MTA will spend $100M to revitalize 2 grimy, historic NYC subway stations

Two of New York City’s most historic — and dilapidated — subway stations are due for renovations that aim to restore the spaces to their original glory.

The MTA is planning “historically sensitive” repairs at the Chambers Street station near City Hall and the 190th Street station in Washington Heights. The plan was revealed in a request for bids published by the MTA last year. The work is estimated to cost at least $100 million, and records show it’s expected to take two years to complete once the agency hires a contractor.

At Chambers Street, nearly every single white-tiled column on the J train platform is chipped, or missing tiles. Most of the columns have graffiti. Peeled paint dangles from the ceiling like bats in a cave.

The station, which opened in 1913 as part of an early subway line, is tucked beneath the Municipal Building, and has a white-tiled domed entrance on the plaza above. Its interior — adorned with mosaics and plaques — was once celebrated for its Beaux Arts design.

But after decades of neglect, the station has become a symbol of disrepair in the mass transit system.

Anna Worwa, 47, said she noticed how dingy the Chambers station was on her first visit 18 years ago. Not much has changed since then.

“I was very surprised when I came here,” she said. “How disgusting this station is and, like, smelly.”

The National Register of Historic Places lays out the station has original glass wall tiles, a set of 10 eagle plaques made by the Grueby Faience Company and other “unifying decorative elements that are remarkable for their material quality and level of craftsmanship.”

But that craftsmanship is easy to miss. Riders are more likely to associate the station with the grime, soot and rust that covers its walls and ceilings. Several of the eagle plaques, for example, are severely damaged.