68th Street–Hunter College station

68th Street–Hunter College is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 68th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction, and the 4 train during late nights. This station was constructed as part of the Dual Contracts by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and opened in 1918, and was renovated in the 1980s. A station renovation is scheduled to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

68 Street–Hunter College  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Uptown 6 train arriving
Station statistics
Address	East 68th Street & Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10021[1]
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper East Side
Coordinates	40.767834°N 73.964124°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4  (late nights) ​   6  (all times) <6>  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M66, M98, M101, M102, M103[2]
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	July 17, 1918[3]
Station code	399[4]
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2019	6,699,711[5]  2.5%
Rank	61 out of 424[5]
Station succession
Next north	77th Street: 4  ​6  <6>
Next south	59th Street: 4  ​6  <6>
Location
Track layout to 77 St to 59 St
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

History

Planning and construction

Name mosaic

Following the completion of the original subway, there were plans to construct a line along Manhattan's east side north of 42nd Street. The original plan for what became the extension north of 42nd Street was to continue it south through Irving Place and into what is now the BMT Broadway Line at Ninth Street and Broadway. In July 1911, the IRT had withdrawn from the talks, and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was to operate on Lexington Avenue. The IRT submitted an offer for what became its portion of the Dual Contracts on February 27, 1912.[6][7]

In 1913, as part of the Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913,[8] the Public Service Commission planned to split the original Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) system from looking like a "Z" system (as seen on a map) to an "H"-shaped system. The original system would be split into three segments: two north–south lines, carrying through trains over the Lexington Avenue and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Lines, and a west–east shuttle under 42nd Street. This would form a roughly "H"-shaped system.[9][10] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Upper East Side and the Bronx.[11][12]

On February 15, 1917, the Public Service Commission agreed to change the name of the under-construction station from 68th Street to 68th Street–Hunter College at the request of officials of Hunter College.[13]

Opening

68th Street—Hunter College station opened on July 17, 1918, with service initially running between Grand Central–42nd Street station and 167th Street via the line's local tracks.[3] On August 1, the "H system" was put into place, with through service beginning on the new east and west side trunk lines, and the institution of the 42nd Street Shuttle along the old connection between the sides.[14] The cost of the extension from Grand Central was $58 million.[15]

Station renovations

Mezzanine

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.[16]

This station was renovated in September 1984 as part of the MTA's Adopt-A-Station Program in conjunction with a renovation of Hunter College.[17]

The MTA proposes to build elevators here under the 2010–2014 MTA Capital Program, as part of the MTA's 100 Key ADA-accessible stations program.[18][19] The project would include building elevators at 68th Street and new staircase entrances at 69th Street and Lexington Avenue. In late 2011 and early 2012, the project faced local opposition; opponents claimed the new staircases would ruin the character of 69th Street.[20][21][22] The MTA insisted the new entrances were necessary to reduce congestion at the station's current entrances. The 69th Street Tenants Corporation suggested building new entrances at 67th Street or 70th Street instead,[23]^{:15–4 (PDF p. 212)} although the station does not reach under either of those streets.[23]^{:S-6 to S-8 (PDF pp. 20–22)} The proposal would have required construction of new passageways connecting the platforms to 67th Street to 70th Street, which would be more expensive and take longer to construct.[23]^{:Figures 2–4 and 2–5 (PDF pp. 74–75)}

The MTA originally hoped to award a construction contract by November 2013, but the project stalled for several years. In 2016, the MTA released an environmental assessment for the project, proposing to build a new southbound-only entrance at the southwest corner of 69th Street and Lexington Avenue, and a new northbound-only entrance on the east side of Lexington Avenue midblock between 68th and 69th Streets, at the suggestion of the 69th Street Tenants Corporation.[23] As of July 2017, project design was still delayed, due to unresolved conflicts regarding real estate and infrastructure relocation work.[24] The MTA hoped to award a contract by August 2018,[25] with construction starting in December 2018, and completed in April 2021.[26] As of December 2019, a contract for the elevators' construction was projected to be awarded in July 2020 and be completed by 2023.[27] The project will include a new northbound entrance and mezzanine in a Lexington Avenue storefront between 68th and 69th Streets, as well as a new southbound entrance at Lexington Avenue and 69th Street.[23]^{:Figure 2–10 (PDF p. 83)}

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Pelham Bay Park or Parkchester (77th Street) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (77th Street)
	Southbound local	→ toward Brooklyn Bridge (59th Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue late nights (59th Street) →
	Side platform
Express tracks[28]	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →

This underground station has two local tracks and two side platforms. The express tracks of the Lexington Avenue Line, used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours, pass beneath the station and are not visible from the platforms.[29] The 6 stops here at all times, and the 4 stops here during late nights.[30][31]

Both platforms have their original mosaic trim line with "68" tablets on it at regular intervals and name tablets reading "68th STREET-HUNTER COLLEGE" in two lines.[32] On small sections of the platforms on either ends, where they were extended in the 1950s, there are blue trim lines with "68TH ST" written on it in white lettering.[33] Blue columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate in white lettering.[34] Both platforms have emergency exits from the lower level express tracks.

Toward the south end of the platforms are two stairs leading to the only mezzanine in the station. It has been renovated with stainless steel fare control rails and features red accent stripes in the IND style. Old wall lights exist but are not functional. The waiting area inside fare control has windows that allow a full view of the platforms and tracks.[35] The northern half of the station without the mezzanine has very high ceilings.[36]

Exits

Exterior stair, SW corner of 68th Street and Lexington Avenue

Outside of the large turnstile bank that provides access to and from the station, there is a token booth and a passageway on each side separated from the waiting area by a steel fence. Each passageway leads to a small staircase going up to either northern corner of 68th Street and Lexington Avenue. On the east side of the mezzanine is a short staircase going up to a landing, where a larger staircase goes up to the southeast corner of 68th Street and Lexington Avenue underneath Hunter College's East Building. The west side of the mezzanine has a direct entrance to the West Building of Hunter College and a double-wide marble staircase going up to the plaza on the southwest corner of 68th Street and Lexington Avenue.[37]

The entrance at the southeast corner contains a sign with the word "Subway" in a unique typeface seen only on the Hunter campus.[38] This sign, and other signs around the college campus that are set in the same typeface, was created by Barbara Stauffacher Solomon as part of Ulrich Franzen's 1984 expansion of the campus.[39]

References

1. "Borough of Manhattan, New York City". Government of New York City. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
2. "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. "Lexington Av. Line to be Opened Today" (PDF). The New York Times. July 17, 1918. p. 13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
4. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
5. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
6. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. pp. 230–233. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
7. "Petition for Subway in Lexington Ave". The New York Times. May 22, 1912. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 16, 2009. A petition is being circulated among the residents and property owners of the section just south of the Grand Central Station, in Park and Lexington Avenues, protesting against the proposed abandonment of the construction of the Subway in Lexington Avenue, between Forty-third and Thirty-second Streets.
8. "Subway Contracts Solemnly Signed; Cheers at the Ceremonial Function When McCall Gets Willcox to Attest" (PDF). The New York Times. March 20, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
9. "Money Set Aside For New Subways; Board of Estimate Approves City Contracts to be Signed To-day with Interboro and B.R.T." (PDF). The New York Times. March 19, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
10. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916. p. 846.
11. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections — Change in Operation That Will Transform Original Four-Tracked Subway Into Two Four-Tracked Systems and Double Present Capacity of the Interborough". The New York Times. p. 12. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
12. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines — Will Afford Better Service and Less Crowding — Shuttle Service for Forty-Second Street — How the Various Lines of the Dual System Are Grouped for Operation and List of Stations on All Lines". The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
13. "Station Named for Hunter College". The New York Times. February 16, 1917. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
14. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph — Great H System Put in Operation Marks an Era in Railroad Construction — No Hitch in the Plans — But Public Gropes Blindly to Find the Way in Maze of New Stations — Thousands Go Astray — Leaders in City's Life Hail Accomplishment of Great Task at Meeting at the Astor". The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
15. "Finish a New Link of the Dual Subway; Lexington Avenue Line North of Forty-second Street to Begin Local Service Wednesday. Branch Extends to Bronx Through service, with Times SquareGrand Central Shuttle Connections, to Open Soon. Changes in the Bronx". The New York Times. July 11, 1918. p. 20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
16. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. p. B5S. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
17. Cox, Jeremiah (August 15, 2008). "Plaque for the station's renovations under the 'Adapt-a-Station' program". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
18. "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 26, 2016. p. 115. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
19. "The MTA's Key Station Plan for subway accessibility - The Weekly Nabe". The Weekly Nabe. June 13, 2013.
20. "At 69th Street, a new entrance and NIMBYs". secondavenuesagas.com. October 10, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
21. "UES Residents Blast Subway Entrance Plans for Landmarked Blocks". dnainfo.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
22. Buckley, Cara (February 25, 2012). "Subway Entrances? Not on Our Block". The New York Times. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
23. "68th Street/Hunter College Subway Station Improvement Project Manhattan, New York Environmental Assessment And Proposed Section 4(f) De Minimis Impact Finding" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
24. "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 24, 2017. p. 84. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
25. "Transit and Bus Committee Meeting February 2018" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 20, 2018. p. 326. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
26. "T6041307 ADA Accessibility at 68 St-Hunter College Station on the Lexington Av Line". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
27. "Project Details". MTA. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
28. Station Reporter — 6 Train
29. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
30. "4 Subway Timetable, Effective September 13, 2020". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
31. "6 Subway Timetable, Effective September 13, 2020". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
32. Whitehorne, Wayne (January 31, 1998). "Name tablet". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
33. Cox, Jeremiah (June 11, 2011). "1950s era trimline is at an extreme end of the platforms of eight streetstairs". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
34. Cox, Jeremiah (June 11, 2011). "Looking down the downtown platform has the 1950s era wall gives way to more conventional wall tiling". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
35. Harris, David (November 16, 2007). "68th Street Mezzanine". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
36. Cox, Jeremiah (June 11, 2011). "Approaching the entrance area almost suspended inside the station ceiling the platform roof gets lower". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
37. "68th Street—Hunter College Neighborhood Map". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
38. Cox, Jeremiah (June 11, 2011). "An artsy Subway sign for the 68 St-Hunter College Station entrance". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
39. Plitt, Amy (July 14, 2017). "The forgotten history of a retro NYC subway entrance". Curbed NY. Retrieved August 31, 2017.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: 68th Street
• Station Reporter – 4 Train
• Station Reporter – 6 Train
• 68th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View
• Lobby from Google Maps Street View