Archive for Self Promotion
Sep
15
Reminder: Second Ave. Sagas live and in person
Posted by: | CommentsJust a brief reminder that you have a chance to see my live and in the flesh tomorrow. I’ll be speaking Thursday at Gelf Magazine’s Anatomyof the Big Apple event in DUMBO. For all the information about the event, check out the Facebook invite (and follow Second Ave. Sagas on Facebook while you’re at it). The doors at JLA Studios open at 7 p.m., and the talks will start at 7:30 p.m. I’ll be giving a brief presentation on a few subway-related topics, and then I’ll take questions afterward.
Additionally, as part of the build-up to the event, I took part in an interview with Eric Yun. We talked about Jay Walder’s tenure, the upcoming fare hikes and the perceptions and political role of the MTA in New York City. Check it out here, and hopefully, I’ll see you tomorrow night.
Sep
10
Save the Date: A talk in DUMBO (and service advisories)
Posted by: | CommentsI’ll have the service advisories up later tonight, but I wanted to alert my loyal readers to a talk I’m giving on Thursday, September 16. As part of Gelf Magazine’s Geeking Out series, I’ll be speaking on the MTA next week as part of an event called “The Anatomy of the Big Apple.” Also talking that evening will be Sharon Zukin and Charles Koumanoff. The event start at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 7, and it’s at the JLA Studios art gallery on 63 Pearl St. in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. Admission is free, and drinks will be available. The F is the nearest subway, and the A/C and 2/3 aren’t far.
And now on to the service advisories. These come to me via New York City Transit and are subject to change without notice. Check out the signs in your nearest station and listen to on-board announcements. No Subway Weekender this week because he’s getting married. We’ll just have to make do with the text announcements instead.
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday, September 11, from 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday, September 12, and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, downtown 1 and 2 trains run express from 14th Street to Chambers Street due to work to replace the roadbed at Franklin Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, Manhattan-bound 2 trains run express from Franklin Avenue to Atlantic Avenue due to tunnel ceiling inspections.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, there are no 2 trains between Manhattan and the Bronx due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction north of 135th Street. 2 trains run between Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College and 96th Street, and then are rerouted to the 1 line to 137th Street. Free shuttle buses replace the 2 between 96th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse. 5 trains replace the 2 between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 241st Street. Note: After leaving 96th Street, uptown 2 trains stop at 103rd Street then run express to 137th Street (days).
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, there are no 3 trains running due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction north of 135th Street. 4 trains replace the 3 between New Lots Avenue and Nevins Street all weekend. 2 trains replace the 3 between Nevins Street and 96th Street. Free shuttle buses replace 3 trains between 96th Street and 148th Street.
From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 12, Manhattan-bound 4 trains run express from Mosholu Parkway to Burnside Avenue due to track panel replacement north of Kingsbridge Road.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, New Lots-bound 4 trains run local from Atlantic Avenue to Utica Avenue and are extended to and from New Lots Avenue to replace the suspended 3 due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, Manhattan-bound 4 trains run local from Utica Avenue to Atlantic Avenue due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction and tunnel ceiling inspections.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, 5 trains run between the 241st Street 2 station and Bowling Green (days) and 149th Street-Grand Concourse (overnights) due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction. Note: 5 shuttle trains run between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street, all weekend.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, downtown A trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due to a track chip-out at 42nd Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, 207th Street-bound A trains run on the F line from Jay Street to West 4th Street, then local on the A to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to work on platform edges, tiles and stairs at Broadway-Nassau St. (Fulton Street Transit Center).
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, Brooklyn-bound A and C trains skip Broadway-Nassau Street due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center.
At all times until Fall 2011, Manhattan-bound A trains skip Beach 25th, Beach 44th, and Beach 67th Streets due to station rehabilitations.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight Saturday, September 11 and Sunday, September 12, downtown C trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due to a track chip-out at 42nd Street.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 11 and Sunday, September 12, Manhattan-bound C trains run on the F line from Jay Street to West 4th Street due to work on platform edges, tiles and stairs at Broadway-Nassau St. (Fulton Street Transit Center).
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, downtown E trains run express from 34th Street-Penn Station to Canal Street due to a track chip-out at 42nd Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, uptown F trains skip 14th and 23rd Streets due to substation rehabilitation north of West 4th Street.
From 10:30 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, free shuttle buses replace G trains between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues due to a track chip-out north of Metropolitan Avenue.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, there is no M train service due to platform edge rehabilitation. Customers should use free shuttle bus service instead.
From 9:30 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, free shuttle buses replace Q trains between Prospect Park and Coney Island Stillwell Avenue due to station rehabs on the Brighton Line.
From 11 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, uptown Q trains run local from Canal Street to 34th Street-Herald Square due to a track dig-out north of 23rd Street.
From 11 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 9 a.m. Saturday, September 11, from 9 p.m. Saturday, September 11 to 9 a.m. Sunday, September 12, and from 9 p.m. Sunday, September 12 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, downtown Q trains run local from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to a track dig-out north of 23rd Street.
(Rockaway Park Shuttle)
From 10:30 p.m. Friday, September 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 13, free shuttle buses replace S trains between Rockaway Park and Beach 60th Street due to station rehabilitations.
Jun
21
SAS on WCBS TV
Posted by: | CommentsEarly this morning, WCBS TV reporter Magee Hickey put together a piece on the upcoming service cuts and the revelation that more cuts are coming this winter. She got some footage of a crowded 7 train, spoke with a few commuters not too keen on the cuts, and interviewed me. For those interested, the video is available here and the web story is available here. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the clip, but check it out nonetheless.
Jun
01
SAS on ‘Good Day, New York’
Posted by: | CommentsEarlier this morning, I appeared on Fox 5′s Good Day, New York along side Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. The two of us talked with host Greg Kelly about the MTA’s weekend travel woes, the Congressional attempt to find money for nationwide transit authority operating deficits and the upcoming service cuts. The accompanying short story is available online, and you can watch the video below. Check it out.
Apr
16
Another Friday, another podcast appearance
Posted by: | CommentsAs the weekend approaches, I’ll be making another appearance on the NYC Tracks podcast. You can listen live at this link starting right now at 5 p.m., and the show will run for approximately 30 minutes. Heather Haddon and I will again be on with our hosts Colby and Chris. This week, we’ll be taking about MTA safety, a topic I discussed on Monday. Check it out.
Apr
09
Listen live to Second Ave. Sagas on NYC Tracks
Posted by: | CommentsAt 5 p.m. this afternoon, I’ll be making a Blog Talk Radio appearance to talk subways. I’m a guest on NYC Tracks’ weekly podcast. Coming out of the CUNY Journalism school, NYC Tracks is a new site focusing on the goings-on beneath city streets, and today’s podcast features amNew York’s Heather Haddon alongside yours truly.
The 30-minute show can be heard here in an hour, and the player embedded at right above will carry it as well. We’ll be discussing the week in transit news. So be sure to check that out.
Mar
25
Getting to know me
Posted by: | CommentsCheck this out: Last week, Charlotte Eichna, editor of Our Town, the Upper East Side newspaper, sat down with me to talk transit and profile Second Ave. Sagas for her readers. The profile hit the Internet last night, and the paper is available around town today. I haven’t seen a print copy yet, but apparently, I’m on the cover. You can check out the interview here. In it, I talk about the origins of the blog, my views on the current state of transit in New York City and Albany’s tortured relationship with the MTA. [Our Town]
Feb
23
SAS on CBS 2 news, again
Posted by: | CommentsA media alert: I’ll be on the WCBS 2 local news again this evening during the 6 p.m. broadcast. I’ll be talking about the MTA’s decision to eliminate 1000 positions in as put of the agency’s cost-cutting measures. For more coverage on that story, check out my posts on the station agent issue and MTA CEO and Chairman Jay Walder’s statement on the personnel reductions. I’ll link to the video when CBS posts it to their website.
Update 10:15 p.m.: The video is now available right here on WCBS’ website. It’s a rather even-keeled look at the service cuts and features what I think to be the most valid need for station against. If the MTA urges us to say something if we see something yet no one is there to whom we can say something, what are we do? Still, the costs of the station agents appear to far outweigh the benefits at a time when money is more than tight for the authority.
Feb
22
Media Hit: On the component-based renovation plans
Posted by: | Comments
Updated 9:24 p.m.: This morning, the Daily News reported on an initiative put forward by New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast that would see some high-traffic stations get some badly-needed renovations. According to Prendergast, eight stations — including Yankee Stadium and Third Ave./149th St. in the Bronx, Union Square and Times Square in Manhattan, Atlantic Ave./Pacific St. and Crown Heights-Utica Ave. in Brooklyn and Flushing-Main St. and Roosevelt Ave./74th St. in Queens — will get blitzed by teams of carpenters, masons, ironworkers and painters in an effort to spruce up stations that had been renovated within the last decade.
Prendergast decided to pursue these eight stations both as a display of the MTA’s new component-based approach toward station maintenance and because these high-traffic hubs were falling apart, just a decade or less after their last makeovers. The stations will then receive more frequent maintenance inspections. “We let conditions slip,” he said.
More specifically, Prendergast’s crack team of repairman are part of Transit’s new dedicated Station Maintenance teams. According to Transit, these teams will target previously rehabilitated stations in an effort to repair defects, and then the stations will enter the new Station Maintenance Program that will help preserve investments and avoid future disrepair. Transit chosen these station in this pilot because they include the four heaviest used stations in each borough.
This new project goes hand in hand with the new Target Component Program I mentioned above. This program will focus on station renewal rather than full-scale rehab. It is, according to Transit, a “less holistic approach” aimed at focusing on components in 150 stations that need repair. It’s a wider effort but one that won’t see all stations returned to a State of Good Repair.
This evening, CBS covered the story, and their video report featured a brief snippet from yours truly. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video, but you can view it on CBS’ website. In a nutshell, I like the component-based maintenance plan. It is, after all, far more realistic than the seemingly unattainable State of Good Repair. But I wonder if the money used on the Station Maintenance program would be better spent on stations in far worse shape than these. I know Transit wants to keep its crown jewels looking shiny, but there are some very decrepit stations both within and without of the borough of Manhattan.
Anyway, check out the video. I always enjoy being a talking head for the local newscasts.
Jan
27
SAS recognized as a top Gotham blog by the Voice
Posted by: | CommentsAllow me to take a few minutes of your time this afternoon to toot my own horn. This week’s Village Voice, available today city-wide in those ubiquitous red boxes, features a cover story on 18 of the city’s “obsessive, cantankerous, and unstoppable” blogs, and yours truly was included in this elite list. The piece’s introduction starts right here, and my profile is on page eight. The print edition even features my head shot on page 18. So if you’re around New York City, check it out, and as always, thanks for stopping by.
