Forte-Gramercy joint venture completes three elevator installations at Dekalb Station

Brooklyn, NY Forte Construction completed the installation of three new elevators at Dekalb Station one month ahead of schedule, delivering a major accessibility enhancement at one of the city’s busiest transit hubs.

Installed by the Forte–Gramercy joint venture alongside the MTA, lead designer Stantec, and the Naik–STV JV PMC, the upgraded elevators improve accessibility at the 111-year-old station, enhancing access for customers traveling on the B, Q, and R lines while meeting modern Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

The project included the replacement of one street-to-mezzanine elevator and two mezzanine-to-platform elevators serving both uptown and downtown trains. Work also included the construction of new sump pits at the platform elevators to support drainage and long-term system reliability, along with targeted leak remediation within the existing station structure. In addition to the elevator replacements, the project modernized key passenger areas throughout the station with new ceramic floor and wall tile finishes, reconstructed sidewalk pavement and upgraded elevator entrances.

To accommodate new systems within the station’s existing footprint, the project teams reconfigured the shaft layouts, equipment locations and Elevator Machine Room designs while manufacturing full operational connectivity between the elevator systems and the platform level equipment rooms.

“DeKalb Ave. has been an important transit hub for more than a century, and the strengthening of ADA access at this station will benefit not only downtown Brooklyn but commuters, residents and tourists across all five boroughs,” said project manager Rudy Maroun. “Forte is proud to work alongside the MTA to modernize our city’s infrastructure and open up transit access to all New Yorkers who need it.”

The three elevator installations mark the 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st elevators brought into service as part of the 37 Elevators Project, a citywide design-build initiative delivered in collaboration with the MTA to modernize accessibility infrastructure across 17 stations throughout the city. Completion of the Dekalb Ave. elevators officially moves the project beyond its halfway point.

Forte Construction is a leading general contracting firm with a team of nearly 500 professionals dedicated to delivering comprehensive construction solutions for major public and government agencies, including the MTA, NYC SCA, DASNY, and NYCHA. The firm manages a wide array of projects across the five boroughs and Long Island, working in close coordination with local municipalities to improve regional infrastructure. Forte is recognized for its expertise in transit accessibility and ADA compliance, with a demonstrated history of delivering billions of dollars in MTA construction and modernization projects, including the installation and ongoing delivery of more than 150 new elevators.