The South Ferry subway station's main entrance on Whitehall Street will be closed for nine months as the station undergoes repairs for damages sustained during Sandy, according to the MTA.
Customers can access the 1 and R trains through the Staten Island Ferry terminal building or across the street at the Whitehall Street entrance.
The $193.8 million restoration project starts Monday and is slated to end in August 2016. MTA workers were at the entrance to the station Monday morning, blocking off the entrance to the heavily-trafficked subway station that's used by Staten Island Ferry riders and other work day commuters.
"I was like, 'Wait, wait, what's going on!'" Staten Islander Amal Ibrahim said.
The new station was taken out in 2012 after Sandy flooded it with 15 million gallons of saltwater that filled the entire structure 80 feet deep, from the track level to the mezzanine. The flooding destroyed all electrical and mechanical systems, and caused major damage to critical equipment.
"This is part of being in New York City," former Staten Islander Ron Konowitz said. "You have to be flexible and roll with the punches."
The nearest entrance to the station can be found across the street, but some commuters rely on the escalators at the now-closed entrance to get to the station below.
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"I just had to walk up the stairs and I have arthritis in my knees. So now what?" Staten Islander Arlene Sparago said.
The rehabilitation project includes leak mitigation and replacement of track, mechanical, electrical, signal and communications equipment, as well as ceiling and wall panels and other damaged areas.
For now, yellow caution tape surrounds the closed subway entrance. By the end of the day Monday crews will set up steel barricades to close off the subway station until at least August.
For more information on the project, click here.
