14th St. and….GODDAMMIT. NO. I WILL NOT BE SAYING IT. 14th St. and 6th Ave., and the avenue west of 6th Avenue. They have an interconnected station for the FML lines and the 1, 2, and 3 lines. Oh yeah, PATH stops here too. Let’s look at it.
Alrighty. The PATH station is nothing special: a pair of side platforms with so little going on, you don’t even get any TVMs. I mean, you probably do, just not with the three faregates that are at platform level. Flanking the PATH platforms are the F/M line platforms, which are also side platforms. These are your standard NYC subway station platforms, with countdown clocks and all that fun stuff. You even have NYC subway staff in the station mezzanine along with an OMNY machine. Now, despite the fact the IND, BMT, and IRT platforms are all accessible in a vacuum (although the connection between the IND platforms and the rest of the station are not), the PATH platforms very much are not accessible – as are none of the Midtown PATH stations (Herald Square notwithstanding). The BMT platforms are much like the IND platforms, however they use an island platform configuration, and the IRT platforms use a dual-island setup (as it is an express station). With all this in mind, it’s nothing too crazy, but the PATH station actually really sucks on this front as there literally is nothing. As for bus connections, you have the M14 and its variants mainly.
The good: It’s (mostly) accessible! Furthermore, it’s in a decently populated area (being on the edges of what some people would define as the Chelsea and West Village neighborhoods – these boundaries are disputed though). There’s also plenty of bus connections to go around, along with the pretty good frequency of both the 1 and L, and the “meh” frequencies of the 2, 3, F, and M lines along with PATH – though combined do make up for decent frequencies of service on the section of track they share.
The bad: WHY IS PATH ALWAYS THE INACCESSIBLE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM?!
Nearby points of interest: There’s a number of restaurants, bars, cafes, bagel shops, etc. nearby! There’s also the Center for Jewish History, a Tibetan art gallery, and even an LGBTQ+ community center. Neat! The Stonewall Inn is also a few blocks south, if you’re on an express train and don’t want to take the 1. (but obviously, Christopher Street is much closer)
Transit connections:
PATH (Blue/HOB-33, Orange/JSQ-33)
7th Ave./Bway (Lines #1, 2, 3)
6th Ave. (Lines F, M)
14th St./Canarsie (Line L)
MTA bus (M7, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, M20, M55, SIM1C, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM7, SIM9, SIM33, SIM33C, X27, X28)
Overall, this station is perfectly fine. In fact, it’d be great, if it weren’t for the fact PATH was so bad they didn’t even bother with benches (if memory serves).
Rating: 6.5/10
