Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Station Queens bound platform escalators
were out of service. According to the Tipster:
Just got off the Queens bound F train and they are repairing both up
escalators leading off the platform. The Escalators after going up a level
work. And there is no elevator in service there either, due to elevator
replacement.
A regrettable situation given the proportion of disabled residents, parents
with strollers, and individuals with mobility issues.
It's a bad time for the Queens bound platform escalators to be broken because the Queens bound platform elevator is being replaced and currently out of service
through
November 2022.
Hopefully the escalators will be repaired by Saturday, if not sooner.
A few days ago, running up the deep underground down escalator in the
Roosevelt Island F Train subway station provided the workout for a group of
NYC Bridgerunners
Afterwards, the NYC Bridgerunners enjoyed the view from Roosevelt Island's
new Panorama Room rooftop bar
at the Graduate Hotel and a tour from owners Med Abrous and Marc Rose.
... expect to see Panorama Room soon drawing the chic and savvy in droves for
serious cocktails...
“You may not have had reason to venture to the tranquil enclave of
Roosevelt Island in the past but expect to see Panorama Room soon drawing
the chic and savvy in droves for serious cocktails with unrivaled views
& consider getting in while you still can.”
As reported August 6, the Roosevelt Island F Train subway escalator from street to mezzanine has been out of service since last April.
The MTA has repeatedly claimed service will be resumed by May 20, then June 20, followed by July 31 and August 31.
This has been out of service since April. You have moved the dates 4 times already (initial date 5/20/19). At times both up escalators are out. See the timestamp pics. And now you figure out that it needs a complete overhaul? What a shame. Fire your contractor. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/A0fOHZ5HIT
The Roosevelt Island subway escalator has not been repaired as of today, September 3. Last Sunday, a Roosevelt Island Tipster reported:
Although I saw people working on the Roosevelt Island F train escalator earlier today, I also saw this updated sign. I don’t expect the escalator to be operational anytime soon.
We have taken the entire escalator apart (see: 👇) to replace the steps and step chains, and we want to make sure that any other component that needs repair is repaired. While it's taking a bit longer, it will result in a more reliable escalator in the long term. (2/2) ^MW pic.twitter.com/NLTBa1GKny
Another Roosevelt Islander compares NYC subway to London's:
Quite a difference between London Undergrounf and Roosevelt Island @NYCTSubway Station with frequent escalator and elevator breakdowns. https://t.co/jOWsezAH4x
Hi Councilmember, it looks like we kept this escalator open as a staircase while we completed work on other escalators at this station, to help with passenger flow. Looking to get more details now. ^MW
I don’t think that’s accurate. The escalator was boarded up with sign saying it would be fixed by July 31. It had been scheduled to be fixed earlier than July 31 but was delayed to the July 31 date and now August 31. pic.twitter.com/o2aUXHr0lT
The MTA tweets Roosevelt Island escalator is getting new steps and chains and will be more reliable.
We have taken the entire escalator apart (see: 👇) to replace the steps and step chains, and we want to make sure that any other component that needs repair is repaired. While it's taking a bit longer, it will result in a more reliable escalator in the long term. (2/2) ^MW pic.twitter.com/NLTBa1GKny
But the escalator has been out of service since last May and its a hardship for many elderly, disabled and others to climb so many stairs.
During a prolonged shut down like this, please make sure the other escalator is working. Having both out of service & folks esp the elderly to climb the steps is inhumane. Also see the line at 10:23pm on a weekday to get on to the only working escalator. You need to do better 2/2
Hey, Vic. Our mechanics work very hard to ensure things run as smoothly as possible throughout our system. As we continue to implement our Fast Forward plan and improve our accessibility, some escalators repairs require parts that must be ordered to properly fix. 1/2 ^PRN
While it may seem as easy as just reversing the escalator in the opposite directions, this would actually damage them and create further issues. We appreciate your feedback and images sent. 2/2 ^PRN
I created this diagram years ago as it identified each escalator by its official designation. Nowadays that allows residents to tweet the number directly to 311 and MTA to report outages.
According to Wikipedia, the Roosevelt Island F Train subway station:
... is the fourth-deepest station in the New York City Subway at about 100 feet (30 m) below street level (approximately 10 stories deep) behind 34th Street–Hudson Yards, 190th Street, and 191st Street stations, also in Manhattan
Just wanted to let everyone know the big blue structure that’s being built at the F Train Station is not a RIOC structure. It’s a MTA structure that will be used as a storage shed to house some of the equipment the MTA will be using to fix the escalator. They were given permission to build it back in April .... Fingers crossed they get it fixed ahead of schedule.
Apparently a runner from the Prospect Park Track Club who likes climbing subway stairs has counted the Roosevelt Island subway station's steps and placed us third in total stairs among comparable stations:
On Tuesday 1/19/16 at about 5:30 pm I saw several teenage males racing down the lower level escalator in the Roosevelt Island subway station. They took large jumps and landed on the bottom step with all their might.
Image Of Roosevelt Island Escalators at Lower Level Platform
They then raced to the escalator that goes from the downtown platform up to the mezzanine and ran down those steps, against the stair flow. Perhaps they executed a similar maneuver, although I could not see what they did.
About a minute later, I approached three teenagers on the platform, as I saw them laughing. I told them what they had done was not in the least funny. Other teenage males joined the group. Two other Island adult male residents approached the group of six and scolded them for breaking the escalator. When one adult asked if they lived on the Island, they mocked him and laughed.
In the attempt by the adults to have a rational discussion, several of the teens were egging each other on. They mocked the three adults, while a fourth adult went to the police cabin at the end of the platform to report the misconduct. (There was no police officer on duty at the time.)
I said to the two adults, “Let’s take a picture,” since it was clear that the young men did not believe they had behaved inappropriately. One adult took out his cellphone, but the teens ran away from the adults.
This incident is disturbing because of the deliberate effort the teens made to break the escalator and their complete disregard for the consequences of their reckless behavior.
I wonder if any of this activity was captured on a video camera in the station.
Here's what happened when one man tried going down an
... Roosevelt Island (On Roosevelt Island, Main Street and about 500 feet north of the Tramway terminal) Opened 10/29/1989: One of the deepest stations in the entire NYCT system, it takes 157 steps from the stationhouse at street level to either platform. It has a nice WMATA (Washington D.C. Metro Subway) feel of a high arched ceiling. The station walls are curved with beams at both platforms, the only NYCT station in the entire system to have this look. There are 4 levels from mezzanine to platform level, a total of 10 escalators, 2 large staircases, and 2 smaller staircases 1 to each platform. The balcony level above the platform, affords a nice view of the station and tunnel mouth facing the Queens end, as well as trains entering and leaving this station. Station is fully ADA accessible, 1 elevator to each platform is located at opposite end of stairs/escalators to the stationhouse level. This gives the clearest indication on how deep you are below the surface. politically It is a pert of Manhattan....
F Jamaica-bound trains run via the M from 47-50 Sts to Roosevelt Av
Weekend, 9:45 PM Fri to 5 AM Mon, Mar 1 - 4
Trains run express from Queens Plaza to Roosevelt Av.
No Jamaica-bound service at 57 St, Lexington Av/63 St, Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge.
No word from Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) yet on whether additional Tram Service will be made available this weekend.
If you do take the subway this weekend to Manhattan be careful on the escalator and make sure you hold on to the railing. Last Sunday afternoon as I was going down the escalator by the wall
from the ground to mid level, while last second checking of my email before losing service, the escalator suddenly came to a screeching halt. I and several other riders were able to grab the handrail and nobody fell or were injured.
Fortunately, the escalator did not reverse direction as happened in this January 7 incident at the Path Exchange Place Station
Image of Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Escalators
Do you ever get annoyed at people walking down the Roosevelt Island F Train Subway escalator very slowly or blocking your way by standing two abreast? Well, here's a possible solution from the folks at Volkswagen - The Fast Lane Slide.
For those looking to move a little quicker, auto giant Volkswagen has created a 'Fast Lane' slide at the Alexanderplatz subway station in Berlin, Germany. So the commuters have the choice to either take the staircase or have fun and save time by sliding down the Fast Lane.
Wouldn't it be really fun to begin your New York City subway ride if the MTA installed these subway escalator slides at the Roosevelt Island F Train subway station to be used when the down escalators are not in service or for those in a real hurry to catch their train? Weeeeeee!!!!!!!!
Or, how about a little music on your way up and down the Piano subway stairs?
”Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? See the results here
So if you had your choice, would you walk down the steps to the Roosevelt Island subway station, take the escalator or ride the Fast Lane Slide down? What about if the piano steps were added to the mix?
You Tube Video of Roosevelt Island's Future Subway Solution?
Last December, Assembly Member Micah Kellner initiated a meeting between the MTA, Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA), Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) and other public officials to try and find solutions to Roosevelt Island's F train subway problems, particularly those arising from the service shutdown of the Roosevelt Island Tram due to the scheduled March 1, 2010 start of the Tram's Modernization Program. Roosevelt Island residents are concerned that the F subway train will be even more overcrowded than it is now with increased passengers resulting from the Tram shutdown. RIRA's proposal included:
Increasing morning capacity by providing 4-5 "specials" that extend the Q service to Roosevelt Island
4-5 trains, one every half hour, in the morning rush between 6:30-9:00. For example, the schedule might be 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 8:20, 8:50. The exact times are to be refined later.
Special-Q service will take an uptown Q train from the 57St-7Ave terminus and send it outbound via 63St tracks to 21St-Queenbridge. Once there, the train will "turnaround" on the Queens-bound track (motorman switches to West end of train) and await a Manhattan-bound F train to pass on the Manhattan-bound tracks. After the F train passes, the Q train will switch tracks and follow to the F train. Once the Q train arrives at Roosevelt Island, the doors will open on the empty train and passengers will board quickly. The Q train will continue on 63St tracks (stopping at 63St-Lex) and continue down 7Av and Bway on the normal Q train service.
These Additional Q trains will *NOT* add load to the 63St connector interlock (in Long Island City) nor the Rockefeller Center interlock, i.e., we are avoiding two congestion points.
For Roosevelt Island commuters, they can transfer at 63St-Lex, continue on 7Av-Bway (a block away from the F train route), or transfer at Herald Square to the F train.
The extra service is only for the morning rush. No additional evening trains are requested.
The general consensus of those attending the meeting was that the MTA does not think there is an overcrowding problem at the Roosevelt Island F train subway station nor will there be one during the Tram outage. ( Here is the MTA's F Train Ridership Performance Study). Neither will the MTA refrain from the weekend F train subway disruptions during the Tram outage. That consensus was confirmed by the receipt of this response from the MTA sent to RIRA President Frank Farance.:
The MTA has provided a written response to the proposals submitted by the Roosevelt Island Residents Associations (RIRA) at the December 9 meeting on Roosevelt Island F train subway service during the Tram outage scheduled to begin on March 1 2010.
At the December 9th meeting with NYCT, RIOC, RIRA, and elected officials, you requested data on our ridership. Attached please find data on F train ridership at Roosevelt Island. Data is collected by recording MetroCard swipes at the Roosevelt Island subway station. Please note that Mr. Sean Singh at RIOC has done extensive analysis of our data. He may be a good resource for you.
In addition, the following is a summary of the various suggestions for Roosevelt Island subway service submitted by elected officials and residents and our responses to them: (A) Extend the Q train to the 21st Street/ Queensbridge Station to supplement F service In the past, trains were able to terminate at the 21st Street/ Queensbridge Station. At that time, however, trains did not operate through to eastern Queens. In 2001, we completed the 63rd Street Connector project which links the 63rd Street tunnel tracks to the Queens Boulevard Line. The tracks that were used to terminate trains at the 21st Street/ Queensbridge Station now are used as through tracks for F service, which runs every 4-6 minutes during rush hour. In Manhattan, the 63rd Street tunnel tracks have connections to the Sixth Avenue tracks (with access to BDFV service at 47-50 Streets/ Rockefeller Center) and the Broadway Line tracks (with access to Q service at 57th Street).
Extending the Q train to the 21st Street/ Queensbridge Station to supplement F service is not operationally feasible because there are only two tracks at the 21st Street/ Queensbridge Station, and, given that F trains run through the station on those tracks, there is no place to turn around Q trains. In order to ensure safety, whenever trains change directions on a non-terminal track, such as what is suggested at the 21st Street/ Queensbridge Station, it is necessary to change the direction of the signal system. As a result, other trains would need to be kept at a safe distance until the turn-around operation is completed. To terminate Q trains at the 21st Street/ Queensbridge Station, it would be necessary to stop F trains on both tracks for several minutes to give Q trains enough time to switch tracks, change directions, and change crews. As a consequence, there would be significant delays in F service in both directions, which in turn would delay E and V service, which share tracks with the F train. For safety and operational reasons, NYC Transit does not schedule trains to turn around on the same tracks used by through trains.
(B) Rerouting every other R train via Roosevelt Island This is not operationally feasible. From an operational standpoint, R trains running via the 63rd Street F Line to Manhattan would be unable to resume their normal route via the Broadway Local tracks because the only track connection between the 63rd Street Line and the Broadway Line is via the Broadway Express tracks at the 57th Street station. Those tracks are used to terminate Q service from Brooklyn and thus any through R trains diverted via the F line would be blocked by Q trains that are turning around. As mentioned above, for safety and operational reasons, NYC Transit does not schedule trains to turn around on the same tracks used by through trains.
Even if this plan were feasible, it would lead to significant overcrowding on the remaining R trains operating on the regular R route. From a ridership perspective, rerouted R trains would bypass the Lexington Avenue/59th Street station, which is a major destination for R riders. This would leave only half of the R trains available at Queens Plaza for the large volume of riders transferring to/from E trains, leading to overcrowded conditions on those R trains.
(C) Rerouting every other V train via Roosevelt Island This would lead to significant operational complexity and overcrowding on the V and E. From an operational standpoint, V trains today must share tracks with R trains between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Queens Plaza, with E trains between Queens Plaza and 5th Avenue/53rd Street, and with F trains between 47-50 Streets-Rockefeller Center and Lower East Side-2nd Avenue, while E and F trains must share tracks between 75th Avenue and the 36th Street Interlocking. The existing operation is highly complex and requires careful scheduling to ensure even headways and loads within NYC Transit guidelines. Taking half of the V trains and merging them “early” with the F at 36th Street would make the operation even more complex and would introduce additional potential perturbations, as this is a merge point that is not normally used during rush hours. As a result, there would be a higher likelihood of delays on all four rush hour Queens Boulevard Line services (EFRV).
From a ridership perspective, the rerouted V trains would skip major destinations at Lexington Avenue/53rd Street and 5th Avenue/53rd Street and would not be available to provide valuable capacity through the 53rd Street Tunnel to relieve the heavily utilized E train. The passenger capacity of the V train through the 53rd Street Tunnel is particularly critical at the 23rd Street-Ely Avenue station, where G riders transfer to/from the E and V trains. With V service cut in half at that station, E trains would become very overcrowded.
(D) Extending the Q through the 63rd Street Tunnel to Queens This is not operationally feasible. As discussed above, it is not feasible to extend the Q train only to the 21st Street-Queensbridge station, because for safety and operational reasons NYC Transit will not turn around terminating Q trains on the same tracks that are used by through F trains. Extending the Q train farther into Queens is not feasible because there is not enough capacity on the express tracks (EF) to handle any additional trains during rush hours, nor is there capacity during rush hours at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue terminal for local trains in addition to the current R and V trains. Furthermore, there are not enough cars available to extend Q trains to Queens, without reducing service elsewhere.
(E) Keep the first car of the southbound F train closed until Roosevelt Island Closing the first car of the train is not operationally feasible and would lead to inconvenience and overcrowding for riders on the F in Queens.
From an operational standpoint, the doors on the trains are not designed to be turned on or off one car at a time, but rather are designed to be opened and closed in tandem. A member of the train crew would have to manually turn the doors of one car off before departure from 179th Street and then turn them back on at Roosevelt Island, which would delay service and inconvenience through riders from Queens. In Queens, closing off one car of the train would lead to longer dwell times at stations, as riders move back to the adjacent car to board; this would reduce throughput on the critical Queens Boulevard Line express tracks, which the F shares with the E. Because of ridership volume at F stations in Queens, closing off the first car of the train until Roosevelt Island would lead to overcrowding in other cars, particularly the car adjacent to the closed car. If the first car were closed off, it would cause major platform circulation problems at the Roosevelt Avenue station, where a heavily-used staircase serves the front end of the Manhattan-bound platform.
On a more positive note, it looks like the MTA may have responded to one Roosevelt Island resident's quest to get some down escalator service to the Manhattan platform. Remember new Roosevelt Island resident Trevre who has been having a series of email communications with the F Subway Line General Manager including this one:
... Also all four escalators on the lower part of the station always run up. Why not run two down and two up, at least in the morning when everyone is leaving anyways.
Well, I received this message from Trevre:
Looks like they got the hint
Image of Trevre In Front Of Down Escalator To Roosevelt Island Subway Platform
Trevre is referring to the Roosevelt Island escalator closest to the Queens end of the Manhattan bound platform that is now operating in the down direction after many years of only going up.
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
