West Farms is the closest you can get to the Bronx Zoo on the subway. Is it any good? Let’s see.
West Farms’ station announcement on the New Tech trains is usually followed with “AS YOU EXIT, PLEASE BE CAREFUL OF THE GAP BETWEEN THE PLATFORM AND THE TRAIN!!!” Or, in short terms, “MIND THE GAP.” This is because the station has a considerable curve – albeit not to the same extreme as Union Square’s IRT platforms. The platforms otherwise are pretty standard with your usual amenities, there’s also OMNY machines in the station house – which is a giant imposing metal structure. West Farms Square itself is your standard Bronx neighborhood. Suburbanites will tremor in fear, but in reality it’s just a case of “use your brain and keep to yourself, and nothing will happen”, and that goes for a lot of places typically seen as “bad”. The station itself is also staffed, as is every station. Interestingly, while I was here, trying to return back to Manhattan, someone with a bike asked me to help him bring it in. He had his OMNY card out, tapped, and got the emergency exit opened while I held on to his bike for him, walked it in, and we went on our way. Probably one of the more MTA moments I’ve experienced on this trip. (was I stupid in helping him out of goodwill? Maybe. But, nothing bad happened and I didn’t sniff anything sus, so I had no reason to say no to assisting someone out of goodwill)
The good: It exists, serves the local neighborhood, and is the closest stop to a pretty big tourist destination in the Bronx!
The bad: It’s inaccessible. š (& it’s not an express stop, but E. 180th is equally as far from the Zoo) – however, accessibility is planned, from what I know.
Nearby points of interest: The Bronx Zoo is a short 5 minute walk away. There’s also a lot of housing, an art center, a bus depot (for the MTA bus operators), and a school.
Transit connections:
Lexington Ave. (Line #5)
7th Ave. (Line #2)
MTA bus (Bx9, Bx21, Bx36, Q44-SBS)
Overall, while the fact it’s the nearest stop to the Bronx Zoo is important to it, it’s also inaccessible. Yeah, sorry. Fun fact, though: had my parents been brave enough to take the subway growing up, I’d probably have had used this station to visit the Bronx Zoo several times as a child. I actually kinda enjoyed those trips (first time in ’09, in the fallout of a freakin’ tornado, and the second time was in 2017 on a chartered bus with mom only), and admittedly growing up, I did wish we went on family vacations to explore NYC a bit more. However, mom was too busy being fiscally irresponsible and dad was considerably more on edge than he is these days, and was worried about “those people” mugging us. Needless to say, he’s since eased up considerably over the last 5-6 years, and thankfully when I went to NYC, he didn’t have a total aneurysm. In fact, beneath the rating are some photos from my 2017 trip (which I surprisingly still had saved!) – though, sadly, the 2009 trip got lost to time aside from one photo. Even then, I won’t/can’t share that photo as I’m not about to contact mom about using it.
Rating: 6/10
