The MTA is getting an earful from people in Astoria over the planned construction that will partially shut down one of their subway stations.

Elected leaders, advocates, and residents held a rally Thursday at the Ditmars Boulevard Station.

They say the MTA's improvements to the station are mostly cosmetic.

They would rather get improvements that will help the disabled, elderly, and pregnant women.

That includes installing an elevator and service upgrades.

But the agency says the planned work is also necessary.

"The enhanced station initiative as they call it is really predominantly about beautifying these stations. There's going to be new artwork, better paint jobs, Wi-Fi at an overground station, as if that's necessary. And what they're not doing is they're spending over 150-million dollars when the MTA doesn't have money, is they're not doing the things that actually make the trains run better and make the system more accessible to people who can't get in," said State Senator Michael Gianaris.

"The changes at Ditmars are not cosmetic. I mean these are steel, concrete, structural changes that need to be made. The station was built in 1917 and to ensure that we have a station for generations to come, we need to fix it," said MTA Director of Communications Jon Weinstein.

The MTA points out that the nearby Astoria Boulevard station is getting four elevators because it's a key connection point.

The MTA says construction will begin in April and go through June of next year.