Long-Shuttered Entrances At Nostrand Avenue Station Reopen

BROOKLYN, NY — Entrances to the Nostrand Avenue station that have been shuttered for three decades have officially reopened.

MTA officials celebrated the reopening of the Bedford Avenue entrances, found near Fulton Street, on Thursday, nearly a year after they first announced they were on their way back.

The entrances — which include a 1,000-foot underground walkway to the A/C station — had been closed for more than 30 years because of safety concerns.

"That was then, this is now," MTA Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer said Thursday. "The city is a much safer place, the subway is a much safer place."

NYPD officials said they will deploy officers to the platforms, mezzanine and on the trains at the station to ensure straphangers are kept safe.

The $2-million upgrade to the Bedford Avenue entrances also includes new LED lighting and cameras, officials said.

Lawmakers Assembly Member Tremaine S. Wright and state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, who provided funding for the project, had pushed for the entrances to reopen as a way to alleviate crowding at the Nostrand Avenue platform.

Officials said Thursday that less crowding has become even more important in a time of social distancing rules.

The new entrances will also mean more convenient commutes for essential workers using the subway, they said.

"These entrances are more than 1,000 feet long, nearly a quarter of a mile, to the west of the entrances at Nostrand Avenue — that's taking precious minutes off of someone's commute," Meyer said. "When that makes a difference between catching a train or missing it, that savings in time adds up even more."

The Bedford Avenue entrances also provide a connection to the B44 bus service and an in-station transfer to northbound and southbound platforms.

The station is on a list of those that will get new elevators in the next few years, Meyer said.

Check out photos of the entrances and station, courtesy of Marc A. Hermann with the MTA: