Archive for October, 2011
Oct
31
A summit to move forward the stalled taxi bill
Posted by: | CommentsSince earlier this summer when the state legislature passed a bill that would expand livery cab service outside of Manhattan, the measure has gone nowhere. Lawmakers have not sent the bill to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his approval, and the Governor hasn’t done much to move the legislation along. Now, in an attempt to end Albany gridlock, Cuomo is going to host a summit featuring the various stakeholders in this battle with the aim of finding a compromise suitable to everyone.
According to a brief item in The Post, “representatives from the livery-car industry, yellow-cab owners, disability advocates, borough politicians and the Mayor’s Office” will attend the meeting next week, but it’s unclear exactly what sort of compromise will be reached. Taxi medallion owners have pressured state representatives to stall the bill in the hopes of protecting their investments while New Yorkers who reside north of 96th St. or outside of Manhattan see powerful special interests fighting for nothing. Yellow cab drivers don’t cruise these areas and would lose little business from an expansion of the livery cab system.
Convening a meeting is a clear step in the right direction toward a resolution, but I’m wary of one that will feature yellow cab owners and no drivers. These are powerful and rich interests after all. Still, if this meeting moves the bill closer to Cuomo’s desk, the city will be better off for it. Now about that transit lockbox…
Oct
31
Cutting off service to combat Halloween vandalism
Posted by: | CommentsEvery year come October 31, a few unruly folk have to ruin the fun for everyone. On Halloween night, as costumes become the norm, kids from around the city let their wild sides loose, and attacking city property seems to jump to the top of the agenda. Hooligans egg buses and descend upon innocent passengers. This year, as they’ve done in the past, the MTA wants to put a stop to it by cutting short some bus routes.
As both The Daily News reported yesterday, the MTA may temporarily cease service in areas prone to vandalism. According to Transit officials, bus service along the Bx 8 in Edgewater Park, the Bx 24 in Country Club and the B31 in Gerritsen Beach could all be reduced tonight. Teenagers in Gerritsen Beach, in particular, sparked a controversy last year when they were outed by a local blogger. “These areas have notoriously been problem areas,” Kevin Ortiz, a Transit spokesman, told The News. “It’s definitely a safety concern. We deploy this action plan to ensure employees and customers are provided with a safe environment when working or using our buses.”
Now, the MTA should make sure its riders and employees are safe throughout Halloween, but something about this plan to scale back service bothers me. Shouldn’t police presence be increased to ensure that public is maintained before Transit throws in the towel? Should we cut off bus service to those in some of the least transit-accessible areas in the city due to some bad eggs? Giving in isn’t the precedent I’d like to see established.
Oct
31
Amidst noisy commutes, slightly quieter cabs
Posted by: | CommentsWhenever I’m driving somewhere and I’m in the car by myself, I like to turn up on the volume on the music I’ve taken with me for the ride. Maybe I’ll sing along; maybe I’ll just enjoy the background music. No matter what, though, it’s a time for me to control the soundtrack to my ride.
At all other times, though, we don’t want to hear any extraneous sounds during our commutes. For example, few things annoy commuters more than tinny music trickling through leaky headphones, and subway riders have had a very strident reaction toward the MTA’s ongoing attempts to bring cell service to its underground stations. In fact, in a recent poll, the Straphangers Campaign found that over 43 percent of respondents thought that allowing cell reception under was a bad idea. Elsewhere, we grow weary of the pre-recorded announcements that provide a noisy intrusion into a commute we want to be our own.
Driving these sympathies are feelings of self. We ride the subway with everyone else, but we want our commutes to be our own. We want to set the pace, the space, the time, the sounds, and this onslaught of other voices — from MTA warnings to cell conversations to music — grows annoying. Just as bad as the subways are taxis. Once upon a time, a variety of public figures from Elmo to Joe Torre told us to buckle our seat belts, and today, interactive TVs complete with ads and talking heads bombard us with sounds.
This weekend, when I got into a cab to head from the subway to Chelsea Piers amidst a strange bout of winter weather in late October, the TV started playing, and it would not stop. Five ads rolled before Brian Williams started yammering about NBC News. With the cabbie’s radio on, albeit at a respectful volume, the TV was just too much, and we scrambled to press the mute button. Now, though, we will soon gain a respite from the taxi noises.
As Christine Haughney reports in The Times today, quieter TVs are coming to a taxi near you. She reports:
The two major software providers of Taxi TV technology, Creative Mobile Technologies and VeriFone Media, have taken several steps designed for a quieter ride. In some taxis, the default volume has been lowered, and the volume button has been relocated; passengers will also get a quick tutorial on how to lower the volume or mute it altogether. And now, for the first time, passengers can even silence the introduction video that plays before the regular Taxi TV programming begins.
For many passengers, the changes are long overdue: in a recent survey of 22,000 riders, 31 percent said the televisions were the worst element of the ride. Cabbies also welcomed the changes, even if they cannot hit the mute button themselves.
“All day we hear it, same thing all day,” said Ghayyur Abbas, 34, a taxi driver who on a recent night blared Rihanna at an even higher volume to block out jokes that the comedian Jimmy Kimmel was making on Taxi TV. Mr. Abbas said he dreaded the coming weeks, when Taxi TV would start running a chorus of holiday-themed jingles: “Halloween is coming. Then it’s going to start. Then Christmas.”
So far, says Haughney, approximately half of the city’s taxis are now quieter with more changes on the horizon. “We’ve had to balance the interests of the advertisers and the passengers and the drivers,” Jesse Davis, head of a company that has outfit 6600 taxis, said. “The advertiser or content provider wants the sound as loud as possible. The drivers, for the most part, would rather not hear it.”
One of Davis’ co-workers from Creative Mobile Technologies noted that fewer customers were muting the quieter TVs, but drivers still find the volume intrusively, repetitive and annoying. So do I, and the mute button is the first thing I find after telling the driver where I’m going.
New York is known for its noise. Horns blare; trains rumble by. We want quiet as we ride. We want to control the volume. We want to pick the music. Maybe one day, we will, but for now, a quieter taxi ride is a step in the right direction. If only we could do away with those TVs for good though.
Oct
28
Weekend work impacting travel on 14 lines
Posted by: | CommentsHow about a little news roundup before the weekend? I didn’t have a chance to cover these stories this week, but they do deserve some attention.
First up, the LIRR. The ongoing disability scandal reached a temporary denouement this week as 11 people were charged with fraud in a scandal that may have cost the government as much as $1 billion. Among those facing charges are seven retired LIRR workers, one ex-union president, a federal employee, a doctor and an office manager. A second doctor will be facing charges as well. While this is a scandal that largely impacts the federal retirement benefit panel, the MTA is tangentially at risk financially due to increased health care premiums for retired employees. This story is far from over.
Next up, something lighter. Helvetica has a competitor underground. As David Dunlap explored at City Room today, because of signs promoting the 9/11 Memorial, the familiar MTA font is no longer alone. Dunlap notes that seeing these signs throughout Lower Manhattan is a bit jarring. He writes that “standardized signage helps everyone navigate a system cobbled together by different builders in different eras, at different levels, with different architectural styles and different kinds of trains.” The new wayfinding font certainly sticks out.
And with that, it’s the weekend. The service advisories are below. Check out Subway Weekender for the map or the MTA’s own Weekender if you’re into Vignelli.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, there is no 2 service in Brooklyn due to track work south of Wall Street, platform edge rehabilitation at Hoyt Street and the installation of fiber optic cable ducts between Nevins Street and Hoyt Street. 2 trains run between the Dyre Avenue 5 station and the South Ferry 1 station.
- 5 trains replace the 2 in Brooklyn
- 2 trains are rerouted to the 1 between Chambers Street and South Ferry
- 2 trains replace the 5 between East 180th Street and Dyre Avenue.
- 5 trains replace the 2 between East 180th Street and 241st Street.
Note: Customers may use a free out-of-system transfer between the 2 at South Ferry and the 4 or 5 at Bowling Green station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, there is no 3 service in Brooklyn due to track work south of Wall Street, platform edge rehabilitation at Hoyt Street and the installation of fiber optic cable ducts between Nevins Street and Hoyt Street. 3 trains operate between 148th Street and 14th Street. Customers should take the 4 instead.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, 4 train service is extended to and from New Lots Avenue due to track work south of Wall Street, platform edge rehabilitation at Hoyt Street and the installation of fiber optic cable ducts between Nevins Street and Hoyt Street. 4 trains operate local in Brooklyn.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, 5 service is extended to and from Flatbush Avenue due to track work south of Wall Street, platform edge rehabilitation at Hoyt Street and the installation of fiber optic cable ducts between Nevins Street and Hoyt Street. (See 2 train entry for details.)
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, Manhattan-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to 3rd Avenue-138th Street due to station painting at Brooke Avenue.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, there is no 7 train service between Times Square-42nd Street and Queensboro Plaza due to CBTC (signal) work between Grand Central-42nd Street and Hunters Point Avenue. Customers should use the E, N, Q, S and free shuttle buses provide alternate service.
- Use E, N or Q between Manhattan and Queens
- Free shuttle buses run between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Avenue and Queensboro Plaza
- Q service is extended to and from Astoria-Ditmars Blvd during the daytime hours
- In Manhattan, the 42nd Street shuttle operates overnight
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, Queensboro Plaza-bound 7 trains operate express from 74th Street to Queensboro Plaza due to track panel installation south of 33rd St-Rawson Street. Customers must backride for missed stations. For service into Manhattan, customers may take the 7 to 74th Street-Roosevelt Avenue and transfer to Manhattan-bound E or F trains.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, Manhattan-bound A trains run on the F line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street, then local to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center. For Chambers Street, Canal Street, or Spring Street, customers should transfer between the A, C and E at West 4th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, there are no A trains at Fulton Street in either direction due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center. Customers should use Chambers Street instead.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, uptown C trains run on the F line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street and there are no C trains at Fulton Street in either direction due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, Coney Island-bound D trains run on the N line from 36th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue due to structural repair and station rehabilitation from 71st Street to Bay 50th Street and ADA work at Bay Parkway.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, the World Trade Center E station is closed due to track work south of Canal Street. E trains originate and terminate at the Chambers Street A, C station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 31, Queens-bound F trains run via the M line from 47th-50th Sts-Rockefeller Center to Queens Plaza due to the installation of temporary barricades and station reconstruction work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, October 29, Manhattan-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Avenue to 36th Street due to rail and plate renewal and track resurfacing along the Queens Blvd Line.
From 6 a.m. Saturday, October 29 to 6 p.m. Sunday, October 30, J trains operate in two sections due to replacement of rail at Marcy Avenue:
- The last stop for some Manhattan-bound J trains is Broadway Junction.
- Customers may transfer at Broadway Junction to continue to Chambers Street.
From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, October 29 and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, October 30, Q service is extended to and from Astoria-Ditmars Blvd. in order to provide more Queens-Manhattan alternatives due to the 7 suspension between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza.
From 11 p.m. Friday, October 28 to 6 p.m. Saturday, October 29, Manhattan-bound Q trains skip Avenue J due to Brighton station rehabilitations.
(42nd Street Shuttle)
During the weekend, the 42nd Street (S) shuttle extends operating hours overnight in order to provide cross-town service due to the 7 suspension between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza.
Oct
28
7 to Secaucus: NJ on board; Staten Island not
Posted by: | Comments
As the crow flies, Secaucus is closing to Midtown than Staten Island is.
In news that will shock no one, New Jersey is willing to throw its political support behind Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to send the 7 train to Secaucus while Staten Island politicians are objecting. As the plan exists right now as nothing more than a long-standing dream suddenly drawing Bloomberg’s attention, the cross-border state politics and interborough maneuverings will likely dominate the coverage as long as the idea is still alive.
The first word from west of Hudson came from Gov. Chris Christie earlier this week. He likes the project because it requires less of an investment from New Jersey and because New York would pick up some of the tab — an aspect of ARC that led to resentment over the project’s funding. Christie, who didn’t say too much this week, proclaimed that New Jersey will “do our share.” in a radio interview, he said, “All of this will be able to come together.”
Staten Islanders, meanwhile, had far more to say about the project, and none of it involved much praise. Already smarting over Port Authority fare hikes that they said unfairly impact their constituents, Staten Island politicians banded together to oppose the project. Calling upon Gov. Andrew Cuomo to help improve Staten Island’s transit options, the bipartisan group bemoaned the focus on New Jersey in a letter to Albany.
“”This is a project that is worthy of consideration in the future. Now is not the time to explore more ways to get from New Jersey to Manhattan when it’s our toll money paying for it,” the letter said. “We would also encourage you to have your appointees on the Port Authority Board reject any funding for exorbitant projects until we have reached an agreement on how we can lessen the overall financial impact for residents of Richmond County. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey simply must find alternative means of revenue, then off the backs of Staten Islanders.”
Allen Cappelli, an MTA Board member from Staten Island, expressed his concern that the 7 line extension was targeting the wrong folk. “I applaud the mayor for his vision of connecting part of the region to the transit system. I’d hoped that his vision would include Staten Island and its 500,000 residents,” he said. “We ought to be talking about connecting Staten Island too. hat’s regional interconnectivity. It’s fine to give lip service to the world’s greatest parking lot – the Staten Island Expressway – but words are not good enough.”
The keys though are demographics, geography and politics. If the Mayor’s goal is to increase the region’s interconnectivity while alleviating congestion across the Hudson and shepherding people to the Hudson Yards development and Midtown, the 7 line extension to Secaucus makes far more sense than a subway to Staten Island. The population density in Hudson County is nearly double that of Staten Island, and the New Jersey county, separated from the city by only a river and a state border, is closer to Midtown than the borough of Staten Island is. It is also is home to more people who work in Manhattan than Staten Island is. Finally, a subway to New Jersey could draw on funding from two states and the Port Authority while New York would likely have to foot the entire bill for any Staten Island-centric improvements.
Of course, that bill remains problematic. No one knows how much this will cost and who’s going to pay. One commentator though has found the perfect donor. If Mayor Bloomberg is so concerned with building his legacy, Stephen Smith writing at Forbes says, why doesn’t he just cut the check for construction himself? It would indeed be a groundbreaking public/private partnership.
Oct
28
A glimpse at the commercial plans for Fulton St.
Posted by: | Comments
The Fulton Street Transit Center will feature retail and cafes at street level.
As progress continues on the Fulton Street Transit Center, the MTA is finally readying post-construction plans. The $1.4 billion project isn’t going to wrap until 2014, but the authority wants the pieces in place as this project has taken long enough. Earlier this week, the MTA unveiled a series of renderings of the inside of the transit center’s oculus, and their plans are coming into view.
Essentially, the MTA is going to make the Fulton Street Transit Center a downstair destination for shopping and dining. They want to recreate the aura of Grand Central in Lower Manhattan, but instead of managing the real estate themselves, they’re going to try a new approach. They will, as Andrew Grossman of The Wall Street Journal detailed, lease all of the space to one company who will then be in charge of doling out parcels for what an MTA document has termed “Lower Manhattan’s next great public space.” Grossman explains:
The move would put one firm in charge of filling 70,000 square feet of retail space in the three-story building. The MTA envisions big retailers taking space, along with a “grand bar” overlooking the Manhattan skyline and what it calls “destination” restaurants, similar to the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central.
Whichever firm leases the retail space would also be responsible for cleaning and maintaining it, said Michael Horodniceanu, the president of the MTA’s capital-construction division. That would allow the MTA to focus on maintaining underground space…
The MTA sees the site as a busy public space where people eat, drink and shop in addition to catching trains. It’s a goal similar to the one the Port Authority has for its transit hub under construction at the World Trade Center a few blocks away. That agency has inked a deal with mall operator Westfield Group to develop and manage retail throughout the site, including at the $3.4 billion transit hub designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
The MTA is hoping to draw an anchor tenant for the third floor of the transit center. The renderings show a spot that looks suspiciously similar to an Apple Store.
In short, the agency has unveiled their planned uses to the floors of the transit center. Street level will include retail shops and markets or cafes. The second level will feature destination bars and restaurants, and the third level will play host to an anchor tenant. It could be an alluring spot for an Apple Store if the computer giant wants to open up in Lower Manhattan around the corner from J&R. Whatever company rents that spot though will find a space with views down through the oculus.
In addition to this commercial spaces, the MTA also plans to make the Fulton hub its first all-digital station. Instead of static signs pointing the way, the authority will install dynamic real-time signage that will be updated to reflect the status of current services. It is the culmination of the MTA’s efforts at bringing real-time information to the commuting masses.
And yet, despite the flashy renderings and ambitious plans, despite the rent dollars that will flow in, I still believe Fulton St. is something of a boondoggle with plenty of missed opportunities. It’s a project that was funded by the federal government who wanted to boost Lower Manhattan, but it’s one of three that will deliver more retail space to the area. It’s a $1.4 billion transit expense that doesn’t do a thing to improve train service and mobility in and out of the area. Finally, it’s centerpiece is a three-story building with a fancy roof in an area of high rises and valuable air rights.
Similar to the dollars being spent for the 7 line extension, the MTA didn’t have much flexibility with the $1.4 billion it received. Had they opted against a Fulton Street Transit Center, the feds would have sent the money elsewhere. Still, this project could have been better. If the MTA and its real estate management partner can deliver on tenants, it could still become a destination shopping area. It sure is shaping up to be an expensive one to build though.
Oct
27
On the subway’s 107th birthday, a Macy’s store
Posted by: | Comments
Today is an anniversary of sorts for our beleaguered subway city for 107 years ago on October 27, 1904, the Interborough Rapid Transit company launched the city’s first subway line. To celebrate, the MTA, one of its licensing partners and Macy’s unveiled a boutique in the Macy’s Cellar that will be hawking subway-themed merchandise through the end of the year.
The collection, created for Macy’s by Gouda, Inc., will be entitled NYC Underground, and the shop includes apparel, accessories and a variety of other products adorned with subway maps and route bullets. The store itself will be decorated with subway maps, station signs and benches and old metal straps from the now-reefed redbirds.
For the MTA, the store offers a chance to earn more on licensing. The authority is paying no rent to Macy’s and will enjoy prominent placement throughout the holiday shopping season. “As we look to make every dollar count across everything the MTA does, we’re working to enhance the value of the MTA brand and trademarks,” Paul Fleuranges, the authority’s Senior Director of Corporate and Internal Communications, said. “We are delighted to be able to do that with a prominent presence in such an iconic and world-renowned space.”
In exchange for the space, Macy’s will be slapping its logo on a variety of products for sale — including apparel with the subway map and Macy’s store. The MTA, which makes $500,000 a year in licensing fees and royalties, says this is its first foray into direct, co-branding collaborations. And to think, it took only 107 years.
Oct
27
Poll finds majority support for MTA payroll tax
Posted by: | CommentsThere are fewer taxes more controversial in New York State right now than the payroll tax passed a few years ago to support the MTA. Levying a tax of 0.34 percent on businesses in the 12 counties serviced by the MTA, the tax has generated around $1.3 billion annually for the MTA, and it has drawn the non-stop ire of New York Republicans, some of whom have made trying to repeal it their life’s goal. Yet, a new poll shows reasonably strong support for it throughout the state.
According to a Quinnipiac poll, 56 percent of voters support the payroll tax. Forty-five percent say the tax is fine as is while 11 percent would increase it. Meanwhile, 24 percent of voters would like to see the tax repealed completely while nine percent would prefer it decreased. These results seem to jibe with other numbers that show a strong upstate/downstate divide over MTA support.
A whopping 59 percent of upstate voters oppose additional state support for the MTA while 55 percent of New York City voters want more state subsidies. Overall, New Yorkers oppose additional support for the MTA by a 51-42 margin, and voters seem to realize that repealing the payroll tax in the 12 MTA counties would lead to more state subsidies in another form. The MTA, after all, is counting heavily on the money to avoid service cuts and unplanned fare hikes.
Yet, despite this showing of support, the Republicans in the Assembly have been tirelessly advocate for a repeal. On Staten Island, business leaders and politicians have been railing against the tax, and state GOP representatives held an anti-tax hearing earlier this week with a focus on Staten Island and Brooklyn. Former New York City Comptroller and failed Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson called for a payroll tax repeal in The Post this week, but his plan includes other state subsidies.
The complaints for business leaders and politicians deserve a closer. Especially among Staten Island and Bay Ridge residents who seemingly suffered the most from the 2010 bus cuts, complaints focus around services. Business owners claim their employees drive and derive no benefit from public transit while others say they are taxed more for even less service. Of course, it’s tough to take these forums too seriously when people start calling the taxes “basically un-American” and “discriminatory.”
The concurrent problem is one of politics. State GOP Assembly representatives know a payroll tax repeal won’t make it through Sheldon Silver’s Assembly, and they have offered no better solution. Taking a page from the Lee Zeldin handbook of incomplete ideas, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis said the MTA could, according to SI Live, “could make up the shortfall by selling off real estate, streamlining bloated executive salaries and renegotiating vendor contracts.” If the authority could generate $1.3 billion through those measures — most of which provide only one-time benefits — I have a bridge to sell Ms. Malliotakis.
Ultimately, the end of the payroll tax will come as part of a bargain: Institute congestion pricing or toll the East River Bridges, and the payroll tax can be similarly reduced. I can’t imagine suburban residents or Staten Island politicians would be too thrilled with that bargain, but the only other outcome would be a seriously starved MTA forced to cut services and hike fares. Who wants that anyway?
Oct
27
Challenges and benefits of a Secaucus-bound 7
Posted by: | CommentsCould the future route of the 7 train take it across the Hudson River? (Via The Wall Street Journal)
By dropping word of his support for a Secaucus-bound 7 train this week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg reminded us once again of his ability to draw a spotlight. With New York and New Jersey transit advocates largely despairing over the lack of transit on the new Tappan Zee Bridge, Bloomberg seemingly us a bone with a show of support for the 7 plan. If anything, the timing has helped restart the debate over the practicality, feasibility and intentions behind the plan.
On Wednesday, after The Post’s story made the rounds, the Mayor faced the New York press corps and went on the record with some support for a trans-Hudson rail crossing. “We want better transportation from here to all the markets, all of the places that people live that want to come into this city to work and to shop and have their entertainment,” he said. “This is something where the economics seem to make some sense. The subway extension is on budget, on time pretty much, coming down the West Side, and you could probably continue it over. There are some economic arguments that it would be justified and that we could work with New Jersey and the federal government and the state government here to get some money to do it.”
For now, we don’t know what the Parsons Brinckerhoff report will say. It’s still only a preliminary report and only those in the city government have seen it. When it’s released, we’ll have a better sense of the road ahead. Right now, though, if Bloomberg is serious about getting such an ambitious plan off the ground, he’ll have to work fast to secure funds for an environmental impact study and the project itself. He has 26 months.
Already, we’re seeing some of the benefits and challenges this project face come into view. Over at WNYC, Andrea Bernstein gathered some info. For starters, the city believes it could put together a broad coalition of funding partners that would include the city and state, New Jersey, the Port Authority and the MTA. That is, apparently, news to those entities.
The MTA is facing a set of very familiar problems. With Joe Lhota coming in, the new CEO and Chairman has a directive from Gov. Andrew Cuomo to cut costs and save money. The current capital plan has no leeway for funding such a project, and the MTA would rather see through the Second Ave. Subway before it looks to New Jersey. So far, MTA officials have tried to distance themselves from this idea. Noting that the MTA has no cash, a spokesman told Metro, “We’re focusing on the three capital projects we have now.” Transit officials said yesterday they would have no comment until the engineering study is released.
Beyond that significant obstacle, the city and PB are reportedly bullish on the popularity of such an extension. Initial estimates say the 7 extension would draw around 125,000 riders per day, thus significantly increasing crowding along the 7 line throughout Midtown Manhattan. Somehow, the IRT Flushing line stations would have to handle increasingly large crowds. In a similar vein, though, the ridership estimates show how this project would be a draw for the real estate business. As Alon Levy noted via Twitter, sending the subway through Hoboken and to Secaucus would be “a bonanza for developers.” Construction companies and landowners on both sides of the Hudson — and especially those at Hudson Yards — would be thrilled. A subway that passes under Hudson Yards from both New Jersey and the rest of New York would vastly increase the area’s popularity.
Still, despite this seemingly rosy outlook, the challenges are immense. Early reports say it could cost less than ARC as the tunneling requires no new Manhattan terminal. Rather, the MTA would simply start digging west from the tail tracks of the 7 line extension near 26th and 11th Ave. Some estimates, however, peg the cost at as much as $10 billion. With federal ARC dollars long since disbursed, any funding from DC would have originate from a new effort to drive transit dollars to the region, and this 7 line extension would just be one more megaproject competing for bucks.
Furthermore, what of the rolling stock and IRT-sized subway cars? Even though the 7 comes equipped with 11-car sets, capacity is limited by width. In an ideal world, it might make more sense to send a spur off the 8th Ave. line with its spacious IND cars to New Jersey. Bu we live in a world of practical realism. With a development at Hudson Yards spurring the discussion, the Mayor will focus only on the 7 line. Its tail tracks bring it close to New Jersey, and mighty political forces are lining up behind it.
Yet, for all of this talk of support from Bloomberg, a reticent and reluctant MTA and a project that doesn’t even have a public scoping document yet, we’re likely jumping the gun. Maybe the Mayor can deliver billions of dollars and a firm joint commitment to this project while somehow drawing a cost-conscious MTA on board. Maybe he can placate constituents throughout the five boroughs who would rather spend transit dollars on improving interborough rather than interstate access. Maybe he just won’t care about the politics because he’s a lame duck and wants a legacy. It wouldn’t be the first time Bloomberg has pushed through something he wants more than anyone else.
For now, enjoy the proverbial ride. This project has had more legs than it ever should have, and maybe one day the next stop on a Secaucus-bound 7 line will be across the river in New Jersey.
Oct
26
Rendering of the Day: NYU’s 370 Jay Street
Posted by: | Comments
NYU wants to bring the Center for Urban Science and Progress to 370 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. (Rendering via NYU and The Real Deal)
As the MTA gears up to offload the long-idle Transit building at 370 Jay St., a familiar player in the New York City real estate market has emerged as a leading contender for the space. As The Daily News reports today, New York University is targeting 370 Jay St. as the future home for its Center for Urban Science and Progress. The plan, which would rely on significant contributions from the city, would help push forward an academic revival in Downtown Brooklyn.
Instead of competing with Stanford and Cornell for space on Roosevelt Island, NYU would prefer to overhaul the MTA’s former headquarters across from its Polytechnic campus. “It would make Brooklyn the urban center of the universe,” NYU Senior Vice Provost for Research Paul Horn said to The News. “There’s nothing anywhere near it on this scale.”
Erin Durkin has more:
Mayor Bloomberg is offering a powerhouse academic institution $100 million in construction costs, plus free land, to open the high-tech school. Horn said NYU would forego the land the city is offering on Roosevelt Island or other sites in favor of downtown Brooklyn. “It’s a terrific entrepreneurial center,” Horn said. “There are a lot of advantages to being there as opposed to isolated somewhere.”
[Horn] said NYU could build the center with $20-$25 million of the city money for infrastructure fixes and moving the MTA’s old equipment out of 370 Jay, and spend $450 million overall on a 200,000-square-foot project. It would launch CUSP in space at nearby MetroTech, with classes starting in 2013, then move into 370 Jay after a major overhaul.
The NYU plan calls for 50 faculty members – from civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, computer science and other fields – would teach 400 master’s students and 100 Ph.D. students at CUSP. “Improving security, dealing with disasters, a variety of problems that are absolutely critical and things the city will be worrying about anyway – this will have our institute focusing on creating solutions to those problems,” Horn said.
NYU has a reputation for utterly consuming neighborhoods it targets. This plan, though, would remove a blight from the streets of Downtown Brooklyn while delivering dollars to the MTA for its abandoned headquarters. The building will be subjected to an RFP process. I doubt, however, that this is the last we’re hearing of NYU’s interest.
