Funding transit through selling spare parts

The MTA has long recognized the collectors value in its spare and old parts. A rollsign from, say, the now-reefed R40s can command a pretty penny from those who enjoy subway memorabilia, and recently, the MTA has found value in dirt. Today, Heather Haddon from amNew York delves into the economics of the MTA’s recycling and reclamation programs. In addition to those pieces of subway history that Transit sells as memorabilia and collectibles – green and red station entrance globes, anyone? – the MTA, she says, can make millions selling old bus parts and recycling unused diesel fuel.

Interesting, she also highlights the MTA’s vast reserves of dirt. Currently, the authority is digging new tunnels under 11th and 2nd Aves. and the East River for various capital projects, and the agency has found itself with spare dirt on hand. “Developers of tennis courts,” Haddon writes, “and playgrounds are eager to scoop up pure dirt, and 100,000 tons of it from the East Side Access project was used to landscape the recently opened Pier 1 at Brooklyn Bridge Park.” That long-awaited project in Brooklyn will soon enjoy another 30,000 tons of dirt from the East Side Access tunnels. Who knew?