MTA – Union Square Station

This train station is super crowded and busy during rush hours (6AM — 9AM) and (2PM — 7PM). Any time between that range is otherwise empty or close to being empty.
The 4, 5, 6, R, Q, N, and L trains run along this station.
There are quick stops to refuel yourself with food and/​or clothes.
You may get lost due to the confusing signs, but don’t hesitate to ask a police officer or MTA employee for help; and if you’re lucky enough, a busy New Yorker might even stop to help you and not ignore you like two third’s of the city’s population does.

Lost in Union Square! Due to poor structural layout and poor MTA signage I am lost every time when connecting trains or making transfers! Signage for L train is not properly pointing to the correct direction as I always ended up walking in circles with total confusion. MTA signs lead to oblivion as it is confusing for passengers to find their destination.
Here lies the famous L train moving platform curved on a sharp bend. Painted with large yellow lettering «stand clear» on ribbed metal crates that attaches to the subway cars when pulling into the platform. Very narrow island platform for the 4, 5 and 6 trains. The old IRT «14» eagle mosaic cartouche is preserved.

I still find it crazy how things change so rapidly overtime…
Been to union square multiple times… for some weird reason I always end up in union square…
For a first timer… the subway is intimidating… Maps are free (ask the attendant at any station),…and there are maps posted on every platform… If you make a mistake… the worst case is that you will go somewhere other than where you wanted to go. and in that case… you simply get off at the next station… and then double back… fun!

L, N, Q, R, 4, 5, and 6 trains goes through here.
A ridiculously crowded train station. Getting out is a struggle even though there are multiple exits.
A major train station so there will always be train going through here. The only pro.
Walk out and you are surrounded by food and shopping places.
Unless you know this train station by heart, you will never be able to find the exit closest to your destination.

You would think that apocalypse was going to start at this station, with all the track signal problems, investigations, police activity that emanate from this station. Or at least that’s what the conductor of my train seems to blame Union Square Station for when I’m stalled. I am mostly on 2 – 3 different trains a day. On days when I take the L, the 6 and the N/​R/​Q, all on the same day, I wonder how, on different times, can three different lines all have problems? If any of you Unilocalers follow Greg Mocker, you may have seen how MTA offices are sparkling and shining, the opposite of this crowded, dirty oven masquerading as a subway station. MTA, pump some money into renovations here, add some escalators because those stairs to the L train two levels down are a killer during a summer heat wave and pipe in some air. Yes, the city’s subways are old and ridership is up, but excuses don’t run a business, solutions do. I vote for a law to force all MTA executives and city officials to take mass transit and to move MTA offices to this location. When MTA executives are all gasping for air, while waiting for a train to never arrive, maybe then they’ll understand commuter hell.

A huge subway station connecting the yellow and green lines. N, R, Q, 4, 5, and 6 lines. You can also catch the L here.
My guess is just over a dozen entrances and exits. They do have a manned token booth here as well. Most of the entrances/​exits have the Metrocard Vending Machines. There is also a Transit Police Station here so usually some sort of police presence which definitely ups the safety factor.

One of the nicer train stations of the NYC MTA with exposed tracks, great signage and with just enough homeless. This train station was actually my first homeless person defecating in public experience, one that I wish I hadn’t had at all. Maybe I should reduce the star wattage?

How do I express my feelings for this subway station? Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… by screaming! It’s congested. The stairs are narrow by the 4,5,6 uptown side.
The L train is deep in the recess of this station. The path to the L train is crazy. Papa Smurf, are we there yet!!!
This station was definitely designed to mimic what it like to be in Hell, it’s hot, there is endless confusion and its your worst nightmare! Reminds of of Dante’s Inferno.

This station underneath Union Square is so poorly layout.
It is also poorly ventilated with staircases that are too narrow which creates bottlenecks of riders.
The station hard to naviagate and difficult to get around because the stairs are in the oddest places and leads to unmarked areas. The signs are small difficult to spot and confusing. They really need a map of the station’s layout.
The curved design of the tracks is always a serious hazard and a serious noise problem.
During summer, the heat venting from the subway cars on the 4, 5, 6 in the summer turns the place into a human furnace.
What is good about it?
Major subway hub for 4, 5, 6, N, R, Q and L.
Many subway musicians entertaining the riders.
Usually a police presence.
Overall this station need major improvement.

I have a love-​hate relationship with New York subway system. The trains are usually dirty, the stations are stinky. But New York has the most entertaining and violent bums. There’s never a dull moment. I enjoy people watching and subway stations never run out of interesting creatures. I can see how locals would hate this station as it’s super busy and congested because of tourists, performers, other locals and homeless people.
I had forgotten which station I’ve been to that was the smelliest and dirtiest. I ran my metro pass through the reader and immediately, I had a whiff of a familiar scent — Union Square Station! My plans for the day were de-​railed and I ended up needing to catch the N train going to Brooklyn which is how I ended up here from UES.
I’ve never paid much attention to subway performers until I saw William B Johnson’s Drumadics! I’m not a fan of brass/​wind instruments but holy cowbells, they’re good! And it also doesn’t hurt that 2 of the members of the band are cute. I bought 2 of their CD’s and I was giggling like a school girl the whole time I was watching them. Big ups to one homeless guy’s participation in their performance. My video of their performance has acid-​wash jeans, cowbells, trumpets, sax, trombone, buckets and all it was missing was a Flava Flav look-​alike which the homeless guy was able to provide. I was most entertained.

Be careful when you get off at 14^th St. The station is over crowded and full of undercover cops looking for anything to arrest you.
The people who go through this station must think they are the only ones around because they will slam into you– push to get onto a car before you have even exited and they engage in NYC’s 1 crime–
They do not walk on the correct side of the stairwell.

Union square station. Busy, busy, busy, a lot of people. From people trying to go to/​from work, lost tourist, homeless people, entertainers and people looking /​listening/​taking pictures of those entertainers and standing in your way while late for work.
Trains at this station: N, Q, R, L, 4, 5, and 6.
It has a lot of exits, so if you’re not familiar with it it’s not hard to get lost. And while you are lost, please move to the side, out of the way, because someone knows exactly where to go and is in a hurry! Thanks.

Very busy station since it connects a bunch of lines together.
As a New Yorker, if you know where to be and where to walk, you can be pretty efficient when you need to go from one platform to another when making transfers.
If you’re a tourist, signage can be confusing sometimes.
There’s a few spots where there’s signage for only the NR train, but little do people know, they can take those same stairs up and another one right after to get to the 6 line on the Uptown NR stairs near the rear between the L and the top platforms.

One of the main hubs in all of NYC. The layout is good, the escalator leading above ground is always helpful at the end of a long day. There is generally good live entertainment whether it is a gorilla playing a cello or a dance troupe.
Cleaner than most, the signs that show you when the trains are going to show up work correctly. There is no more candy stand underground which is upsetting for those requiring a red bull after a long day of work.
There are 3 subways and less of a tourist heavy crowd than Times Square so it is not overwhelming and is generally easy to navigate.
Compared to the 59^th street station that smells like dookie, the layout of Union Square has only 2 layers of trains which is helpful in getting the odor out.

This review is specifically about the Union Square L train platform:
Listen up, dudes with paint buckets: I’m ready to go postal on alla yo’ asses. NO ONE wants to hear your mediocre drumming shanizzle on paint buckets. NO ONE. You are frankly not that good (read = you suck), and you’re subjecting all of us to that crap because we’re a captive audience, and it is DEAFENING.
GO HOME. Pretty please (with sugar on top), do us all a favor and shove your paint buckets up your @$$es and never play them again.
Whew. i feel a lot better now.
kthxbye.

One of the busiest subway stations in the city with hustle and bustle at all hours of the day and night it seems. Whenever I have been here there is mad traffic that you have to weave in and out of to avoid plastering into someone as you head to your train line.
Living on the UES it is actually pretty easy to get to this stop along the 4,5,6 lines and then transfer to the N, Q, R or L lines if looking to head out to Queens or Brooklyn. Man, it can get stifling hot here during summer months. A plus is that it’s located in a great spot in the Union Square Park area as there are plenty of places to eat and grab a drink. It’s a quick ride of a few stops on the L line here over to Bedford Ave to hang out in Brooklyn too. Depending on what entrance you use it’s like entering a maze but there is decent signage around. Trains run constantly so the wait is never too long.
At times the people watching here ranges from beggars to musicians to tourists to religious freakazoids. All par for the course considering you see all of that above ground in Union Square park.

Crazy busy, lots of entertainment & lots of trains!
Darn turn styles don’t always work, so if you get stuck hang by the exit door & get in that way. DON’T cheat & sneak in without paying, be honest!

This station was a lifesaver on my recent trip to New York.
Having endured a lot of upgrade work to the London Underground network this summer ahead of the London Olympics, I was pleased to come out on holiday to the Big Apple only to discover that the Subway was similarly afflicted with weekend upgrade work
Unfortunately, on the Subway, there aren’t staff around to help with re-​routing information. Fortunately, I had downloaded a free iPhone app with a free NYC subway map, which proved a lifesaver. In fact, it proved a lifesaver for many other people too who I was able to help to find a alternative route (pronounced ‘root’ not ‘rout’ by the way!) using the app
Union Square was a useful hub with so many lines inersecting, which proved a useful changeover point to switch over to alternative lines. The station is also light and bright compared to some other Subway stations
Only slight downside is with all the trains throwing out so much heat from their air conditioning, the station platforms are rather hot in the summer

Totally crazy here. You’ll usually see a flurry of activity & do have to watch for the religious freaks from time to time though you will see lots of musicians + the occasional beggar with a sign.
It is also handicap accessible at the L so if you’re got a stroller, are in a wheelchair or otherwise can’t navigate the stairs so easily you can get the elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator doesn’t go directly from the platform to the street. You have to go out of the station & get to the second elevator to get to the street.
It can get sweaty in parts & it does get annoying when people have moved their acts to the L train platform. You also have to watch out at the 4,5,6 platforms with small spaces containing construction (as you have to with most stations). Otherwise, it’s okay. There’s also a police station here.
Finally, this is a great place to people watch since you’ll see it all here. Make out of town guests (especially those not used to eccentricity, odd clothing or gay people) freak out in shock & awe.

With so many connections to different trians available here, this place is always bustling with people. It is located at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and 14^th Street, underneath Union Square. It is one of the most busiest stations of the New York City Subway. It provides access to the following train connections —
*4, 6, L, N, and Q trains at all times
*5 and R trains at all times except late nights
*6 train weekdays in the peak direction
There is always some kind of performance going on here whether it is hip hop performance or somebody dressed in silver paint.