City, MTA advance plan to bring new Metro-North stations to the Bronx

The MTA is advancing its plan to bring four new Metro-North stations in the southern and eastern portions of the Bronx. Earlier this week, the city convened the Bronx Metro-North Working Group, which will work with local residents and businesses to study the impact of these stations on the neighborhood, and how best each station can serve its surrounding community. Among the members of the Working Group are Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., City Planning director Marisa Lago, and Department of Transportation Commission Polly Trottenberg.

The project was first announced in 2014, and it’s part of the MTA’s larger Penn Station Access plan, which is looking to provide a connection between the New Haven line and Penn Station should trains not be able to pull into Grand Central on any particular day.

In the Bronx, the new stations will be located at Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, and Co-op City. This working group will now study improvements around these stations like crosswalks, sidewalks, and wayfinding equipment. They will also look at how to better connect these stations with bus and subway service.

In addition to improvements in and around the station, the working group will also look at developing parcels of land for housing or other community needs. In 2017, the state committed nearly $700 million toward building these new stations, and this fall, the city will hold the first public meeting to discuss the overall project.