Grand Central Madison gets 2 new seating areas on mezzanine level
A commuter uses a new seating area on the mezzanine level at Grand Central Madison on Tuesday. Credit: Marcus Santos
Long Island Rail Road riders have some new opportunities to take a load off while waiting for their train at Grand Central Madison.
The LIRR on Tuesday unveiled two new seating areas at the mezzanine level at Grand Central Madison, near the bottom of the escalators at 45th Street and 46th Street. They join another collection of benches near the 47th Street mezzanine landing that opened in October.
In total, the three new seating areas add 70 places for weary commuters to rest at the LIRR’s second Manhattan terminal. When it opened in February 2023, the only seats were in a small waiting area near the concourse level ticket office, far away from the station’s track levels.
Responding to complaints from riders, including some who regularly sat on the floor or on hand railings in the mezzanine, the LIRR added the new seats and says more may be on the way.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The LIRR has added two new seating areas at the mezzanine level of Grand Central Madison, near the bottom of the escalators at 45th Street and 46th Street.
- More amenities are in store for LIRR riders with the planned opening later this month of Grand Central Madison's first eatery, which has faced multiple delays in construction.
- Two-and-a-half years after its opening, Grand Central Madison is delivering high satisfaction ratings among riders, according to the LIRR.
“We listened to them and we reacted, but we did it methodically and smartly, to make sure that we put the seating in the right location,” said LIRR President Robert Free said at a Grand Central news conference. “As the ridership increases, we will continue to look at it and install [seats] where necessary.”
Like with other seats at Metropolitan Transportation Authority train stations, the new benches at Grand Central Madison are for ticket-holding riders and come with a 90-minute time limit — a condition that critics have said aims to ward off homeless people.
Lisa Daglian, executive director of the MTA’s Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, which includes the LIRR Commuter Council, defended the MTA's policy.
"The seats that are here are for riders. There are a lot of people in uniforms here to make sure that's the case," Daglian said. "I don't think that a railroad station or a subway should be someone's home. We have to find better solutions for care, long-term solutions for housing, for mental health services, for addiction services, so that is not somebody's last, best solution."
LIRR rider Glenn Krevlin, of Manhattan, observed that the benches, which have arm rests between every seat, were designed so "you can't get too comfortable."
"There's no cushions. It's practical," Krevlin said. "You wont have long-term residents of the seats."
Relaxing on one of the new benches Tuesday afternoon, Farmingdale resident Bobby Palma found Grand Central Madison’s new seats to be plenty “comfortable,” especially compared with what was there before.
“All you could do is lean against the wall. That was it,” said Palma, 42, who was glad to see the number of seated waiting areas quadruple in recent months. “The more the merrier.”
One place LIRR customers still can’t take a seat in Grand Central Madison: Tracks Raw Bar and Grill. The station’s first eatery, which was originally slated to open last fall and was then pushed back to July, remains under construction.
MTA Chief Real Estate Transactions and Operations Officer David Florio said Tracks, which has long been a staple in and near Penn Station, hit more recent delays involving “metal fabrication,” but should open by the end of August.
The MTA is also negotiating leases with three other “food and beverage” business for Grand Central, including one that could open by the end of this year or early next year, Florio said.
LIRR officials said each day, about 70,000 people pass through Grand Central Madison, which now regularly handles about 40% of the railroad’s Manhattan ridership. The station took about two decades and more than $11 billion to build as part of the MTA's East Side Access megaproject, which was riddled with delays and cost overruns.
After getting off to a rough start upon its opening, which coincided with a major overhaul of LIRR service, Grand Central Madison got high marks in the railroad’s most recent customer satisfaction survey, scoring 90% or higher in all categories, including the condition of its bathrooms.
“It’s not bad. It’s better than a lot of places I’ve been around the world, and certainly a lot of places around the region,” Daglian said. “Things are really getting better.”
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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