Starting on January 19th, and continuing into March, the Transit Museum’s Annex in Grand Central Terminal will be closed for renovations. New fixtures and lights will be added in that time, a redesigned store, as well as a new exhibit. The reopening date in March has not been announced yet. When I hear anything about the reopening of the Annex, I will let you all know.
If you need to purchase any transportation items or gifts from the museum, you can either visit the museum’s main location in Brooklyn, or purchase items online at transitmuseumstore.com.
Anyone who normally uses the museum to redeem a TransitChek, or a Commuter Check for a MetroCard, there are several alternate locations you can use during this time period:
TransitChek
| Turtle Bay Chemists | 901 Second Avenue at 48th St. | 212-752-5151 |
| E.G.I. Check Cashing | 117 E. 41st Street (Lex & Park) | 212-661-9595 |
| Royal Convenience Inc. | 589 Third Avenue at 39th St. | 212 687-2299 |
Commuter Check
| New York Check Express | 117 East 41st Street (Lex Ave) | 212-661-9595 |
| Hil-Nil Corporation | 520 Madison Avenue at 53rd St. | 212-832-2481 |
| New York Check Express | 660 Lexington Avenue at 55th St. | 212-750-1070 |
In regards to TransitCheks for Metro-North, some people have written in saying that the additional ticket window closures will make it difficult to cash their TransitCheks. Now I have never done this, but a few friends of mine have, and claim this is acceptable. Use your monthly ticket from the previous month on the morning of the first day of the new month. Tell the Conductor that when you arrive at your destination (Grand Central) you will be purchasing a new monthly ticket, since you need to purchase the ticket from an actual person. My friends insist that you are able to use your old monthly on the first day of the new month, only for the morning ride. Has anyone else done this before? Is doing that considered acceptable?
On the LIRR in the past they honored the previous month’s ticket on the first ride of the new month, and I was reminded to buy a new ticket. I don’t know how a cramped budget will affect this…
MNR will still honor your previous month’s ticket on the morning ride of the first day of the new month, but the conductor will take your old ticket in trade to keep it from being used again.