Broadway Businesses Struggle as 242nd Street Station Construction Drags Into Second Year

More than a year after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA, wrapped the block in a green construction barrier, businesses alongside the Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street subway station are still fighting to survive. 

The fence has since turned a bustling stretch of Broadway into a blind spot, cutting off parking, foot traffic, visibility and, ultimately, spending.

The more than century-old station is undergoing a full modernization as part of the MTA’s $5.2 billion citywide effort to make 95 percent of subway stations compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act by 2055.

At the northern tip of the 1 line, the project includes a new elevator on the west side of Broadway, a rebuilt staircase leading to the platform and structural repairs to address the station’s critical state of good repair needs. 

But for the small cluster of restaurants, liquor stores and delis that line the strip across from Van Cortlandt Park, progress has meant months of lost revenue and empty sidewalks.

“Business is down over 40 percent and it’s getting worse and worse because I’m losing customers that can’t park,” said Lou Porco, owner of Broadway Joe’s Pizza, which his father opened in 1969. “There’s no visibility. People don’t know I’m here.”

Porco’s shop survived blackouts, recessions and the pandemic. But this, he noted, has been a significant uphill battle.

“[The city] made the sidewalk wider to try to help us,” he said. “But I still got a six-foot fence in front of me and it’s no parking. So it’s not really better.”

Porco, who owns the space where his shop is located, as well as the one next door. was forced to lower rent for the tenant, a small deli, just to keep it from shuttering.

 “We’ve been here more than 50 years,” he said. “But I don’t know if these stores will last on this block at this rate.”

The MTA broke ground in October 2024, promising to minimize disruption. But construction has dragged on amid delays. Earlier this year, crews discovered unexpected underground utility pipes that had to be relocated by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection.

At an October 2025 MTA Capital Program Committee meeting, officials said crews had completed sewer work and mezzanine flooring but were still working on water reallocation and elevator foundations. 

For businesses, this has meant fewer customers and more frustration. The green fencing narrows the sidewalk, blocks storefronts from view and leaves nowhere to park. Delivery trucks now stop a block away and drivers circle aimlessly before giving up.

“Initially we were told six months, then a year, then more,” said Richard Berroa, who co-owns Claudy’s Kitchen, a family-run Peruvian restaurant. “It’s been much longer and almost nothing’s changed. The lack of parking is huge. Now we’re even getting tickets just for unloading supplies.”

He said takeout orders are down by about 25 percent, while dine-in traffic has thinned as well. 

“They put up lights outside,” he said. “But it still feels closed off. Like a tunnel, it’s claustrophobic.”

At Castle Chicken and Shah’s Express, manager Gary Singh said his business never had a chance to recover after opening just months before the fencing went up. 

“Before, people parked in front to pick up their orders,” Singh said. “Now there’s nowhere to stop. We lost almost 80 percent of our pickup business and had to fire two employees.We’re hanging on, but it’s been brutal.”

Inside Shamrock Wines & Liquors, Daniel Patel sat behind the counter and gestured toward the empty sidewalk. The fence, he said, has made the block invisible — and less safe.

 “If [the barrier] was not here, the cops would be over there like always,” Patel said. “Now nobody can see us. [People] can do whatever they want.”

Even after the sidewalk was widened to ten feet in August, Patel warned it hasn’t helped. 

“It looks wider, but the fence still blocks the view,” he said. “People walk past without even realizing there are stores behind it.”

Council Member Eric Dinowitz, said his office has urged  agencies to act. 

“We pushed for the sidewalk to be widened because businesses told us they needed more pedestrian space to draw attention back to their storefronts,” he said.

City agencies added lighting and signage along the barriers, and in April, the Department of Small Business Services, or SBS, joined Dinowitz and MTA officials on a walkthrough of the corridor to assess the project’s impact on local merchants. 

Following that visit, SBS told The Press, it worked with the MTA to widen sidewalks, establish a direct point of contact for business owners, and create a channel for construction updates.

“SBS is committed to helping businesses start, operate and grow — and assisting businesses with navigating government is essential to achieving this mission,” an spokesperson said, adding that the agency will continue to advocate for merchants along the corridor “to help them adapt to inevitable changes in the city landscape and thrive.”

But for business owners, those measures have done little to address the core problems of visibility and parking.

 “A wider sidewalk doesn’t help if no one can see your store,” Porco said.

For nearby residents like Caroline Antonelli, a mother of two, the disruption has reshaped everyday habits. She and her husband once ordered from Claudy’s Kitchen nearly every week. 

“Now it’s maybe once every other week,” she said. “Some days I’ll think, ‘Oh, I’ll just pick up dinner,’ and then realize, ‘Where am I gonna park to run in?’ So we just get pizza [at Goodfellas on Waldo Avenue] instead.”

Delivery, she said, has become a luxury. Fees on apps like Uber Eats have raised her family’s usual order for four to about $50 or $60 — at least 10 dollars more a meal than before the barriers went up. 

Antonelli said she now avoids the 242nd Street station entirely, getting off at 231st and shopping there instead. 

“It’s just not a nice walk,” she said. “It feels like construction land.”

The MTA says the work is on track for completion in late 2026. When it’s done, the elevator will finally make the northernmost 1-train stop fully accessible — a long-awaited milestone for the Bronx.

But for the businesses beneath the tracks, the future remains uncertain.

 “We all want the elevator,” Porco said. “But they should work double shifts to get it done. Two shifts, overtime — whatever it takes. Just get it finished.”