The city’s Department of Transportation completed the full restoration of the national medallions found along the Avenue of the Americas. The medallions, which were originally installed in 1959, had fallen into disrepair, with only 18 of the original medallions remaining in early 2023. The medallions depict the emblems of 43 nations and territories across the Western Hemisphere and are now on display atop lampposts along Sixth Avenue between Canal and 59th Streets.

“With the installation of these medallions along the Sixth Avenue corridor, we honor and celebrate the immigrant story that is New York City,” Ydanis Rodriguez, commissioner of the DOT, said. “The combined contributions of immigrants from these lands to New York have made New York such a diverse and attractive city for its culture, for its food, for its neighborhood, and for its inclusivity.”

At the end of World War II in 1945, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia renamed Sixth Avenue the Avenue of the Americas in honor of Pan-American unity. During Mayor Robert Wagner’s administration roughly a decade later, the nearly 300 original medallions were installed, celebrating a unified hemisphere after the end of the war.

However, the medallions were neglected, and after a few decades, they began falling apart. The original medallions were made of materials like porcelain enamel that were not easily accessible, and so without maintenance, they began to corrode and rust. Gradually, the medallions were removed for safety concerns due to their deterioration.

The new medallions were designed, fabricated, and tested by DOT’s team of in-house engineers. Instead of porcelain, the new circular medallions are constructed out of light, weather-resistant aluminum.

Measuring roughly three feet in diameter, the new medallions are closer in size to highway signs than DOT’s standard street sign materials and have been installed with sturdier brackets which will ensure their durability and make it easier to maintain them. They will also be easier to move out of the way for events like the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The signs were produced at the transportation department’s sign shop in Maspeth, Queens, and then transported to Manhattan. Before creating each emblem, the DOT worked with the Mayor’s Offices of Immigrant Affairs and International Affairs, the Public Design Commission, consulates general, and other key stakeholders to make sure each of the nation’s emblems is authentic, according to the agency.

“New York City is the most diverse city in the world, and that diversity makes us the greatest city in the world,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

“We’re all from somewhere — and the iconic national medallions on the Avenue of the Americas celebrate the tremendous contributions of our immigrant communities across this city. 

In January, DOT unveiled nine of the restored medallions on the Avenue of the Americas, representing the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Argentina, St. Lucia, and Uruguay.

RELATED:

• NYC unveils first restored national medallions along Manhattan’s Avenue of the Americas
• NYC holiday open streets return to Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center
• 40 blocks of Manhattan’s Third Avenue to be transformed with bike and bus lanes

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The New York Transit Museum’s Holiday Nostalgia Rides are back this season. Every Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Yorkers can embark on old-school NYC subway trains in Manhattan from 2nd Avenue on the uptown F line platform and 145th on the downtown D line platform. The Holiday Nostalgia rides include eight cars used in the 1930s.

This year’s train features eight of the subway system’s R1/9 cars, which entered service on the Eighth Avenue line (today’s A/C/E line) and ran until 1977. The vintage cars feature rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements.

A ride costs a single MetroCard swipe or OMNY tap.

The Holiday Nostalgia Train departs from 2nd Avenue at:

• 10 a.m.
• 12 p.m.
• 2 p.m.
• 4 p.m.

And depart from 145th Street at:

• 11 a.m.
• 1 p.m.
• 3 p.m.
• 5 p.m.

The Holiday Nostalgia Train will run between 2nd Avenue on the uptown F line platform and 145th Street on the downtown D line platform and make stops at the following stations:

Uptown stops:

• 2nd Avenue (F)
• Broadway-Lafayette Street (D/F/M)
• West 4th Street – Washington Square (D/F/M, A/C/E)
• 34th Street – Herald Square (D/F/M)
• 42nd Street – Bryant Park (D/F/M)
• 47th – 50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (D/F/M)
• 59th Street – Columbus Circle (A/C/D)
• 125th Street (A/C/D)
• 145th Street (A/C/D)

Downtown stops:

• 145th Street (A/C/D)
• 125th Street (A/C/D)
• 59th Street – Columbus Circle (A/C/D)
• 7th Avenue (D/E)
• 47th – 50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (B/D)
• 42nd Street – Bryant Park (D/F/M)
• 34th Street – Herald Square (D/F)
• West 4th Street – Washington Square (A/C/E, D/F)
• Broadway-Lafayette Street (D/F/M)
• 2nd Avenue (F)

Vintage trains are scheduled on December 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30. Note, on December 2, the train will only be servicing the uptown D platform at 145th Street.

More information on Holiday Nostalgia Rides can be found here.

For holiday train festivities on a smaller scale, the museum’s holiday train show will return to Grand Central Terminal’s annual Holiday Fair for the first time since 2019. As part of the event, intricate displays of model trains will be presented departing from a miniature replica of Grand Central Terminal. This year’s show begins on November 16 and runs through February 2024. Tickets cost $5 and advanced registration is required.

RELATED:

• Ride vintage subway trains in NYC every Sunday this holiday season
• Travel back in time on vintage NYC subway trains this month

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The plan to extend the Q train to East Harlem received a funding boost this weekend. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Saturday announced a $3.4 billion federal grant for the Second Avenue Subway extension, covering nearly half of the project’s estimated total cost of $7.7 billion. The plan will extend the Q by 1.8 miles and connect its current endpoint at 96th Street on the Upper East Side to 125th Street in Harlem, with fully accessible stations between them at 106th and 116th Streets.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) signed the $3.4 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement under a program that received funding under President Jose Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“This project has been decades in the making, and will extend the existing line to East Harlem, an area often considered a transit desert,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “With support from President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, Leader Schumer, Congressman Espaillat and the entire New York Congressional delegation, we are finally getting this done.”

The Second Avenue subway extension will deliver subway access to East Harlem, a subway desert since the Second Avenue EL stopped service above 57th Street in 1940, according to the MTA. The transit agency projects that the extension will serve roughly 100,000 riders daily, reduce crowding on the 4, 5, 6, and Q subway lines and local bus service, and lead to shorter commute times, saving some passengers as much as 20 minutes.

The line will also offer commuters from NYC’s northern suburbs and Connecticut an easy transfer to the Metro-North Railroad.

The second phase builds upon improvements made in the first phase, which opened to New Yorkers in January 2017 after a decade of construction. The first phase’s completion marked the largest extension of the NYC subway system in half a century. As part of the first phase, the Q line was extended from 63rd Street to 96th Street, with new stations created at 72nd Street and 86th Street. Since it began operation, the new line has served over 130 million passengers in total.

“The fact of New York City, its existence, is one of the great marvels of human achievement, and that great marvel rests on a great marvel of engineering and public works that it is the subway system,” Buttigieg said during a news conference in Harlem Saturday. “A system that runs 24/7 and is the reason why over 8 million people can get to where they need to go. But it has been too hard for too long for residents in East Harlem.”

“It can take two hours a day round-trip even within Manhattan, and because there’s not another option, the 4, 5, and 6 trains get so crowded. The kind of transportation access you have or don’t have can decide the kind of job you will have or not have, the kind of health care you will have or not have, the kind of time with your family that you will have or you will not have.”

Phase one drew criticism for its staggering $4.6 billion price tag, which when it was completed in 2017 became the world’s most expensive subway system on a cost-per-kilometer basis, according to a study by New York University’s Marron Institute of Urban Management.

For this next phase, the MTA has committed to construction methods that will lower costs, such as addressing the requirements of relocating utilities beforehand to lower the risks of adding unexpected costs and having to delay the project as construction progresses.

To further bring down the costs, the MTA will utilize tunnels on Second Avenue between East 99th and 105th Streets and between East 110th and 120th Streets that were dug in the 1970s but left vacant after a financial crisis in 1975 forced work to stop, according to Patch.

In July, the MTA released renderings and announced that it was soliciting the first contract for the project. The contract was solicited as a Design-Bid-Build A+B contract, which is a type of agreement that incentivizes participants to complete a project using no more than the agreed-upon costs and time needed to finish. This type of contract saved the MTA’s Construction and Development more than $100 million in project costs in 2022, according to a press release.

The announcement comes days after work began on another ambitious transit project known as the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP). The HTP last week received an additional $3.8 billion in federal funding that will help accelerate construction of the project’s first phase, which will create concrete casings for trains to travel under the Hudson River and through to Pennsylvania Station and will raise a section of road in New Jersey that will feed into the mouth of the new tunnel.

MTA officials estimate it will take at least seven years to complete the extension of the Q.

RELATED:

• MTA moves forward with expansion of Second Avenue Subway
• Infrastructure bill will bring billions in funding for NYC transit projects and more
• Cuomo to fast-track NYC infrastructure projects, including overhauls of Penn Station & LaGuardia

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Work to replace a decaying rail tunnel under the Hudson River is moving ahead after receiving $3.8 billion in federal funding. Gov. Kathy Hochul, United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other officials on Friday announced the start of the first phase of the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, part of the Gateway Program. This early phase of the project will create concrete casings for trains to travel under the Hudson River and through to Pennsylvania Station and will raise a section of road in New Jersey that will feed into the mouth of the new tunnel.

According to Schumer, with the additional $3.8 billion, the federal share of the cost is at 70 percent.

“For a long time now, the Gateway project has been my passion. It’s a labor of love. And after many false starts and obstacles placed in our way, Gateway is full speed ahead with billions in federal dollars I secured ready to go towards this critical work and construction,” Schumer said.

“Gateway’s future is assured and the most important public works project in America is all systems go.”

In September, the Gateway Development Commission awarded the first contracts for construction on the New Jersey side of the two-track tunnel project, with work expected to break ground in October.

Using $25 million in grants from the federal government, the commission approved $47.3 million in contracts that allow Conti Civil, a NJ-based company, to proceed with moving utilities and starting construction on a new roadway bridge on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen. The company will raise a portion of the avenue to provide a 19-foot clearance above the train tracks and create a bridge that feeds into the mouth of the new tunnel, according to the New York Times.

After the avenue is raised, work can begin on the actual excavation of the rail tunnel below the Hudson River, which is expected to begin in 2025. If it all goes according to plan, the new tunnel will open after a decade of construction.

In 2010, a similar plan was underway to realign the same portion of Tonnelle Avenue to provide access to the end of a different tunnel connecting to NYC. The plan, known as Access to the Region’s Core (ARC), was discarded by former Gov. Chris Christie who feared that NJ would be left to pay for the project’s hefty $8.7 billion price tag.

Had the state continued with the work, the tunnel would be ready for use within the next couple of years, according to the New York Times.

The Hudson Tunnel Project will replace two aging tunnels, allowing trains to operate at faster speeds and with fewer delays. The two passageways, which are 113-years-old, were damaged in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy by millions of gallons of salt water that flooded into the tunnels. Some of the seawater still continues to corrode the concrete, steel, tracks, and rails of the tunnel’s infrastructure to this day.

The Hudson tunnel requires constant maintenance which leads to numerous delays that impact the commutes of hundreds of thousands of riders. During 2020, passengers experienced 12,653 minutes of delays due to the tunnel’s aging infrastructure, according to a statement from the White House.

Despite its decrepit condition, the tunnel is a vital part of the economy. If it were to shut down for just one day, it would cost the nation’s economy roughly $100 billion, according to President Joe Biden. The project is expected to create roughly 72,000 direct and indirect job over the course of its construction and will work with unions for job training.

“A century ago our leaders knew and had the vision to recognize this need for a connection to bring our nation together. They knew that a reliable rail system could bring tremendous benefits beyond just New York and New Jersey,” Hochul said.

“Today we’ve seen that this corridor is vital to our economic success. That has been the story for over a century. But now we’re called upon to make the investments to ensure for the next 100 years. This is reliable, it’s stable, it can be counted on.”

In July 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul of NY and Gov. Philip D. Murphy of NJ agreed to split the $14 billion price tag for the local costs of the Hudson Tunnel Project. The Port Authority of NY and NJ have a total commitment of $2.7 billion to the first phase of the project, but a signed agreement with the federal government is not expected until next year, according to the New York Times.

In February, Biden appeared at Hudson Yards to announce a $292 million investment in the HTP. The funding was put towards a $649 million project to extend the concrete casing of the tunnels between Penn Station and the Hudson River before any work on the tunnels could actually begin.

RELATED:

• Work on Hudson River rail tunnel project could begin next month
• In New York, Biden touts $300M investment for Hudson River rail project
• Hudson River rail tunnel project moves forward as NJ, NY reach agreement

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The time has come. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday installed the first OMNY vending machines at select subway stations across the city, marking a major step in the retirement of the MetroCard. The new machines allow people who pay with cash to purchase a tappable card to use at the turnstiles, which are all equipped with tap-to-pay technology. The installation of OMNY vending machines, which will also accept cards and digital wallets, in all 472 stations will continue through 2024.

“Installing OMNY vending machines in subway stations makes it easier than ever for transit customers to leave MetroCard in the past and embrace the convenience of tapping, especially those who pay with cash to ride,” NYC Transit President Richard Davey said. “Our station agents are trained and ready to support customers who make the switch to OMNY so they can start tapping.”

The new OMNY machines are now in service at the following stations:

• 86th Street – 4, 5, and 6 lines -​  at the Downtown and Brooklyn entrance
• Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center – B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, and 5 lines​​​​​​​​​
  -Atlantic Avenue/Flatbush Avenue/Barclays Center entrance
  -Pacific Street/4th Avenue entrance
• Bowling Green ​​- 4 and 5 lines
• Fordham Road – B and D lines -​​ at the East 188th Street/Grand Concourse entrance
• Fordham Road – 4 line
• Junction Boulevard – 7 line

For a limited time only, commuters can buy a new reloadable OMNY card for $1, which is the same price as a new MetroCard. Customers can also buy a new single-ride OMNY ticket for $3.25

The MTA will pilot the use of the new OMNY machines and gather feedback from customers before expanding service to more stations.

With OMNY, riders can tap and pay for fares through a digital wallet on smartphones or watches, with a credit or debit card with microchips, and with a reloadable OMNY card.

“Vending machines that allow people paying with cash to use OMNY now means that everyone can take advantage of OMNY’s benefits, such as the $34.00 rolling seven-day fare cap, and the simplicity of tapping your OMNY card at the reader,” Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.

“If you haven’t already, now is the time to trade in your MetroCard for OMNY – it’s the future of transportation in New York.”

The city began the gradual replacement of the MetroCard with OMNY in 2019 when they launched a pilot program of the contactless payment system that allowed riders to tap their credit cards, debit cards, and smartphones to pay fares.

In September 2022, the MTA announced that it would be replacing all of the subway system’s MetroCard vending machines with OMNY machines by the end of 2023. The transit agency said they would begin swapping out the classic machines for OMNY during the first half of 2023 after finalizing hardware and software testing, as NY1 reported.

The installation of OMNY vending machines in all 472 subway stations will continue through 2024.

RELATED:

• MTA to replace all MetroCard vending machines with OMNY by end of next year
• MTA to roll out fare-capping pilot program for OMNY this month
• 60 more subway stations will get MTA’s tap-to-pay system this month

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Due to technical issues, almost all of the subway system’s new futuristic cars have been taken off the rails. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week confirmed that six out of the seven new R211 subway cars had been taken out of service due to malfunctioning gearboxes which caused the car’s wheels to lock up, drag along the tracks, and flatten, as first reported by Gothamist. The cars are expected to be back in service in a few weeks after being repaired.

The R211 cars currently operate on the A subway line, and the MTA has assured commuters that no train service has been affected by their removal.

Gearboxes on subway trains are best compared to the gears that connect to the chain of a bike and keep its wheels turning. If a subway car’s gearbox is damaged, the wheels will lock up and drag along the rails, gradually flattening them out and causing the train to bump up and down as it rolls down the tracks, subway operators explained to Gothamist.

“During routine operations of R211 subway cars in service, New York City Transit crews discovered a faulty gear box in some of the cars,” Eugene Resnick, an MTA spokesperson, told the news site in an email. “As is the case whenever we identify an issue with a particular subway car model, we have temporarily removed the affected trains from service until further testing is complete.”

This isn’t the first of the new trains that have been pulled from service since they first hit the tracks. In April, one of the new cars was taken off the rails after it received a fresh coat of graffiti—a proper NYC welcome, according to Gothamist.

In November 2017, the MTA first revealed its newest class of subway cars and its “open-gangway” design. This design feature is meant to reduce delays and speed up boarding by increasing capacity and allowing for better movement between cars. The new cars also feature 58-inch door spans, eight inches wider than the doors on existing cars.

They also feature digital displays with real-time service updates, brighter lighting, and better signage, and are equipped with the MTA’s new communications-based signal technology, which allows more trains to run closer together.

The R211 will eventually replace the MTA’s R46 cars, which were built in the late 1970s and currently run on the A, F, R, and C lines, as well as the Staten Island Railway.

The MTA announced it would be spending $4 billion to buy more than 1,600 of the new subway cars in January 2018. The transit agency set up a three-phase contract with Kawasaki, the Japanese company that manufactures the train cars. The first of the new cars was supposed to be delivered by July 2020 but experienced a 13-month delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

RELATED:

• New open gangway subway cars to debut on the A and C lines this year
• First new futuristic subway cars arrive in NYC for testing
• MTA unveils first look at new open-gangway subway cars

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New York City will build more than 40 miles of new greenways in the outer boroughs. Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced that the city would fill the gaps in the existing greenway network with protected bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, bringing the citywide total of greenway corridors to 60 miles. The expansion, funded in part by a $7.25 million federal grant secured by the mayor last summer, will support existing greenway projects and the creation of new corridors, including the seven-mile Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx.

The corridors selected for the project have been chosen based on their access to parks, equity, utility, and economic development. These include:

• Queens Waterfront, which will stretch from Gantry State Plaza in Long Island City to Little Bay Park in College Point. The city will work to close gaps in cycling routes along the greenway, which will improve transportation options throughout Queens and make it easier for residents of neighborhoods with limited green space access to travel to parks.
• Historic Brooklyn, which will stretch 11 miles from Coney Island to Highland Park. The new route will connect to Broadway Junction, which is the site of a monumental $500 million overhaul that will deliver public realm improvements, accessibility upgrades, and more. The plan will also establish new design and maintenance standards for these historic routes, which are the country’s oldest bike lanes on the Ocean and Eastern Parkways.
• Staten Island Waterfront, which will span 10 miles from the Goethals Bridge to the Verrazzano Bridge. This greenway will provide a safe cycling and walking route from east to west across Staten Island’s entire North Shore. The new greenway will connect to new upgrades coming to the North Shore that were recently announced in Adams’ Staten Island North Shore Action Plan, including 20 acres of continuous waterfront open space, 2,400 units of housing, and new commercial space.
• Southern Queens, which will stretch 7 miles from Spring Creek Park on the Jamaica Bay shoreline to Brookville Park in Springfield Gardens. This corridor will enhance access to John F. Kennedy International Airport. It will also connect to the existing Jamaica Bay Greenway and parks in Southeast Queens.
• South Bronx, which will span 15 miles from Randall’s Island Park to SUNY Maritime. This new corridor will undo decades of disinvestment in the South Bronx. With this plan, South Bronx residents will have the same kind of waterfront access that New Yorkers in all other boroughs have experienced.

“When our administration came into office, we promised New Yorkers a five-borough administration – and we are taking a 40-mile step to deliver on that promise again today,” Adams said.

“This historic expansion of our city’s greenways in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island will transform the ways New Yorkers live, work, and get around. And with more New Yorkers biking than ever, it will connect every corner of our city with this safer, greener mode of transportation.”

The city has already hosted multiple workshops and pop-up engagements for the development of the Harlem River Greenway. Planning for the Queens Waterfront Greenway will begin in early 2024.

Over the next two years, NYC will begin a new implementation plan for the other corridors every six months. The city will conduct extensive outreach with local community members where the expansions are planned.

No timeline for the completion of the expansion was announced.

RELATED:

• 7-mile Harlem River Greenway expansion connects Randall’s Island to Van Cortlandt Park
• NYC receives $7M federal grant to expand greenway network in underserved communities
• City will spend $250M+ connecting and greening 32 miles of Manhattan waterfront

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Take a train ride up through the Hudson Valley and witness the breathtaking beauty of New York State’s fall foliage. The Metro-North Railroad last weekend kicked off its annual “Leaf Peeper” train service, boosting service on the Hudson River line, which provides scenic views of upstate’s changing foliage and stops in charming autumnal towns like Peekskill, Cold Spring, and Beacon. Five extra trains on Saturdays and four trains on Sundays have been added from October 7 through November 5.

In addition to the extra “Leaf Peeper” train service, midday and afternoon half-hourly service to Poughkeepsie will resume on October 29, with six trains added on Saturdays and four trains added on Sundays, according to the MTA.

Metro-North will also be adding extra trains to service during the holidays, including the day before Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve.

“Fall is the best season to experience all that the Hudson Valley has to offer,” Catherine Rinaldi, Metro-North Railroad President and LIRR Interim President said.

“If you are searching for weekend plans, Metro-North wants to make it easy for you to hop on a Hudson Line train, take in the beautiful fall foliage, or grab a bite at one of the Hudson Valley’s premier restaurants.”

Children aged five and under can ride for free, and children ages five through 11 can ride for $1 when accompanied by an adult.

Customers are encouraged to use the TrainTime app to purchase tickets for their leaf peeper rides.

RELATED:

• Fall in NYC: The best of autumn in the Big Apple
• 17 best spots to see fall foliage in NYC
• The best places in Central Park to see fall foliage

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Some of New York City’s best art can be found underground. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Arts & Design this week launched a new digital guide featuring more than 400 permanent artworks located across the subway system and commuter rails. Found on the Bloomberg Connects app, the guide allows travelers to explore the extensive collection, including permanent art, like Roy Lichtenstein’s mural at Times Square, William Wegman‘s famous Weimaraners mosaic at 23rd Street, Yoko Ono-designed artwork at 72nd Street, and Yayoi Kusama’s work in Grand Central Madison.

The app makes it easy for commuters to take self-guided tours and explore curated content related to the system’s art collection. Exhibitions within the guide will showcase the program’s most recent permanent art installations and temporary projects, which include digital art, photography, posters, poetry, and Music Under New York live performances.

“The new digital art guide is an easy way to connect our riders with information about each individual piece of art in our amazing MTA system,” Janno Lieber, MTA chair and CEO said.

The guide features an interactive map that displays the more than 400 permanent and temporary art installations located across the NYC subway system, MetroNorth Railroad, and the Long Island Rail Road.

“For the first time, the entire collection of artworks commissioned by Arts & Design is fully accessible at one’s fingertips and we are thrilled to be part of Bloomberg Connects’ app,” Sandra Bloodworth, director of MTA Arts & Design, said.

“The interactive map feature visually shares the MTA’s ever-growing contemporary art collection, joining world class art museums, in making New York’s underground museum available for everyone, everywhere.” 

Last November, the Brooklyn Museum launched its own digital guide through the Bloomberg Connects app. And during the height of the pandemic, Central Park Conservancy launched a guide on the app to offer virtual tours and photos of the green space during quarantine.

The app is available to download from the App Store and Google Play.

RELATED:

• MTA unveils stunning mosaics by Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith inside the new Grand Central Madison
• Nick Cave’s vibrant ‘Soundsuits’ subway station mosaics capture the energy of Times Square

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It just got slightly more convenient to get to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport via public transportation. The JFK AirTrain will accept tap-and-go payments using OMNY starting Tuesday, October 10, nearly three years after the system was installed in every subway station. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said only select gates in both the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations will have the contactless payment readers as part of the initial rollout.

“We are making it easier than ever for travelers to take the train to JFK, and for visitors to our great city to use one of its most essential services – the MTA,” Hochul said in a statement. “As we continue to rollout OMNY throughout the system, I encourage everyone to take advantage of this service and travel safely.”

To take the subway to and from JFK, travelers need a MetroCard with $8.25 on it, plus $2.90 for the subway fare. The fare is only payable by MetroCard upon leaving the airport, leading to confusion and long lines at the vending machines.

The new fare payment system will accept contactless debit and credit cards, digital wallets, and OMNY cards. The number of gates accepting OMNY will “steadily increase” over the next 15 months, according to Hochul. By the end of next year, OMNY should be fully integrated into all gates.

Customers who do not have a contactless payment method can purchase MetroCards at vending machines, Hudson News, or Metro News and use the MetroCard gates.

In August, the MTA launched OMNY for the Roosevelt Island Tramway, the first non-MTA-operated service to accept the system. And PATH riders traveling to and from New Jersey will soon be able to tap-and-go, but the payment system will differ from OMNY, although the same company created both systems.

“We’re dedicated to enhancing every customer journey through our facilities and this integration of easy-to-use contactless payments at AirTrain JFK supports this commitment,” Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said.

“Contactless payment systems like OMNY provide a tap-and-pay method that is convenient and quick for both our region’s residents and for travelers from other parts of the U.S. and from other countries.”

RELATED:

• Tap-to-pay OMNY system finally comes to the Roosevelt Island Tram
• MTA to replace all MetroCard vending machines with OMNY by end of next year

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