86 Street
86th Street is a simple stacked IND Central Park West Line Stop. The two side platforms have the typical layout of all the local stops on Central Park West. The Uptown trains are on the upper level, the downtown ones on the lower. All fare control areas are directly along the uptown platform, with staircases only to the west (non-park side) of Central Park West. The name tablets are Blue with a black border and "86" tiling almost forming the stations trim although no trim tiling is present.
The station was given a Cuomo's sexy station renovation and closed from June 4, 2018 through October 26, 2018. This was towards the end of the sexy station renovations, and shortcuts were taken compared to earlier renovations like the first stations on the 4th Avenue Subway Line in Brooklyn (like Prospect Avenue). A clear example is all of the streetstairs are conventional green ones, not replaced by the black and mesh designs, with only a few of the streetstairs recieving the 'modern' black digital screen pylons in the middle of the staircases.
All of the stations original exits are still open. The full time staffed exit is at the southern end of the station with staircases to either western corner of Central Park West and 86 Street. This fare control area is larger and there are two staircases from the Downtown platform to the uptown platform.
There is an exit only High Exit Turnstile leading up to a streetstair to the NW corner 87 Street and Central Park West right in the middle of the platform. A staircase is also provided to the downtown platform in this location. During the sexy station renovations this became an entrance (perhaps for the first time since the station opened) with a small bank of turnstiles and MVMs installed, the entrance got green instead of red globes but no sexy station information pylon.
A final unstaffed entrance is right at the northern end of the platform, here is another staircase leads up from the Downtown platform to the Uptown Platform. This leads up to a bank of High Entrance and Exit Turnstiles leading to a single streetstair up to the NW corner of 88 Street & Central Park West. This exit had a token booth until 2002 that was only open for entry during the AM rush hour, with an exit provided via a High Exit Turnstile most of the times, with the exit fully closed overnight. This is one station where loosing the token booth was definitely a good thing, it got a second (unstaffed) now full time entrance. Two MVMs allow MetroCard purchases. During the 2018 sexy stations renovation this entrance recieved a bank of low turnstiles, replacing the High Turnstile. The entrance recieved a modern black with a green light on top pylon but when I visited in November 2023 the LCD screen was damaged.
Photos 1-3: December 9, 2003; 4-9: March 20, 2004; 10 & 11: May 5, 2004; 12-13: December 14, 2004; 14: June 1, 2007; 15-43: November 25, 2023;
