Relief possibly on the way for sweltering subway platforms
The study will center around the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station and Chambers Street 4,5,6, J and Z lines, deemed to be one of the hottest subway stations in the city.
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Relief could be on the way for subway riders who are forced to wait on sweltering platforms during the summer months.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul and the MTA announced plans for a feasibility study that would help reduce temperatures underground, while trapping the heat to warm nearby buildings during the winter months.
The study will center around the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station and Chambers Street 4,5,6, J and Z lines, deemed to be one of the hottest subway stations in the city. On average, the city says temperatures have soared to 96 degrees on a given summer day.
"There are few feelings worse than escaping the extreme summer heat only to find yourself on a subway platform that is even hotter. Unfortunately, for millions of commuters that is the reality of our transit system — with some stations soaring up to 20 degrees hotter than the outside temperatures,” said Mayor Mamdani.
The feasibility study is expected to kick off in early 2027 and is estimated to cost $800,000. It is being funded by revenue from congestion pricing.
HOW WILL IT WORK?
A proposed geothermal network would capture, store and redirect the excess heat from the station complex to nearby municipal buildings, the city explains. The heat absorbed from the station would be transferred through pipes to geothermal boreholes that are drilled beneath the out of commission center platform at Chambers Street. The trapped heat would be stored in the boreholes and the recycled to be used to heat buildings in the winter.
The Thermal Energy Network is currently used in hospital systems and universities to move heat and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
“Bringing down the temperature is a real challenge in a century-old system with open entrances and vents everywhere,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Together with Governor Hochul, Mayor Mamdani and NYSERDA, we’re exploring solutions — previously untested in transit — to make stations more comfortable while helping to reduce energy costs. Everybody wins."
