Work to make the Classon Avenue G station fully accessible is set to begin next month, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The agency plans to install three new elevators at the station — one from the street level to the mezzanine and two from the mezzanine to the platforms below. Construction will start in June and is expected to last through late 2026, but G trains will continue to run as usual, for the most part. Service will be impacted on some weekends when the platforms and stations are too unsafe for passengers, said MTA rep Andrew Inglesby at a recent meeting of Brooklyn Community Board 2.
An agency spokesperson clarified that the timeline for the project is subject to change, as it’s still in the design phase, but that work will be mostly done by the end of 2026.
The MTA will also widen an existing staircase at the station and reopen a pair of existing but closed staircases from each platform to the mezzanine level of the station, and add ADA-compliant tactile strips to each platform. Crews will also do some general improvements — upgrading lights, concrete, and communications systems throughout the station.
A handful of parking spaces will be temporarily blocked off during the construction for staging equipment, and the bike lane on Classon Avenue will also be closed during construction, Inglesby said. Sometime in 2025, after the first phase of the project is complete, the MTA will also temporarily relocate the Classon Avenue/Lafayette Avenue B38 stop.
“This station renewal is part of the MTA’s efforts to deliver station accessibility upgrades at a record pace,” MTA rep Michael Cortez told Brooklyn Paper.
The station is currently only accessible via staircase, meaning straphangers who use mobility aids like wheelchairs are largely unable to access it at all, or can only reach the platform with some difficulty. Until fairly recently, the entire G line was mostly inaccessible — before 2020, only the Church Avenue station at the end of the line featured an elevator. But, in December 2020, the MTA opened a shiny new elevator at Greenpoint Avenue.
Two stations on the line — the only route to serve Brooklyn and Queens without entering Manhattan — have been made accessible in the last six months. The MTA debuted elevators at the 7th Avenue stop last fall and at Metropolitan Avenue/Lorimer Street in April. Still, from Classon Avenue, the next-closest accessible station on the G line is Metropolitan Avenue, which is five stops away — forcing subway riders to travel far out of their way to reach Clinton Hill via train.
The project is part of a $6 billion push to install and renovate elevators at dozens of stations throughout the five boroughs. When the work is done, riders will never be more than two stops from an accessible station, according to the MTA.
When the Classon Avenue project was announced last year, Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest said she was “very excited.”
“This is a much-needed upgrade that will improve accessibility to transit options for those who most need them: seniors and the disabled,” the pol said in a December 2023 statement. “We must continue to work to make sure all stations in District 57 and across the city are accessible to everyone.”
New elevators are also in the works at nine other stations in Brooklyn: Bay Ridge-95th Street, Kings Highway, Sheepshead Bay, the Church Avenue B/Q station, Junius Street, Borough Hall, New Lots Avenue, 36th Street, and Broadway Junction. A full list of accessible stations across the city is available online.
