Archive for Asides
Jul
01
Tenants upset at Second Ave. evacuations
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday afternoon, I reported on a building evacuation along Second Ave. near the Second Ave. Subway work zone. Due to a leaning structure, residents and businesses were ordered out of their homes and shops late Monday evening. Today, the Post follows up with the displaced few, and they are clearly not happy. They’re annoyed at the city for not giving them more warning; they’re annoyed at the MTA because, well, that’s all the rage.
There’s a catch though. The city and the MTA are blaming the building owners. The MTA had sent a warning about the building to the DOB in 2006 prior to the start of work on the city’s latest subway line, and the DOB has responded in turn. “We issued an order to do repairs, and it appears that was not done,” DOB spokesman Tony Sclafani said to the Post reporters. While it sounds as though a negligent landlord may be to blame, the PR storm is brewing. It’s reassuring to see city and MTA officials heading this one off before it can explode.
Jun
30
A few non-traditional uses for a MetroCard
Posted by: | CommentsWith the fare hike upon us, we know that some misguided and uninformed New Yorkers are looking to discard their MetroCards. There is, however, no need to throw out these ubiquitous yellow and blue fare cards. Just last week, Infrastructurist took a look at 10 arts and crafts MetroCard recycling projects. Included in the list are various MetroCard-themed articles of clothing, a pimped out bicycle and an intricate wedding dress. I think I’ll just keep on swiping mine.
Jun
26
These are the people on your subway car: Ruth Madoff
Posted by: | CommentsWhat would we do without The New York Post? The once-high brow paper founded by Alexander Hamilton sure has a knack for entertainment. Yesterday, one of their reporters found Ruth Madoff on the F train, and today, they print the story. According to Bruce Golding, Mrs. Madoff has “been reduced to” riding the subway as her husband faces substantial charges. I can’t say that I like that phrase. After all, over 5 million New Yorkers a day are “reduced to” riding the subway. Ruth is just another member of the straphanging masses.
Jun
24
MTA Board approves renegotiated Ratner deal
Posted by: | CommentsNo surprise here, but the MTA Board has approved the sweeter sweetheart deal for Bruce Ratner. Instead of paying anything close to market price for land valued at $214 million four years ago, Ratner will pay the MTA the lump sum of $20 million with deferred payments over the next 22 years totaling $80 million. In return, he will provide a smaller-than-promised rail facility for the Atlantic Yards. Only two MTA Board members — Allen P. Cappelli and Mitchell H. Pally — voted against the new deal.
Jun
24
B division weekend headways officially set to 10 minutes
Posted by: | CommentsI often find myself taking the city’s B division trains — the lettered lines — from Brooklyn to Manhattan on the weekends, and I always assumed that trains ran on with a ten-minute headway. Today, we learn that the trains were supposed to arrive every eight minutes during the weekend, but because of construction and maintenance generally ran every ten minutes anyway. Now, New York City Transit is making the 10-minute B-division weekend headways official. Beginning in August, the MTA schedules will reflect this change. Officials say it will allow for “better management of train traffic.” One day, I hope to report on an increase of service instead of a decrease. A straphanger can dream.
Jun
23
With ambitious timeline, 7 line extension progressing apace
Posted by: | CommentsWhile most of our attention was on the Atlantic Yards plans, WNYC spent some time checking in with the MTA’s current 7 line expansion project. Matthew Schuerman interviewed Joe Trainor, the MTA’s chief engineer on the project, and it sounds as though the crews are making good progress. According to Trainor, by working with the Port Authority, MTA crews were able to work around the clock under Port Authority to build some of the tunnel-boring machine exits. Originally expected to take two or three years, this part of the project wrapped up in six months due to the inter-agency cooperation. Still, Trainor thinks the 2013 deadline the MTA has set for itself represents a lofty, if perhaps unrealistic, goal. [WNYC]
Jun
22
Destroyed, but not forgotten, national rail stations
Posted by: | CommentsThe history of the United States is pockmarked with terrible architectural and urban design decisions. We tear out trolley tracks in favor of cars. We build massive roadways without leaving rights-of-way in place for rapid mass transit. We tear down architectural gems such as Penn Station and replace them with, well, Madison Square Garden. Today, Infrastructurist examined 10 train stations along with an endangered one that faced the wrecking ball during the Twentieth Century. How and why city planners decided to destroy these beautiful and useful buildings make up some of the saddest tales of transit neglect from the last 100 years.
Jun
22
Live coverage of the MTA committee meetings
Posted by: | CommentsThe various committees that make up the MTA Board are set for a day of meetings today, and I’ll be covering the events as my day job allows. While I missed the Capital Construction update, the New York City Transit committee is meeting now, and the Finance committee will tackle the Atlantic Yards plans. I won’t be liveblogging the events here, but if you follow me on Twitter, you can see my live hits on the events. Any major news, I will of course write up here.
Jun
19
Non-voting LIRR rep joins MTA Board
Posted by: | CommentsClearing out an item from the past week, the MTA announced on Friday, June 12, that Ira R. Greenberg of Sunnyside, New York, has begun his term on the MTA Board. Greenberg joins the board at the behest of the Long Island Rail Road Commuters Council and will sit on the Long Island Rail Road/Long Island Bus Committee. He is a non-voting member tasked to serve on the board until Jan. 1, 2013. He carries with him a background in transportation policy and has long been a supporter of the East Side Access project. Greenberg sounds as though he is a highly qualified representative, and the MTA Board could use more members like him.
Jun
19
Ridership, fare revenue down for 2009
Posted by: | CommentsAs NYC Transit releases its monthly ridership figures, the news begins to sound the same. Due to a worse-than-expected economy and high job-loss figures in the city, subway and bus ridership numbers as well as farebox revenue are worse than expected. As The Post reports today, NYC Transit’s April 2009 numbers saw a 3.6 percent decrease in weekday ridership totals over the April 2008 figures. With a drop-off of about 189,000 rides, Transit reportedly saw revenues fall short of their April projections by $7.4 million. Bridge and Tunnel usage is down as well for the year, and at some point, the MTA will have to make up for this shortfall. How? I don’t know.
