2nd Avenue Subway's East Harlem Extension To Move Forward: Cuomo

EAST HARLEM, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed this week that the Second Avenue subway's long-awaited extension into East Harlem would be completed, even after the project was jeopardized by the state's pandemic-induced fiscal crisis.

"We will further extend the Second Avenue Subway from 96th Street to 125th Street," Cuomo said Thursday during his State of the State address. "That will open up the East Side all the way up to Harlem for new, exciting possibilities."

The Second Avenue Subway's first phase, from 59th to 96th streets, opened in 2017. An extension up to 125th Street was included in the MTA's $51 billion capital plan, but that plan was slowed earlier this year as the state-run agency faced billions in losses during the pandemic.

Cuomo did not say Thursday when construction would begin or how it would be funded, but vowed that the state would "accelerate key elements" of the MTA's capital plan, including the subway.

The governor has expressed hope that the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden will help the state build new infrastructure projects.

If completed, the East Harlem extension will add stations at 106th, 116th and 125th streets, adding to a 10-block stretch of tunnel dating back to the 1970s that already exists below the neighborhood.

MTA leaders had initially hoped to open the extension in 2027, but that goal will likely be pushed back, NY1 reported in September. Still, the agency has continued buying up properties along Second Avenue to make way for the new line and new stations, THE CITY reported.