Archive for April, 2010
Apr
01
Second Ave. Subway spared from state-wide construction shutdown
Posted by: | CommentsWhen Gov. David Paterson earlier this week announced a construction freeze on all state projects if the New York legislature did not pass the budget on time, I feared for the future of the Second Ave. Subway. I knew Albany would not pass the budget before midnight on March 31, the legislatively-imposed deadline, and when April 1 dawned last night with no budget in place, it seemed as though Paterson’s shutdown would come to pass. So with New York heading toward financial difficulties and no firm budget plan in place, would this be the economic move that killed the Second Ave. Subway?
I posed this question to the MTA yesterday, and although construction in the 1970s halted due to a crushing economic crisis, this year, Phase 1 of the Second Ave. Subway will move ahead as planned. With the MTA relying heavily on federal funds, stimulus grants and money secured through bonds for this project, the state construction shutdown will have no impact on construction underneath Second Ave. With federal money as the engine driving this project forward, its looking more and more likely that, at the very least, Phase 1 of the SAS will open this decade, New York City history be damned.
Apr
01
Report: MTA’s new austerity plan literally a return to the 1970s
Posted by: | CommentsClearly, this City Hall News story is an April Fool’s joke, but it’s a thorough one that serves as a commentary on the state of our public transit system. The inside-politics publication reports that the MTA will discard all R160s and instead bring back the R26. The cars will be covered in graffiti, and I’d imagine the Massimo Vignelli map will make a triumphant return.
As a obvious a joke as that report is, it made me reflect on the state of our subways. Two years ago on April Fool’s Day, I wrote about how the MTA had just announced plans to shutter the subway at night. It seemed just plausible enough to rope people in but not realistic enough for the MTA to implement it. Today, the MTA is facing a budget hole of $750 million and will be cutting service drastically this summer. The joke has become reality, and it doesn’t seem nearly as funny today as it did in 2008.
Apr
01
On a map, the history of the subway
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A few months ago, this map landed in my inbox. For New York City subway history enthusiasts, it’s a fascinating document. As the excerpt above shows, it is a map of the system with historical annotations. Think of it as a visual timeline of New York City subway history. You’ll get lost in it for hours.
I’ll include the full map below for your perusal, and it comes with some accompanying text I’ll type out below. Basically, the excerpt offers up a simplified look at the political goings-on that led to the MTA and provides some insight into the now-defunct IRT/BMT/IND distinctions that I still use on Second Ave. Sagas.
Historical Map of the New York Subway
At the beginning of the 20th century, Manhattan had a large elevated system dating from 1870 run by the Manhattan Elevated RR Co., one branch of which reached inot the Bronx. Brooklyn had a large surface and elevated system operated by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co (BRT). Construction of the first subway began in 1900, and the Interborough Rapid Transit Co (IRT) commenced operation in 1904. The original route ran from City Hall to 145 St. via Grand Central and Times Square. The IRT also leased the Manhattan Elevated Co. The IRT system was extended into the Bronx and Brooklyn through 1908. Around this time, the question of municipal ownership became an issue. In 1909 a master plan for a separate city built system – the Triborough System – was proposed. This plan specified a larger load gauge than used on the IRT to allow interchange with main line railroad equipment. Although not adopted, the Triboro plan produced the two different size specifications which to this day prevents total interchangeability between lines.
Instead, the so called Dual Contracts system was employed to draw together the IRT and BRT. Construction of the dual system lines began in 1931- more than half the mileage being of elevated structure, embankment or open cut. Some elevated lines were reconstructions of older pre-dual contract els. The BRT went into receivership in 1918 which ended in 192 when it was renamed and reorganized as the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Corp (BMT).
In 1924 control over sorely needed new routes was returned to the city with the establishment of a Board of Transportation. The City of New York became a subway operator in 1932 when the municipally built Independent system (IND) was opened.
Unification took place in 1940 when the BOT aquired the BMT and bankrupt IRT systems. Elimination of original el routes was commenced.
BOT control ended in 1953 with the creation of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA). The BMT and IND systems were merged in 1967 with the opening of the Chrystie St. connection in Manhattan. Control of the NYCTA passed to the new Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in 1968. Ex IRT lines were now known as the A Division and ex BMT/IND lines as B Dvision. The last pre-subway ‘el’ closed in 1973 with the end of the 3rd Avenue el Bronx service.
To view the entire map, click the image below. Be forewarned: The file is approximately 6 MB.
