Fordham Road No. 4 Station to Close By HEATHER HADDON Local residents and businesses near busy Fordham Road are in for some headaches as the No. 4 train station there completely closes for four months. Beginning on July 5, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) plans to close the deteriorating station to renovate it and make it handicapped accessible. There will be free shuttle buses running between Jerome Avenue and the D train at the Grand Concourse, and to the Kingsbridge Road No. 4 stop up the road. Closing the station entirely, instead of keeping open one track, will cut the renovation time by two months, said Branko Kleva, the project's construction manager, at a Community Board 7 (CB7) meeting earlier this year. "The whole guts of the station need to be removed and rebuilt," he said. The work includes installing three elevators, and reconstructing the platform stairways, floor, walls and roofs, according to Kleva. But for many, the improvements are not a fair trade for the inconvenience. "This could be a major problem," said Donald Simon, dean of Monroe College, which is within a block of the stop. There are a number of schools in the densely populated area, not to mention the bustling Fordham Road commercial strip. "The business community is quite concerned because this might disturb the back-to-school and Christmas shopping seasons," Simon said. The annual Fordham Renaissance Festival, which attracts thousands, also occurs during the closure. The steering committee for the Fordham Road Business Improvement District, which includes merchants, institutions and advocates, sent a letter to Kleva last March suggesting that the construction be postponed to January 2005. They also proposed keeping one track open at all times. But the MTA told the steering committee that local officials, including Assemblyman Luis Diaz, Council Member Maria Baez, and CB7, backed the complete closure. Baez says she's been in conversation with officials, Monroe and the merchants about the situation. "We have been in discussions for some time," she said. "We want to see what we can do to make sure everyone's happy." Negotiations were still under way at press time, and Simon hopes that the MTA will agree to keep one track open -- but still finish the project in four months by working at night and devoting more resources to the job. "It is feasible," he said.
News | Opinion | Schools
| Features | Continuing Stories | Home |
||
