68th Street–Hunter College station

The 68th Street–Hunter College station is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 68th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction, and the 4 train during late nights. This station was constructed as part of the Dual Contracts by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and opened in 1918, and was renovated in the 1980s. A further renovation between 2021 and 2024 made the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and provided additional entry points.

Following the completion of the original subway, there were plans to construct a line along Manhattan's east side north of 42nd Street. The original plan for what became the extension north of 42nd Street was to continue it south through Irving Place and into what is now the BMT Broadway Line at Ninth Street and Broadway. In July 1911, the IRT had withdrawn from the talks, and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was to operate on Lexington Avenue. The IRT submitted an offer for what became its portion of the Dual Contracts on February 27, 1912. In 1913, as part of the Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, the Public Service Commission planned to split the original Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) system from looking like a "Z" system (as seen on a map) to an H-shaped system. The original system would be split into three segments: two north–south lines, carrying through trains over the Lexington Avenue and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Lines, and a west–east shuttle under 42nd Street. This would form a roughly H-shaped system. It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Upper East Side and the Bronx. On February 15, 1917, the Public Service Commission agreed to change the name of the under-construction station from 68th Street to 68th Street–Hunter College at the request of officials of Hunter College.

The 68th Street–Hunter College station opened on July 17, 1918, with service initially running between Grand Central–42nd Street and 167th Street via the line's local tracks. On August 1, the "H system" was put into place, with through service beginning on the new east and west side trunk lines, and the institution of the 42nd Street Shuttle along the old connection between the sides. The cost of the extension from Grand Central was $58 million.

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. This station was renovated in September 1984 as part of the MTA's Adopt-A-Station Program in conjunction with a renovation of Hunter College.

As early as 2008, the MTA had wanted to install elevators at the 68th Street station. The MTA proposed to build elevators here under the 2010–2014 MTA Capital Program, as part of the MTA's 100 Key ADA-accessible stations program. The project scope included include building elevators at 68th Street and new street stair entrances at 69th Street and Lexington Avenue. In late 2011 and early 2012, the project faced local opposition; opponents claimed the new staircases would ruin the character of 69th Street. The MTA insisted the new entrances were necessary to reduce congestion at the station's current entrances. The 69th Street Tenants Corporation suggested building new entrances at 67th Street or 70th Street instead, although the station does not reach under either of those streets. These proposals would have required construction of new passageways connecting the platforms to 67th Street and 70th Street, which would be more expensive and take lon

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