Outside the new No. 7 subway station on the West Side of Manhattan on Friday. The station will open to the public on Sunday.In his final weeks as mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg took a ceremonial ride to a new subway station on the Far West Side of Manhattan. For people who live and work in the neighborhood, the wait has been longer.
Almost two years later, the No. 7 station at 34th Street and 11th Avenue — New York City’s first new subway station in a quarter-century — is scheduled to open to the public on Sunday.
The station is expected to initially attract about 32,000 passengers each weekday. Because tracks were built as far south as 25th Street, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will have more space to store trains, which officials said would improve service for all No. 7 train riders.
The station, which will open to riders around 1 p.m., is unusual for another reason: It is the first subway extension paid for by the city in more than 60 years.
The opening, then, not only represents a much-awaited moment for New York’s subway riders and historians, but it also serves as a tangible talking point for those who believe the city should pay a greater share for capital projects for the state-controlled transportation agency. […]
