Long Island-bound straphangers can finally take a load off.
The MTA unveiled 70 new seats at Grand Central Madison’s Long Island Rail Road mezzanine on Tuesday, effectively doubling the number of seats at the station.
The scores of two-seat benches near 45th and 46th streets — available only to ticketed LIRR customers within a 90-minute window — bring the number of available seats in the station to 106, MTA reps said — and riders were quick to notice the new addition.
“They’re not optimal, but they’re pretty comfortable,” said Long Island-based chiropractor Randi Jaffe on Tuesday afternoon, pointing to the “odd” curvature of the seats.
“It beats standing.”
Jaffe, 53, who called the new benches “fantastic,” added: “It would be good if they had a back, just for support, but I imagine people aren’t sitting on these benches for too long.”
The station — which didn’t have any seating when it opened in 2023 — began the rollout with 28 seats near 47th Street last October, with 14 seats at 45th Street and 28 seats at 46th Street installed this month, the MTA said.
The expansion comes after a surge in LIRR ridership — with a record 1.72 million riders during the week of July 23 and an 89% return to pre-pandemic ridership numbers — and a resulting slew of customer feedback, LIRR President Rob Free said at a Tuesday press conference at the station.
“Improving the customer experience is one of our top priorities,” Free said.
The seats are evidently already so much of a hit with some riders that there was already a resounding call for more.
“I think they’re a good addition – I think there could be more of them. Otherwise there’s no complaints,” said student Liam Hosey, 20, from Rockville Centre, who was sitting on the floor due to a lack of open seats.
“I was kind of dreading coming down here, not having anything to sit on,” said straphanger Megan Riley, 34. “I think they’re great.”
“There should definitely be more,” said CUNY worker Jean Ryan, 56. “Especially for people who have mobility issues, and people who are in pain, who have arthritis.”
Others, like 30-year-old health care worker Ashley, worried the seats could be taken over by homeless individuals without proper enforcement — but noted the armrest or divider used between seats “kind of eliminates the possibility.”
Another straphanger, Chris Conway of Vermont, refused to sit because of food scraps already soiling the brand-new seat.
Despite obvious waste left behind on some of the new seats, the MTA argues customer satisfaction with the “cleanliness” of the station is up one point from its Fall 2024 survey to 96%.
“Making sure the station is clean and well lit, clear signage as well as improved wayfinding and announcements that can certainly move the needle,” said MTA Senior Advisor for Communications and Policy Shanifah Rieara.
Aside from more seats, MTA officials are working to usher in more retail to the terminal – a TRAX restaurant is poised to open at the end of the month, and the MTA is “in the process of negotiating other leases,” Rieara said.
“We want Grand Central Madison to be a bustling terminal,” she added, “just like our neighbors upstairs at Grand Central Terminal.”