The Second Avenue Subway already has a busted escalator and a closed entrance

After nearly a century of delays, the long-awaited Second Avenue Subway finally opened on New Years Day. Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTA officials held a celebratory, back-patting press event upon the opening, as it marked the biggest expansion of the New York City subway in more than 50 years. 

Less than five months after the launch of the three new stations, a primary entrance has been closed to the public due to a faulty escalator. DNAinfo reports that the 83rd Street entrance of the 86th Street station has been closed indefinitely, and it's unclear when it will open again. Commuters can still use a pair of other entrances on 86th Street, but riders who live south of the station are temporarily required to traverse an additional three blocks in order to get to and from the train. 

What's interesting about the closure is that the MTA took extra steps to ensure that the escalators would not fail. The authority waited until January 9 to roll out 24-hour service at the stations in order to test the new escalators. The delay aimed to help avoid the kind of embarrassing problems that faced the escalators at the new Hudson Yards and Fulton Center stations following their respective debuts. 

Whoops.

For the time being, Upper East Side commuters eagerly await for the MTA to fix the issue—we're guessing it'll get done in May of 2117.