Queens elected leaders join MTA officials and transit workers to announce the completion of a renovation project at the Junction Boulevard 7 line station in Corona. Photo courtesy of the MTA
By Bill Parry
The MTA announced Thursday that NYC Transit completed structural and aesthetic renovations at the Junction Boulevard 7 train station in Corona, one of the busiest subway stations in the borough. Transit workers completely rebuilt three degraded stairways from street level to the station mezzanine, in addition to securing stairway treads, welding new safety grips and repainting stairway columns throughout the station.
The MTA released before and after photos that chronicle structural and aesthetic improvements at the station. Photo courtesy of the MTA
Iconic subway globes located at the entrances of the station were also replaced. Additional station improvement included removing outdated signs, deep cleaning and replacing, where necessary, emergency lighting, installing new LED lights to brighten darkened areas to provide customers with a sense of greater safety, securing loose floor tiles in trouble spots, repairing concrete tripping hazards on platforms and scrubbing acid etched wall tiles and replacing tiles where needed. The entire station was also scraped, primed and repainted, providing customers with a brighter station environment.
Photo courtesy of the MTA
“I have to say that I’m really proud to see this place completed,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. “If you saw what it was before, you know that it started from the bottom. now we’re here. I know I speak for the thousands of people who use the 7 train every day when I say that this makes a world of a difference to commute in a clean station. Every New Yorker deserves to walk through a clean and safe subway stations as they make their way across our city.”
Photo courtesy of the MTA
Before she launched her political career, Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas served on the NYC Riders Council where she advocated on behalf commuters in the low-income immigrant community of Corona, who were subjected to a dilapidated station.
Photo courtesy of the MTA
“I’m glad to know that aesthetic fixes have been made to the Junction Boulevard 7 train station,” González-Rojas said. “All New Yorkers, including my neighbors and constituents, deserve to ride a world-class public transit system that we can be proud of. These renovations will boost our tourism and economy and reminds visitors why New York City is so special. I continue to urge that we make train stations accessible to our disabled New Yorkers and look forward to our joint advocacy for the funding necessary to help the MTA and NYC Transit make it so.”
State Senator Jessica Ramos is a longtime 7 train rider and made transit improvements a focal point of her work in Albany.
“The sign of a developed society is not that everyone has cars, it’s that the wealthy take public transportation,” Ramos said. “Clean, cared-for stations are going to draw people back to the MTA, and it is what transit riders deserve. Ridership of the has remained consistent because it serves essential workers who have kept the city going through recent tough times. They deserve the investment we are unveiling here at Junction Boulevard today.”
Councilman Francisco Moya was raised in Corona and now represents the neighborhood.
“Ensuring quicker and more secure transportation to my constituents is a top priority,” Moya said. “I’m grateful that the MTA is dedicating resources to provide upgrades to the Junction Boulevard station on the 7 line, a vital step in enhancing the daily commute for our residents.”
In addition to renovations to the Junction Boulevard station, the MTA’s “Five Stations Renewal” project along the Flushing line is improving the 52nd Street and 69th Street stations in Woodside, 82nd Street-Jackson Heights station and the 103rd Street-Corona Plaza and 111th Street stations.
“I’m proud to say that the Junction Boulevard train station is the 50th stop to get a re-NEW-vation from the MTA,” Richards said. “And I can’t wait to see even more Queens stations get a much-needed facelift through this critical deep cleaning program.”
NYC Transit President Richard Davey announced that the Hunters Point Avenue 7 station in Long Island City, Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the R train station in Court Square are among the next 11 stations that will undergo renovations.
“We pledged to customers to re-NEW-vate 50 stations by the end of 2023, and I am thrilled that we have delivered,” Davey said.. “Faster, cleaner, and safer is New York City Transit’s North Star guiding everything we do to improve the customer experience. By re-NEW-vating 50 subway stations with more to come we are bringing tangible, visible enhancements to stations used by hundreds of thousands of customers every day.”
