Columbia Agrees to Fund 125th Street Subway Elevator — But Leaves MTA Holding the Bag

Columbia University has agreed to pay $33 million for wider escalators and one of three new elevators at the 1 train station beneath its new 34-story residential hall at W. 125th Street — leaving the MTA on the hook for the rest of the project after years of negotiations, sources told Streetsblog.

Under the new agreement, the Ivy League school, which boasts a $13-billion endowment and enjoys significant tax breaks, will fund the construction of wider escalators and a single elevator to connect the street to the station’s mezzanine. The MTA will cover the cost of the two elevators connecting the mezzanine with the northbound and southbound platforms.

Columbia had for years insisted on only covering the cost of the escalators, while calling for “public investments” to fund “additional enhancements” at the station. But MTA leaders and local elected officials leveraged a 2021 City Council law requiring subway-adjacent developers to work with the MTA to build station elevators. (The law went in effect about a year or so after the city had already approved Columbia’s 34-story new dorm.)

MTA sources did not provide a price tag for the project. In 2024, then-Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine pegged the cost of a mezzanine-to-street elevator at $50 to $100 million, higher than Columbia’s eventual contribution.

The MTA will also pay for ”state of good repair upgrades throughout the station,” sources said.

Now-Comptroller Levine said he was “proud” to have advocated for Columbia to cough up more money.

“After years of advocacy dating back to my time in the City Council, I’m proud we are finally delivering this long-overdue accessibility investment in the 125th Street 1 train station,” Levine said in a statement. “This project is a strong example of how public-private partnerships can advance equity and transit-oriented development that centers community needs. I applaud the community, the MTA, and Columbia University for working together to make this happen, and I look forward to its completion for the people of Harlem.”

Design on the accessibility upgrades will begin this year, with construction anticipated to start by 2028. The MTA has pledged to make 70 percent of subway trips “take place to or from accessible stations” as part of its 2025-2029 capital plan, but some disability advocates have criticized that pace as too slow.

Right now, barely over a quarter subway stations are elevator accessible. Uptown Manhattan has especially limited access, including the W. 116th Street stop at Columbia’s main campus.

“After 96th Street there’s nothing in between until Inwood, and that is not good for disabled community who needs to get to school on time, or the elder community,” said Inwood student Jonathan Hanon, who traverses the city using a walker.

Kathleen Blute, a senior with osteoarthritis who can only walk or stand for limited amounts of time, said the new elevators will make it easier for her to get around from her home just north of W. 120th Street in Morningside Heights.

“Travel is difficult when there are stairs or few benches in the stations. I use elevators or escalators whenever I can,” Blute said. “Having the 125th St and Broadway station fully accessible and the equipment reliable would greatly improve my quality of life. I would definitely use it.”