations here part-time booths were to be closed or have their hours reduced, passengers could still enter using high entry turnstiles, while at 22 stations, these entrances would become exit only. These changes were to be enacted over the course of twelve weeks. At this time, the NYCTA began closing 23 part-time booths and reducing the hours of twelve booths over five weeks. Following the token booth cuts, there would be 519 full-time booths and 231 part-time booths on the subway system. Iron gates were installed to close of the entrances that would be closed overnight.

These cuts were estimated to save $2 million over the following eighteen months, with savings to be achieved by reducing staffing by one eight-hour tour and by closing part-time booths at the least used entrances. Savings were also to be achieved by not hiring to replace personnel lost due to attrition. Due to strong community opposition, most of the cuts had not yet taken effect in April 1977.

In February 1977, 350 residents of Ozone Park petitioned the MTA to reopen the token booth at 95th Street at Rockaway Boulevard, citing overcrowding at the station's remaining open booth.

Cuts

On February 14, 1977, more of the token booth cuts approved took effect, including the closing of the part-time booth at 54th Street and Roosevelt Avenue at 52nd Street, at 70th Road and Queens Boulevard at Forest Hills–71st Avenue, at 169th Street and Hillside Avenue at 169th Street. The hours at the booth at Northern Boulevard and 41st Street at Queens Plaza were reduced from being open from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. to being open from 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.. Entrances could still be made from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. through a high-wheel turnstile. Booths at 179th Street and Hillside Avenue, at Parsons Boulevard and Hillside Avenue, 153rd Street and Hillside Avenue, and Queens Boulevard and 116th Street(?) would close soon afterwards.

On February 15, 1977, the NYCTA postponed plans to close the President Street token booth at the Carroll Street station between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. pending further studies after Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden and the majority leader of the City Council, Thomas Cuite met with the executive director of the NYCTA. This booth was only used by 100 riders between these hours. Closing the booth overnight was intended to eliminate one of three daily shifts at the booth.

The entrances at 78th Avenue and Queens Boulevard at Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike were slated to close on March 1 between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.. On March 4, 1977, a rally was held by the Forest Hills South Tenants' Associations, local officials, the local Democratic club

, and local officials to protest the planned closing of the entrances overnight. 2,000 people signed a petition calling for the MTA to halt plans to close the entrances until another public hearing could be held. Following the rally, the head of the MTA, Harold Fischer agreed to postpone the closure for two weeks, when another public hearing would be held.

On March 16, 1977, the New York State Assembly passed legislation preventing the NYCTA from closing any more entrances, or limiting the hours, without public notice and public hearings. The signing of this piece of legislation, and community objections due to longer walking distances, made it hard to close additional entrances.

On April 18, 1977, a special committee of the NYCTA Board issued a report advising the MTA to halt plans to reduce the hours of 21 token booths. It recommended undoing the cuts at two stations in the Bronx (Pelham Parkway and Kingsbridge Road), at two stations in Queens (Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike and Rockaway Boulevard), at six stations in Brooklyn (Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue, Court Street, High Street, Utica Avenue, Borough Hall, and Crown Heights–Utica Avenue), and at ten stations in Manhattan (181st Street, 86th Street, 96th Street, 125th Street, 145th Street, West Fourth Street–Washington Square, 23rd Street, East Broadway, two at 59th Street, 14th Street, and 96th Street). A member of the special committee said that the savings from reducing the hours at token booths often was not significant enough to outweigh inconveniences to riders. Certain booths had hours restored as closing these booths forced people to come "up above aground in a dangerous area." More than 100 people attended the meeting protesting the closure of entrances at eight stations in Queens. The closure at the western end of the Kew Gardens—Union Turnpike station forced riders using those exits to walk through a "maze of highways"-Queens Boulevard, Union Turnpike, and the Interboro Parkway, all without pedestrian walkways to get home. In several cases, the closure of entrances forced riders to walk several blocks to board buses, whose stops are right outside of the closed entrances. Due to error, the MTA kept some of the stations open to overnight use, such as Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike, whose western exits were to be closed. An MTA committee which reviewed the closings recommended only closing the exits from 12:30 to 6 a.m.. It also recommended that the four permanently closed exits at the eastern end of Rockaway Boulevard be reopened from 6 to 9 a.m. during morning rush hours. It made recommendations on all of the 22 cases it reviewed.

On April 25, 1977, the NYCTA Board, at a special meeting, voted to restored $100,000 of $30 million in service cuts, including expanding the hours of 23 previously closed entrances and booths. The NYCTA Board also reaffirmed reduction in hours at 69 other token booths. About $25,000 a year per shift per token booth would be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m..

1977-96th

On January 1, 1979, the first of seventeen part-time token booths that had their hours reduced or were closed in 1977 were reopened, as the agency's finances were in better shape. The remaining sixteen reopened on January 8, with the hiring of four part-time provisional employees. The booths reopened were at Canal Street-Broadway, Canal Street-Centre Street, DeKalb Avenue-Flabush Avenue, Flushing Avenue-Broadway, Fordham Road near Alexanders', West Fourth Street, Steinway Street, 50th Street and 14th Street on Sixth Avenue, and Bliss Street.

On March 16, 1979, Mayor Ed Koch announced his $10 million plan to fight subway crime. As part of the plan to reduce subway crime, certain subway entrances were closed in April 1979.

In May 1979, the 46th Street entrance to the 45th Street station was destroyed in an accident from nearby construction. Brooklyn Community Board 7 held a meeting to determine whether residents wanted the entrance closed. The board's chairman wanted it to be sealed up, so the entrance was closed at the board's request.

1980s
In September 1980, transit police chief James Meehan, ordered his commanders of the anti-crime unit to review all subway entrances and recommend the closing of some. In the previous two years, only a few entrances were closed because the NYCTA was hesitant to recommend more because of the bureaucratic hurdles requires to do so. Transit police said that at every subway station with three or more entrances, at least one entrances is more crime-prone and should be closed during a portion of the day. More than a year prior, the transit police had identified 10 or 11 entrances to be closed. The first new entrance to be closed was the entrance to the northeast corner of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street. As part of upcoming station renovation projects, the MTA planned to eliminate blind stairways and nooks to create clear sightlines between both ends of subway platforms and from token booths to entrances. On March 11, 1981, the chairman of the MTA's finance committee, Stephen Berger, said that at least 50 of the 746 token booths in the system should be closed to pay for additional police. He recommended that booths on the outbound platforms of stations in outlying areas of the Bronx and Brooklyn be closed as most people bought tokens on the Manhattan-bound platforms on their way to work.

As part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s 1982–1991 Capital Program, funding was provided for security, which was used to create off-hour waiting areas, install security mirrors in stations, eliminate cul-de-sacs in stations, and close unused station entrances and exits. During the 1980s and 1990s, the MTA held legally-required public hearings to discuss its proposed modifications to station control areas, including the removal of token booths, modifications to the fare control line, the closure of entrances at night, and the closure of entrances entirely. The criteria used to determine which entrances to close included existing counts, tokens sold, entrance capacity, distance to the nearest full time booth, fare registrations, senior citizen patronage, station location and the ongoing development of the surrounding area.

Forest Parkway

1981
On July 9, 1981, a public hearing was held on proposed closure and reduction of hours at token booths at seven stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The underutilized entrance to the southeastern corner of 41st Street and 8th Avenue would be closed as part of the modernization of the 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station. The token booth at Wall Street station at Pine Street, with staircases to Chase Manhattan and the Bank Building, would be closed from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. (and to 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays). This booth was already closed from 7:30 a.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Monday. In addition, the booth at Norfolk Street at Essex Street would be permanently closed with its closure from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.. It had been closed from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. seven days a week. This closure closed the entrance to the station at Norfolk Street. Six full-time booths were made part-time. Booths at Sixth Avenue, 34th Street–Penn Station on the IRT, Fulton Street on the BMT, 34th Street—Penn Station on the IND, and Lexington Avenue—59th Street on the BMT would be closed from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., while a booth at Atlantic Avenue on the Brighton Line would be closed fro 10 p.m. to 6 a.m..

On July 18, 1981, the MTA Board voted to reduce or eliminate shifts at token booths at 61 stations as part of a plan to save $12 million annually.

On September 17, 1981, a public hearing was held to discuss the reduction of weekend hours in at 64 token booths (in 60 stations) in where ridership from midnight to 8 a.m. was fewer than 500. Six of the stations were in Queens (Rockaway Avenue, Ely Avenue, Kew Gardens—Union Turnpike, Parsons Boulevard, 179th Street), eighteen were in Brooklyn (Atlantic Avenue, Prospect Park, Kings Highway, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach, Ocean Parkway, Lorimer Street, Myrtle Avenue, Eastern Parkway, Nostrand Avenue, Utica Avenue, Bedford—Nostrand Avenues, Carroll Street, 15th Street—Prospect Park, Nevins Street, Crown Heights–Utica Avenue, Borough Hall and Bergen Street), eight were in the Bronx (Tremont Avenue, Fordham Road, 205th Street, 161st Street (IRT), Third Avenue—149th Street, 167th Street, 170th Street, and 174th–175th Streets), and at 26 stations in Manhattan (Lexington Avenue, 57th Street, 49th Street, 42nd Street, 34th Street, Essex Street, 175th Street, 163rd Street, 125th Street, 110th Street, 96th Street, 34th Street, Chambers Street, Seventh Avenue, Fifth Avenue, 42nd Street, 14th Street, Second Avenue, Delancey Street, Penn Station, Times Square, 66th Street, Bowling Green, Wall Street, Fulton Street, and Chambers Street).

The booth in question at Third Avenue/149th Street would be closed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays, the one at 161st Street/River Avenue would be closed from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., the one at 176th Street and at 205th Street/Perry Avenue would be closed from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. The 179th Street end of the Tremont Avenue station would be closed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays, the Fordham Road booth would be closed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays, and the McClellan Street booth at 167th Street and the 170th Street booth at 170th Street would be closed from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. At the public hearing, Bronx Borough President Stanley Simon spoke in opposition to the closure of token booths in the Bronx, saying that the TA was "playing Russian roulette with riders when it closes down subway booths."

On November 19, 1981, a public hearing was held to discuss changes to the 125th Street station as part of its modernization. The exits at the southern corners of 127th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue would have been closed, and closed entrances at the northwestern and southeastern corners of 126th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue would have been reopened to replace these entrances. These changes were never completed.

1982—1983
On August 31, 1982, a public hearing was held to discuss changes to the 34th Street–Herald Square station to be made as part of the station's renovation. The entrance at the northeast corner of 32nd Street and Broadway would be closed and replaced by a new entrance on the east side of Broadway north of 32nd Street. The change was never made.

On September 1, 1982, a public hearing was held to discuss the proposed closure of the entrance at East 188th Street and the Grand Concourse and the passageway leading to it in coordination with the planned modernization of Fordham Road station. This entrance was never closed for some reason.

On September 28, 1982, a public hearing was held to discuss a change in the hours of operation of an entrance at the Cortlandt Street station. Between 7:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and from 7:30 p.m. on Friday to 6:00 a.m. on Monday, the southern entrance to the World Trade Center Concourse from the southbound platform and from the northbound platform via an underpass would be closed.

On October 18, 1982, a public hearing was held to discuss access changes at the 103rd Street, Atlantic Avenue—Pacific Street, and Borough Hall/Court Street stations to be made as part of the TA's Station Modernization Program. The entrances to be closed were the entrance at the southeastern corner of 103rd Street and Lexington Avenue, the entrances on the southern corners of Fourth Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, and the entrance at the southwestern corner of Clinton Street and Montague Street. The entrance closures at these three stations were revisited in 1983. The decision to close the station was postponed to the following MTA board meeting so that an entrance at one of the two other stations–Court Street–could be studied further. The rationale for the closure was safety.

On October 21, 1982, a public hearing was held to discuss access changes at the 74th Street—Broadway and Hunters Point Avenue stations to be made as part of the Station Modernization Program. At 74th Street, staircases on the east side of Broadway at Roosevelt Avenue were to be replaced by an escalator, and new stairs were to be built around the corner on the south side of Roosevelt Avenue. At Hunters Point Avenue, the entrance at 49th Avenue east of 21st Street was to be closed.

On December 28, 1982, a public hearing was held to discuss changes to the Hoyt Street station to be made as part of the Station Modernization Program. As a security measure, the NYCTA planned to close the passageway between the entrance to the Abraham and Strauss Store, 501 Fulton Street, which was located at the western end of the southbound platform and the northbound platform, the stairway between the passageway and the northbound platform, and the exit to 501 Fulton Street.

In January 1983, the NYCTA Police Department recommended closing two entrances at the Grand Central—42nd Street station to the shuttle, one to the west of Madison Avenue, one immediately to the east, when their token booths were closed. The booth, at the time, was open in the late afternoon and early evening. The change would be made to reduce crime and improve passenger safety. The change required riders to walk an additional 350 feet to an entrance.

1985—1986
On February 28, 1985, a public hearing was held to discuss the planned closure of the entrance at the southwest corner of Lafayette Avenue and South Portland Avenue at the Fulton Street station.

In October 1985, the NYCTA started a $22 million program to improve safety at stations with high crime rates to add vandal-proof lighting, to install mirrors to eliminate blind corners, and blocking off dead-end passageways. A majority of the funding for the program came from the Federal government. The stations that would be addressed first included Union Square, 34th Street—Penn Station on the A C E, Rockaway Avenue, Queens Plaza, and 50th Street on the IND. The first part of the program would be the installation of 1,000 curved mirrors at the intersection of long corridors. After that, 38 dead-end passageways and 41 isolated alcoves would be sealed off. A police officer in each of the NYCTA's eleven patrol districts was assigned to pick the most dangerous areas in each station, with a focus on creating straight sight lines out of winding passageways. In areas that it was deemed might be needed later, gates were installed to block them off, while areas no longer in use were to be bricked over. In 1986, vandal-proof lighting would be installed on staircases to elevated platforms and in dimly lit subway mezzanines. Another part of the program, which would transfer 220 closed circuit television monitors from rooms in the Columbus Circle and Times Square stations to token booths at the stations with the most crime, was under review as their installation at two major stations did not help reduce crime during a four-year pilot program. The NYCTA also scrapped plans to close some of the system's 200 Iron Maiden turnstiles used at entrances without token booths due to opposition over the closure of entrances. TA Police Chief James Meehan said "people get very upset whenever we even entertain the idea of closing down a subway entrance. They say they would rather take their chances walking a block below ground than above ground."

In December 1986, the token booth on the southbound platform at Astor Place had its hours expanded from 2 to 10 p.m. weekdays to 24 hours a day on a six-month pilot basis. The pilot was started at the urging of the Committee for Astor Place. The NYCTA had previously closed the passageway between the northbound and southbound platforms to reduce crime, but that had forced riders entering the downtown side without a token to use the passageway to get to the northbound platform when the southbound token booth was closed.

1987—1989
In 1987, the MTA Board approved the closure of the exit and the removal of the mezzanines at 75th Street, 85th Street and 104th Street. NYCTA decided to remove the mezzanine to control crime and save it the expense of upkeep. The public hearing for the proposal took place on August 20, 1987.

On November 18, 1987, a public hearing was held to discuss changes in station access at multiple stations, including closing 44 booths. The NYCTA estimated that closing 19 turnstile entrances, and replacing 25 others with HEETs would save $250,000, which could be used to hire more station cleaners for the agency's anti-graffiti program. TA Stations Director Carol Meltzer said these locations were chosen out of a list of 100, and were the booths with the lowest usage among those that had another booth at the same station. The stations impacted included Lawrence Street, New Utrecht-62nd Street, 79th Street, Bedford Avenue, Jefferson Street, DeKalb Avenue, Halsey Street, Clinton–Washington Avenues, Nassau Avenue, Myrtle-Willoughby Avenues, and Flatbush Avenue. The booths subject to closure were all underutilized and were mostly part-time. The booth closing at 62nd Street was the 61st Street entrance, and was only used by 200 passengers when it was open during the morning rush hour; it was closed the rest of the day.

On January 7, 1988, a public hearing was held to discuss 41 changes in station access. As part of the changes the Waverly Place booth at Eighth Street, booth A40, would have been eliminated, as would booth J8, the Fayette Street booth at Flushing Avenue, booth J10, the Myrtle Avenue booth at Myrtle Avenue, the Eastern Parkway booth, J19, at Eastern Parkway, the 163rd Street booth, N15, at 163rd Street, the 70th Street booth, N47, at 72nd Street, the Duffield Street booth, R607, at Hoyt Street, the Autumn Avenue booth, J26, at Cypress Hills, the Avenue J booth, N552, at Avenue I, the Neck Road booth, N560, at Avenue U, the John Street booth, A78, at Fulton Street, the Beekman Street booth, A79, at Fulton Street, the Bridge Street booth, C4, at Lawrence Street, the 61st Street booth, E6, at 62nd Street, the 77th Street booth, E10, at 79th Street, the Driggs Avenue booth, H10, at Bedford Avenue, the Jefferson Street booths, H20 and H21, at Jefferson Street station, the Stanhope Street booth, H25, at DeKalb Avenue, the Norman Street booth, H29, at Halsey Street, the Myrtle Avenue booth, N416, at Myrtle—Willoughby Avenues, the 49th Street booth, N500B, at 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center, the Ann Street booth, R114, at Fulton Street, the 41st Street booth, R144, at Times Square, the Madison Avenue/42nd Street booth, R234, at Grand Central, and the Fordham Road booth, N219, at Fordham Road. There were also proposals to eliminate night hours only for the 179th Street/Hillside Avenue booth, N342, at 179th Street, to eliminate morning hours at the Centre Street booth, A68, at Canal Street, to eliminate the morning and midday hours at the IRT Fulton Street booth, R208, at Fulton Street, to eliminate evening hours at the Jackson Avenue booth, R506, at Vernon Boulevard—Jackson Avenue, to eliminate morning hours at the 34th Street booth, R517, at 33rd Street, to eliminate evening hours at the 15th Avenue booth, D6, at New Utrecht Avenue, to eliminate midday hours at the 16th Street booth, N510, at the 14th Street station on the IND, to eliminate overnight and morning hours at the Vesey Street booth, R109, at Cortlandt Street, to eliminate morning hours at the 41st Street booth, R146, at Times Square, and to eliminate afternoon and evening hours at the Prospect Park West/15th Street booth, N541, at 15th Street—Prospect Park. For some of the booth closures, entrances would have been closed at all times, including the closing of entrances the corner of Nassau Street and Beekman Street.

In March 1988, the MTA Board approved the elimination of entry and exits at 11 locations, and the elimination of entries at 7 locations to "close unproductive underutilized part-time entrances" and improve the security of passengers. The part-time entrances to be closed were to be eliminated since they were near full-time entrances. The locations of the closures were determined based on their proximity to the nearest full-time entrance and usage. The elimination of part-time booth tours for token book clerks also eliminated the need for escort tours needed to allow the part-time clerks to transport revenue to and from the full-time station booth, which provided opportunities for robberies. There was no change in funding with this proposal as these hours saved would be reallocated to expand booth hours at stations where ridership patterns or station layouts changed. An alternative to the closure of part-time booths that was considered was installing safes in part-time booths. This was done at eight part-time booths, and was planned for the remaining part-time booths. This partially reduced the escort problem, but escorts were still required for the part-time clerks to obtain the booth and safe keys from the full-time booth. This option was not considered for the part-time booths proposed for closure as these booths were still unproductive. The closures approved by the MTA Board had been the subject of public hearings taking place on November 18, 1987, and January 7, 1988. Two locations were changed from having high turnstiles and part-time booths to being closed at all times: at John Street (A78) and Beekman Street (A79) at Fulton Street. The part-time booth had been open between 4 and 6:30 p.m. at each entrance. There had been one entry/exit turnstile at Beekman Street, and two at John Street; these were open from 4:25 a.m. to 9 p.m.. Nine locations were changed from having part-time booths to having entrances and exits closed. The Waverly Place booth (A40) at 8th Street would be eliminated (it was open from 3:30 to 7 p.m.), the Ellery booth (J8) at Flushing Avenue would be eliminated (the part-time booth was already closed due to vandalism-it was supposed to be open from 12:01 to 8 p.m.), the Myrtle Avenue booth (J10) at Myrtle Avenue would be eliminated (it was open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays), the Eastern Parkway booth (J19) at Eastern Parkway would be eliminated (it was open from 6:10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), the Amsterdam Avenue booth (N15) at 163rd Street would be eliminated (it was open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.), the 70th Street booth (N47) at 72nd Street would be eliminated (it was open from 7:15 to 9:30 a.m. and from 4:25 to 6:30 p.m.), the 179th Street/Hillside Avenue booth (N342) would have a tour eliminated (the hours to be closed were from 9:15 to 11:59 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays), the Madison Avenue booth (R234) at Grand Central would be eliminated (it was open from 2:50 to 6:30 p.m.), and the Duffield booth (R607), which was already closed due to a station modernization, at Hoyt Street, would be eliminated (it was open from 4 to 7:30 p.m.).

Seven locations were to be converted from being used for entrances and exits with a part-time booth to being exit only: Centre Street, Booth A68, at Canal Street (previously open from 6 to 11:50 a.m.), Autumn Avenue, Booth J26, at Cypress Hills (previously open from 6 to 9 a.m.), Avenue J, Booth N552, at Avenue I (previously open from 7:10 to 9 a.m.), at Neck Road, Booth N560, at Avenue U (previously open from 7 to 9 a.m.), Fulton Street, Booth R208, at Fulton Street (previously open from 7:10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), Vernon Boulevard, Booth R506, at Vernon-Jackson (previously open from 4:10 to 6:30 p.m.), Rawson Street, Booth R517, at 33rd Street (previously open from 6:55 to 9 a.m.). The changes at Cypress Hills, Avenue I, and Avenue U, would be the elimination of token booth tours only, and these entrances already each had two high exit turnstiles. The locations of the changes at Fulton Street and Vernon-Jackson, already had a high exit turnstile, and the booths would be eliminated at these locations. The change at Canal Street required the installation of an exit wheel at control area A66, as there was no high turnstile at A68, which would have a token booth tour eliminated. The change at 33rd Street would eliminate a token booth tour, and require the installation of two exit wheels.

The locations that had their hours expanded as part of the changes were: booth N73 at 33rd Street at 34th Street, with additional hours from 6:30 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. due to the LIRR modernization, booth N544 at East 3rd Street at Fort Hamilton Parkway with additional hours from 6 to 10 a.m. due passenger demand, booth R220 at 8th Street and Lafayette Avenue at Astor Place, with additional hours from 9:05 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., due to a station modernization, booth R113A at Williams Street at Fulton Street, with additional hours from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., to serve the seaport, booth N60 at 44th Street at 42nd/8th Avenue, with additional hours from 9:40 p.m. to 1:40 p.m., due to a station reconfiguration due to a modernization project, booth R106, at World Trade Center at Cortlandt Street, with additional hours from 4 to 7 p.m., a new booth built by the Port Authority, booth R107, at World Trade Center at Cortlandt Street, with additional hours from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m. to make it open 24 hours, booth N305A, at 52nd Street, at Lexington Avenue, a new booth to be open due to modernization for 24 hours, booth R237B, at the Chanin Building at Grand Central, with additional hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. due to station modernization, and booth R525, at 74th Street at 74th Street, with additional hours from 3 to 7 p.m. due to heavy demand. The four booths on the Archer Avenue Extension would also receive new service hours. The 34th Street, Astor Place, and Fort Hamilton Parkway changes were already implemented, the Archer Avenue changes would take effect in December 1988, the Lexington Avenue change would take effect in April 1988, and the rest would be implemented some time in 1988.

In 1988, the Charlie's Arcade subway entrance from Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street to the 42nd Street station was closed as part of that station's renovation, in which it received new stairways, flooring, and lights. The token booth and low turnstiles were removed and replaced by two high exit turnstiles.

On February 16 and March 2, 1989, public hearings were held to discuss plans to modify station access at ten stations, including the closure of entrances at Fordham Road, 182nd–183rd Streets, and at 155th Street. At Fordham Road, exits at the northwest and southwest corners of Fordham Road and Grand Concourse and the 400 foot-long passageway connecting to the control area at 188th Street were to be closed because the passageway was "an invitation to crime". These areas had only been open between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

1990
In April 1990, the MTA Board requested that NYCTA staff use then-proposed "Station Operating" guidelines, which covered the operation of high exit wheels, street entrances and auxiliary token booths, to evaluate auxiliary operations at 15 stations. The guidelines were intended to expand the operation of auxiliary areas when they were well used, or reduce them when they were underutilized.

The first section of the Station Operating Guidelines were reviewed by the MTA Board in 1992, and the Board allowed staff to use them without adopting them as formal guidelines. The objectives of the guidelines were to reduce vandalism and rule violations, to increase customer security by closing lightly-used auxiliary areas and concentrate riders into main station areas, to improve "station operation efficiency" by only keeping auxiliary areas open when they are used for a sufficient number of riders, and to increase or decrease services based on customer demand to "achieve an efficient and fair allocation of auxiliary services." The NYCTA considered it to be particularly important to routinely adjust and evaluate the hours of operation of auxiliary facilities, to ensure that it was not operating unessential areas when they were lightly used, and thus, would be prone to rule violations or crime.

opposition guidelines

Guidelines; more

1991–1992
opposition On March 20, 1991, a woman was raped behind a pile of debris the subway passageway connecting the 34th Street–Herald Square and 42nd Street–Bryant Park stations under Sixth Avenue during rush hour, which had entrances at 38th Street. This was the longest passageway in the system. Other commuters passed nearby but were unaware of what was happening. That passageway was closed the day after. It was used by 400 daily riders and recorded 30 felonies since January 1, 1990. In response, on March 28, 1991, the NYCTA ordered the closing of the 15 most dangerous passageways in the system within a week, which the Transit Police and citizen advocacy groups had called for since the previous year. A women was raped in the passageway in July 1990 with no response, but after another rape took place in August, the passageway's closure was called for by the local community board in September when a women was raped in this passageway. Bureaucratic delays had prevented their closure, with their presentation to the MTA Board not scheduled until April 1991, after a public hearing on systemwide service reduction was to be held. The agency feared that closing the passageway without public comment would have caused an outcry for advocates for the homeless. The NYCTA's director of public information said that the agency had erred in waiting for formal approval. The locations were chosen based on crime volume, lighting, traffic and physical layout. These entrances were closed under the declaration of a public safety emergency, and were blocked off with plywood and fencing until public hearings were held and official permission was obtained. By closing the entrances, the transit police could deploy many officers to other parts of the system. The nine stations affected in Manhattan were Canal Street with 83 felonies since January 1, 1990, 23rd Street with 46, 28th Street with 43, 50th Street with 94, Grand Central with 365, 14th Street with 125, Fifth Avenue–59th Street with 79, 110th Street with 52, and 168th Street with 54. The four stations in Brooklyn were Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets with 88, DeKalb Avenue with 105, Ralph Avenue with 53, and Nostrand Avenue with 96. The one station in Queens was Woodhaven Boulevard with 30, and the one in the Bronx was Fordham Road with 79. The areas closed included crossovers between uptown and downtown platforms, some high-entry turnstiles, little-used staircases to the street, and entrances at token booths scheduled to be closed.

In February 1992, the NYCTA began a project to remove Iron Maidens, or High Entrance Turnstiles, which often did not work, being broken or locked, across the system. The MTA Board had recently granted permission to remove 61 of the 194 remaining Iron Maidens. Iron Maidens first appeared in the 1930 on the IRT, a model called "The American". 71 remained in 1992. Most of the regular turnstiles were built by the Perey Turnstile Company. 22 of its "Independent Perey" model, introduced in 1937, were still in place in 1992. Perey introduced a model with a device to push the token in in 1945, which jammed less often. 101 remained in 1992. Perey tested a new electronic turnstile in 1991, but it did not work. Iron Maidens installed in subway entrances not busy enough to justify a staffed booth.

1992 booth closures
January 1992

On February 28, 1992, the MTA Board was scheduled to vote reduce the hours at 17 token booths in Manhattan and Brooklyn. They were to approve a plan to reduce the hours at 13 stations in Queens and the Bronx the following month. Action was deferred to allow board members to study the changes.

Opposition to Woodhaven Boulevard closure

A public hearing was held on October 19, 1992, and community information forums were held the following day as the MTA proposed to close high-entry turnstiles at 81 locations, and to close or restrict access to lightly used high-exit turnstiles, staircases and passageways at 15 locations to increase operating efficiency and to increase customer security.

October 1992

Reduced hours Steinway Street

During the 1990s, New York City Transit undertook the Station Rehabilitation Program to renovate entire stations with additional customer amenities, modernized infrastructure, improved appearance, and operational improvements. As part of the Station Rehabilitation Program in the 1990s, station layouts were modified to fix safety, operating and/or service problems, requiring the closing, relocation or reducing the hours of secondary entrances. The changes, in addition to improve customer experience and security, were intended to reduce station operating costs. The changes generally consolidated fare control areas, reduced what the agency deemed to be "excessive mezzanine areas," modified or closed passageways and staircases with poor sight-lines and large areas outside of fare control. The renovations sought to modify station layouts so that secondary station elements were only open when well utilized, to keep riders from being vulnerable.



1993-1996
One of the strategies to maintain current customers in the 1994—1998 Strategic Business Plan was to provide a more secure service environment. One of the strategies was to "identify and close high crime/low volume passenger areas in stations." The NYCTA started a program of closing auxiliary areas of stations on a part- or full-time basis "to increase customer security, decrease vandalism and increase the quality of the station environment. Areas targeted for closure included stairways, mezzanines, auxiliary passageway, entrances, and cul-de-sacs that were lightly used and not essential to station operations. The NYCTA believed that closing these areas would reduce or completely eliminate the potential for crime in these areas, and would increase safety by concentrating customers in the main station facilities in greater numbers. Increasing the concentration of customers in man areas were also expected to increase the effectiveness of police patrols. 150 areas were identified for possible closure. It was expected that many of the closures would be coordinated in the following years as part of the Station Rehabilitation Program.

The MTA Board approved the closure of entrances and/or passageways at 21 locations. Instead of installing gates or temporary walls, wood, or metal, subway entrances would be capped, and new cinderblock walls would be built.

On June 28, 1993, a public hearing was held to discuss proposed access changes at the 14th Street/Eighth Avenue station and eight other stations. These changes were intended to maintain a balance between station operating costs, security and customer convenience. NYCT believed that station access needed to be shifted to take into account changes in ridership. The changes at 14th Street were to be made as part of the station's renovation. After extensive dialogue with the local community, NYCT proposed modifying the station layout to increase station operating efficiency, to improve customer convenience and security. As part of the plan, NYCT proposed consolidating the three token booths at the station (full-time booths at 14th Street and 15th Street and a part-time booth at 16th Street) into two full-time booths at 14th Street and 16th Street. The staircases at 16th Street would be open full-time, and two new staircases would be built on the northern corners of Eighth Avenue and 16th Street facing south. In addition, virtually all free-zone passageways would be eliminated and the number of street stairs to the mezzanine were to be reduced. In order to reduce congestion in the transfer passageway, it would be widened and a street stair would be moved. By eliminating almost all of the free-zone passageways, which were not in the view of the token booths, "the opportunity for rules violations and vandalism" would be limited. The changes were expected to save $50,000 annually due to the closure of a token booth.

In response to requests by the local community, the proposal was modified to retain the staircases at 15th Street for exiting between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.. via high exit turnstiles, as opposed to removing them, and an entry staircase on the north side of 14th Street, and to have a continuous mezzanine within fare control between the 14th Street and 16th Street ends of the station. In addition, the exits at the southern corners of 17th Street and Eighth Avenue (S9 and S10), which had been open daily between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. were closed, requiring 6,400 riders to walk 200 feet to use the entrances at 16th Street. This entrance was closed because the staircases were isolated and connected to the rest of the station by a block-long passageway out of fare control, which was conducive to crime and vandalism. NYCT did not consider the retention of these entrances to save any walking effort, only weather-protection, because the token booth would be at 16th Street. Additionally, the staircase at the northeastern corner of 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, S2, was to be made exit-only, and was reconfigured to provide improved sightlines and to improve the transfer passageway in the station. However, this was later changed, with the exit being completely closed because its relocation was infeasible due to the presence of underground utility lines. Another change NYCT made was to relocate stair S1 at the northwestern corner of Eighth Avenue and 14th Street around the corner to face north on Eighth Avenue rather than west on 14th Street to provide room for a new elevator; initially this exit was going to be removed. However, this was changed again, with the elevator moved further west on 14th Street to provide adequate sidewalk space, allowing S1 to stay in place. The relocation of the elevator eliminated the community's concern that it visually impacted two adjacent landmarked buildings. One alternative plan to reconfigure the station would have placed the second full-time booth between 15th and 16th Streets or between 16th and 17th Streets, which would have increased access points, but decreased inherent security, while another would have kept a third part-time booth. The staircases at the south end of the 8th Avenue platforms were widened.

In May 1994, a public hearing was held to discuss thirteen station access changes at 10 stations. Four of the stations (66th Street—Lincoln Center, 14th Street—Union Square, Chambers Street/World Trade Center/Park Place, and Main Street) were in the design phases of their rehabilitations. The relocations of entrances at two of these stations (66th Street—Lincoln Center and Main Street) were intended to facilitate the installation of escalators and elevators. The changes at the six stations not in the rehabilitation program were intended to improve security or relieve congestion by closing lightly-used areas. These recommendations, with the exception of the changes at Queens Plaza, which received significant opposition, were forwarded to the MTA Board for approval in July 1994. These changes were expected to increase operation costs by $234,000 per year due to a net increase in token booth hours.

Opposition to Queens Plaza closure

A request for a public hearing to discuss thirteen changes to be made at eight stations (Inwood—207th Street, 5th Avenue, Times Square/42nd Street, 34th Street—Penn Station, 33rd Street, 46th Street, Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue and Metropolitan Avenue/Lorimer Street) as part of the Station Rehabilitation Program was put up to a vote by the MTA Board in December 1995, with public hearings scheduled for January or February 1996. The changes were estimated to reduce operating costs by $84,000, lower than the initial estimate of $245,000 stated in the initial notification of the hearing in November due to more accurate cost estimates. The public hearing for these changes took place on April 23, 1996, but by this point, the proposed changes at Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue were dropped.

Opposition to the reduction of booth hours in 1995 at High Street

On March 10, 1996, New York City Transit announced that it planned to reduce its number of token booth clerks by 800 more, or by a third, over the following to years, with the rollout of the MetroCard. On that date, the number of token booth clerks employed in the system was reduced by 125, reducing the number of booths staffed by multiple employees in many busy stations to one during rush hours. The cuts in token booth clerks were made to help make up for cuts in State and Federal funding.

2000s
After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, some entrances at stations in Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site or institutions deemed as critical, such as the New York Stock Exchange, were closed for security reasons. Entrances closed included two at the southwestern corner of Wall Street and Broad Street to Broad Street, and one at the southwestern corner of Park Place and Broadway to Park Place.

Reopenings and making entrances full-time: post-2000
Since the 2000s, New York City Transit has, due to political or community pressure, evaluated reopening select closed entrances in order to reduce travel times by reducing in-station congestion and walking times to alternate entrances. The reopening of station entrances has been hindered by the Federal Transit Administration's new interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which stated that reopening closed entrances at stations not in compliance with the ADA would require the construction of elevators or ramps for reopened parts of the station. In NYCT's view, this outweighed the cost of upgrading the station; however, Section 202.4 in the 2010 ADA standards has a 20% threshold, which could be used as an indication that prohibitive amounts of money are not needed to reopen closed entrances. Regardless, the reopening of entrances would often require substantial construction and would cost a significant amount due to the need to relocate New York City Transit facilities and equipment to provide additional egress, or changing land use. In other cases, reopening entrances would only require uncovering a stair, rehabilitating a previously closed area, and installing fare control devices. Some entrances likely cannot be reopened because they would not be compliant with NFPA guidelines on station egress times. However, opening others could ensure compliance with these regulations.

Several stations that have seen stations reopened after 2000 include an entrance at 70th Street and Central Park West to 72nd Street, entrances at Wallabout and Moore Streets and Broadway to Lorimer Street, and entrances at South Portland Avenue and Lafayette Avenue to Fulton Street. The MTA's 2015–2034 Twenty-Year Capital Assessment also suggested the reopening of other closed subway entrances as an approach to improve station access and passenger flow.

Other stations that have seen stations reopened were renovated. Several entrances reopened during renovations include entrances to the south side of Mosholu Parkway and Jerome Avenue at Mosholu Parkway, entrances to the east side of Fourth Avenue at Fourth Avenue/Ninth Street, entrances to 102nd Street and Liberty Avenue at 104th Street, and entrances to the north side of Avenue J at Avenue J. On February 11, 2019, the entrance at Seventh Avenue to Eighth Avenue was reopened to handle increased ridership at the station, as the station was being renovated to become ADA-accessible.

In the 2010s, there was further political and community pressure to reopen closed entrances. Starting in 2015, a group of local residents from Northern Brooklyn began pushing the MTA to reopen closed station entrances in their neighborhoods, including Alan Minor. They created a group called ACCESS (Accessing Currently Closed Entrances to Subway Stations), which advocates for the reopening of closed subway entrances. In response to a fall 2019 story by NY1 about ACCESS, the MTA stated that they would review requests on a case by case basis. On January 15, 2020, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer delivered a letter to the New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford, demanding that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority develop, and make public, plans for restoring the "abundance" of shuttered entry points along New York City Subway routes currently contributing to severe overcrowding and longer commute times.

A and C Line Review
On December 11, 2015, New York City Transit released its review of the A and C lines. The report discussed the option of reopening closed station entrances along these lines. The study found that many stations along the two routes had closed staircases, with some "closed in the 1980s due to high crime and low ridership, with others closed for much longer." The study recommended reopening closed entrances at the following locations:
 * Classon Avenue to Franklin Avenue station
 * 167th Street to 168th Street station
 * 51st Street at 50th Street station, in the southbound direction

The cost of reopening these entrances was estimated to be between $2.7 million and $10.6 million. These stations are already ADA compliant, making work at these locations relatively cost-effective. The report concluded that if additional capital funding was provided, or if the FTA's interpretation of the ADA reverted its original flexible approach, reopening entrances at not just these stations but also many stops along Central Park West, at Spring Street, Nostrand Avenue, and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets, all non-ADA accessible stops, would become more feasible. The report included a non-comprehensive list of closed street stairs that lead to closed entry & fare control areas, not all street stairs closed; staircases deemed to have "limited potential utility" were not included on the list.

The line review also included a case study, evaluating the reopening of entrances at the Nostrand Avenue station, which is not ADA-accessible. The station has two sets of closed entrances and the exits at Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street are overcrowded. The case study found that reopening the closed Bedford Avenue entrance would reduce uneven loading on A and C trains and would ease congestion at the Nostrand Avenue entrances, in addition to cutting the walking distance for riders (especially bus riders) going to and from areas west of Nostrand Avenue. It also advised that reopening an entrance at Fulton Street and Arlington Place to the northbound platform would provide similar benefits at a lower cost. Ultimately, in February 2020, the Bedford Avenue entrances were chosen to be reopened by the end of that year. The entrances reopened on February 4, 2021.

Canarsie Shutdown
In 2016, plans to completely shutdown the 14th Street Tunnel shutdown for 18 months (later reduced to 15 months) were announced, which would have temporarily eliminated L train service between Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. Riders were expected to use the G, J/Z and M instead. Therefore, the agency planned to reopen or expand more than 24 station staircases in order to handle the expected increase in riders at these stations. All improvements to stations were to be permanent. In January 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a shutdown would not take place, with work being done overnights and weekends, allowing service to run through the tunnels at all times. Though some parts of the mitigation plans - including the operation of full-length G trains - were removed from the plan, the implementation of a busway along 14th Street and the reopening of entrances was maintained as part of the plan.

The following entrances were reopened:
 * Entrances from Fayette Street and Broadway to Flushing Avenue, reopened on July 1, 2017, to handle crowding from the 14th Street Tunnel Closure and the Myrtle Avenue Line rehabilitation project.
 * Entrances from Hewes Street & Montrose Avenue and Broadway to Hewes Street, reopened on November 16, 2018.
 * Entrances from Hope & Powers Streets and Union Avenue to Metropolitan Avenue, reopened on February 28, 2019. Entrances further south on Grand Street remained closed, however.

Making secondary entrances full-time
With the introduction of MetroCard and MetroCard Vending Machines, it was no longer necessary to have every secondary (or auxiliary) entrance have token booths, as the MVMs and new turnstiles could allow riders to obtain their means of payment and enter the system. Given that the staffing of token booths was the major cost of keeping additional entrances open, this meant that the hours of operation for secondary entrances could be increased without increasing labor costs. The MTA, starting in the late 1990s, began making entrances full-time with high entry/exit turnstiles, and started closing part-time token booths across the system.

One of the initiatives in the 1998-2002 Strategic Business Plan was to replace the last 65 token-only high entrance timetables with HEETs in 1998, and to install 400 more at 140 stations between July 1998 and the end of a 1999. Since HEETs accepted MetroCard instead of tokens, they are less prone to theft and vandalism. With the introduction of MetroCard Vending Machines, it was planned to reduce the number of railroad clerk positions by 30 in 1998, and by 120 in 1999. This was estimated to save $159,000 in 1998 and $4 million in 1999.

2003 709 open booths, 521 full-time, 188 part-time

Plan to close 177 booths-49 full-time booths, 128 part-time booths; reduced to 62

45 booths part-time booths closed August 17, 2003; plan to close 17 more by end of year

20 of the 45 part-time booths demolished by October

Emergency intercoms installed at stations with closed booths 2005 Closing 164 booths

First 8 booths closed on May 22, 2005

531 open booths in 2005

158 booths closed 2004

In 2006, the MTA started doing this on a broader scale, making many secondary exits open 24/7 with new emergency exits with panic bars, and new gates. This change was made to allow riders to get out safely in case of emergencies.

Starting in the mid-2010s, the MTA began replacing high entry/exit turnstiles with low turnstiles, even in areas out of the line of sight of token booths, to increase station capacity. For instance, in August 2014, a pair of high-entry/exit turnstiles in the eastern mezzanine of the Kew Gardens—Union Turnpike station were replaced with a set of three low turnstiles.

L project-replacement of HEETs with low turnstiles

Entrances

 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of easement New York City Subway entrances
 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of new New York City Subway entrances
 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of part-time New York City Subway entrances
 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of exit-only New York City Subway entrances

Closed areas

 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of New York City Subway closed mezzanines and platform staircases
 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of closed New York City Subway crossovers/crossunders

Turnstiles

 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of New York City Subway HEETs

Token Booths

 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of removed New York City Subway token booths
 * User:Kew Gardens 613/List of part-time New York City Subway token booths

Rare subway signs

 * User:Kew Gardens 613/Subway Signs

Provisions

 * User:Kew Gardens 613/New York City Subway Track Layout, Bellmouths and Provisions