By BRITTNEY WILLIAMS 

As part of a major reconstruction project, Metro-North will expand the platform at the Fordham Road station as construction of a new ramp on 193rd Street and Webster Avenue gets under way.

The Fordham Metro-North station is the third busiest station in the system, serving roughly 6,000 daily commuters who head into Westchester County. It works mostly as a feeder for the neighborhood, serving as one of the larger nexuses of travel in the neighborhood.

The new entrance is intended to make the station more wheelchair-accessible, connecting the sidewalk on Webster Avenue and 193rd Street to the station, allowing riders living north of the station to get to it faster and save time traveling. In addition, with people approaching the station from different entrances, the passenger load on the train will be more spread out.

“I love Metro-North. It’s not crowded and it’s more comfortable,” said Jasmin Jennings, 31, who often rides the Metro-North.

However, some residents voiced concern, telling the Norwood News that the new entrance is a bad idea. Several residents pointed to the large number of homeless people loitering, and the drug activity that has been reported.

“That’s a bad spot. I know what happens on Webster,” said a Fordham resident, who declined to give his name.

“It would be better because people wouldn’t have to navigate the traffic. There’s a very killer highway, so it is very treacherous to cross,” said Peter Kendrick, a teacher at Taft High School. Kendrick also uses the Fordham station when he teaches at Fordham University and when he goes to the dentist.

Construction for the $120,000 ramp will begin next month and be finished by the fall. This is only part of rehabilitation and will offer an alternative option for access to the platform before the elevator construction is completed.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.