MTA 96th Street Subway Express Station – Broadway

Call me ancient but I remember before the renovation. Even now people still tend to jam up at the turnstiles. I make it a point not to rush. I don’t want to end up falling down the stairs. I’m always getting onto the downtown train. I don’t linger long enough to use any of their other station services.
As was mentioned by another reviewer this station is a great work of art in its design. I like the area out side the North Entrance. The vehicle traffic in this area is horrible. I don’t think I’d want to sit and chill out here. I mostly hope I don’t get hit by a car before I can get to the train entrance.
It’s always been clean at the time of day I travel. I’ve never seen the beggars or homeless. They are usually across the street along the south side of 96^th street.
I’d say this is one of the nicer train stations.

This is the northern-​most express station on the IRT Seventh Avenue Line, catering to three services — the 1, 2 and 3. Good cellular/​wi-​fi coverage. But remember to step away from the platform edge; platforms are narrow. If you can catch the first arriving train, do so; to alleviate overcrowding.

Gotta admit, the fact that there’s reception makes this station fine.
It’s usually pretty crowded as three train lines meet here. Just try to stay away from the edge of the platform when it’s busy (or any time, really – safety first!). The ²⁄₃ are pretty quick to get downtown. The 1 is pretty consistent, for the most part.

This is my current home station. It’s ADA compliant. It has Wi-​Fi. But nonetheless, I live in constant fear of being accidentally shoved into the tracks.
The area along the sides of the elevator are just terrifying. It’s narrow and then the edge warning strip is bumpy. So if you’re wearing heels… my heart goes into my throat every time I make my way to the rear car on the downtown platform.
Why put yourself through that, you ask? Well, as any long time subway rider knows, you save time and hassle by being as close to the stairway you need as soon as you get off the train. And now that you can get a ticket for traveling between cars… even when the train is in the station… it’s better to get into position before you board. But given the narrowness of this particular section of platform… I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore. I’ll gladly give up my Subway Savvy badge in order to keep my legs attached to my body, thank you.

Pretty awesome station on the UWS (that is Upper West Side) — nice station where you can actually *gasp* get cell service! A must have!
This station is the last stop before the #2 and 3 trains go their separate ways to the east, and its basically the last station going uptown on an express train if you need to go further up the line on the UWS. Oh! and it has a cross over if you need to catch a downtown train.
The place is fairly clean, for a NYC subway station, that is.
Summary: cell service, express trains and a cross over. The perfect station!

It’s a very large station with many enclosures right near Symphony Space. The ½/​3 shows up here & you can get phone reception in parts of the station. It’s also one of the few stations one would call a work of art based on the design as you enter & exit.
You do still have to watch for beggars & shady folk but you’re much more likely to find a police officer around here to deal with them if they bother you. This stop is probably the best shot you’ll have at getting someone who’s scared of the subway to actually enter a subway station.

I’m usually here to switch between the local and express trains and rarely wander out of the station. You can get a wireless signal on the platform which is a bonus.