On the N Line

Starting on January 18, the MTA will be closing seven northbound platforms on the N line, as a part of station renovations.  MTA officials claim that station closures, and commuter detours, will last (at least) 14 months.

Phase I of the project will see major construction work on the Manhattan-bound station platforms, platform walls, stairs, etc. In order to safely and efficiently perform this work track access is necessary,” Community Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann wrote in an advisory to board members.

It's no surprise that one of the stations getting a fix is the paint-peeling, vaulted-ceilinged New Utrecht.  A temple of transit desolation.  Readers or cinema location enthusiasts might remember that the New Utrecht platform was backdrop to a crucial scene in the film A Most Violent Year.  I'd have loved the film anyway, but seeing a favorite subway locale at a crucial point of the movie was transit/movie-geek nirvana.  I'd grudgingly admit that a renovation is long overdue, but still, the station's gone-to-seed platforms are a thing of beauty.  Catch them while you can.