DeKalb Avenue Station Undergoes Rehabilitation

88-Year-Old Station Will be ADA Compliant

by Jason Feldman

The 88-year-old DeKalb Avenue station in downtown Brooklyn is undergoing a $38.8 million modernization.

The DeKalb station has seen several modifications over the years, but none was this extensive. This renovation will also make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act through the installation of an elevator from the street level.

Yet that is only one part of the work. Far more time and labor will be spent restoring the station to its former grandeur, complete with mosaic tiled walls.

Work began in August 2001, and safety was a priority from the start. Nir Golan, project manager for Valley Stream, N.Y.-based Gottlieb Skanska/Slattery Skanska, the project's joint venture construction manager, said work was not allowed during the day because of the constant movement of trains (and people) in and out of the station.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority/New York City Transit diverted trains between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and on weekends to allow for construction. "We were allowed to work during those times and it meant that we had to be ready to go at 11 and have everything cleaned up by 5 a.m.," Golan said.

In addition, safety meetings are held weekly to review procedures and keep the crews alert to all possibilities.

Tight Fit
Probably the most difficult part of the work is the demolition and reconstruction of the entrance on the southeast corner of DeKalb and Flatbush avenues. The design calls for the installation of an elevator from the street level to the mezzanine, constructing two elevators from the mezzanine to the platforms and reconstructing the staircase from street level to the mezzanine.

Complicating matters is the fact that the entrance to the station is through a corner overhang of the New York Telephone Building at DeKalb and Flatbush avenues.

"The building could not be disturbed," Golan said.

Workers were able to use the building's parking garage to get access to the staircase. Avoiding the overhang required a 45-ton crane to carefully place the structural steel. Extensive seismic monitoring ensured that the building would not be disturbed.

Also hindering work was an existing NYCT ductbank and manhole on the sidewalk, which travels over the top of the roof, said Jim Wright, project manager for New York-based Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects, the project's architect.

To install the elevators, the north wall of the south mezzanine had to be expanded and the roof had to be reconstructed, he added.

A solution was to reconstruct the manhole and structurally frame the north wall around it, Wright said. This led to a curved wall that will be covered with artwork as part of the MTA's Arts-for-Transit program.

"We developed an architectural concept that ties everything together, so we repeated the curved wall for the north mezzanine as well," Wright said.

He added that getting this part of the work done first was a way to speed up construction. "Working with the TA, the phasing was set up so the most difficult part of the project was handled first," Wright said. "By attacking the hard part earlier we gain momentum and minimize delays."

As of the end of March, work had been completed on the southeast exit.

Bringing it all Back
On the platform level extensive work will be needed to bring back the grandeur of the station. The tiles along the walls were seriously damaged as a result of water infiltration over the decades.

There used to be skylights in the sidewalk that brought sunlight into the station. "They were just slabbed over with concrete during the 1940s," said Wright. The problem is that the concrete slabs were not waterproofed. Another major leakage problem came from cracks in the station's walls that also let in water.

To permanently stop the water, the slab that covered the skylights was dug up, waterproofed and re-poured. A grout was used to plug the cracks throughout the station.

As the water infiltration gets mitigated, work will begin on restoring the mosaic tiled walls. "During the design phase, we did an extensive survey of the mosaic surfaces, which led us to replace most of the tile on the walls," Wright said. The walls also required the removal of nine decades of accumulated soil and soot.

The floor tiles will also be replaced, new lighting will be installed and there will be a new communication system. An extensive security system will be set up as well.

"There is an attention to security by increasing the surveillance and removing visual obstructions, placing security cameras where an employee is not present," Wright added.

He said that by the time the project is finished, people will want to use the once dilapidated DeKalb station.

The project is on time and is expected to be completed in October 2004.