96th Street station (IND Eighth Avenue Line)

New York City mayor John Francis Hylan's original plans for the Independent Subway System (IND), proposed in 1922, included building over 100 miles (160 km) of new lines and taking over nearly 100 miles (160 km) of existing lines. The lines were designed to compete with the existing underground, surface, and elevated lines operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and BMT.^[4][5] On December 9, 1924, the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) gave preliminary approval for the construction of the IND Eighth Avenue Line.^[6] This line consisted of a corridor connecting Inwood, Manhattan, to Downtown Brooklyn, running largely under Eighth Avenue but also paralleling Greenwich Avenue and Sixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan.^[6][7] The BOT announced a list of stations on the new line in February 1928, with a local station at 95th Street.^[8]

The finishes at the five stations between 81st Street and 110th Street were 18 percent completed by May 1930.^[9] By that August, the BOT reported that the Eighth Avenue Line was nearly completed and that the five stations from 81st to 110th Street were 99 percent completed.^[10] The entire line was completed by September 1931, except for the installation of turnstiles.^[11] A preview event for the new subway was hosted on September 8, 1932, two days before the official opening.^[12][13] The 96th Street station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated IND's initial segment, the Eighth Avenue Line between Chambers Street and 207th Street.^[14][15] Construction of the whole line cost $191.2 million (equivalent to $4,511.9 million in 2025). While the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line already provided parallel service, the new Eighth Avenue subway via Central Park West provided an alternative route.^[16]

In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[17] A request for proposals was put out on May 18, 2023 for the contract for a project bundle to make 13 stations accessible, including 96th Street.^[18] The contract to add one elevator (street-to-northbound platform-to southbound platform outside fare control) at the station was awarded in December 2023.^[19] By mid-2024, the work was expected to be completed by 2026.^[20]

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Basement 1	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound local	← weekdays toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (103rd Street) ← toward 168th Street (103rd Street) ← toward Inwood–207th Street late nights (103rd Street)
	Side platform
	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, OMNY machines
Basement 2	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ weekdays toward Brighton Beach (86th Street) → → toward Euclid Avenue (86th Street) → → toward Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue late nights (86th Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has two levels with northbound trains using the upper level and southbound trains using the lower level. Each level has one side platform to the west of two tracks.^[21]

The platforms have no trim line, but name tablets read "96TH ST." in white sans-serif font on a midnight blue background and black border. "96" signs in the same format as the directional signs run along the platform walls at regular intervals at the same level as the name tablets. Blue columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate in white numbering.