Tunnels for the East Side Access project will run through the Sunnyside neighborhood in Queens. (Map courtesy of MTA Capital Construction)
Unhappy residents make poor political partners and, as the MTA is learning, excellent stories for journalists. While Second Ave. residents have expressed their collective dismay over a looming eviction, some New Yorkers across the East River aren’t too happy with the plans for the East Side Access project.
According to a story last week in the Queens Chronicle, Sunnyside residents are concerned that the increased rail traffic will mean a corresponding increase in noise for the neighborhood. Jennifer Manley of the Chronicle has more:
According to Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees familiar with the plans, two new sets of train tracks will be laid parallel to the LIRR main line, one to the north and one to the south. A loop track tunnel will also be built below ground to run empty trains to a new storage yard…
At the Sunnyside Towers, a six-story co-op building on Barnett Avenue, some upper-floor residents have learned to live with the rumble of passing trains, but are not pleased with the prospect of more. “When you live right here, you are getting the screech of metal hitting metal, and it’s sickening,” complained Ayne Horyn, who lives on the fourth floor…Estimates are that train activity could increase between 30 percent and 50 percent, with an additional 24 trains a day, and as many as 19 more trains during peak hours.
While some residents are working with MTA on noise-dampening solutions, others are resigned to the fact that these transportation upgrades will bring a decrease in the quality of life for some Queens dwellers.
It’s been a rough week for the MTA and its public relations image. The Second Ave. residents are garnering sympathy because no one thought this subway line would actually end up a reality. And while Queens residents will soon have their chance to air their concerns with MTA CEO Elliot “Lee” Sander, an air of inevitability permeates these capital construction projects. Once the money starts flowing and the wheels start turning, it’s tough to stem that impending tide.
1 comment
As a Sunnyside resident, this is both frustrating and unbelievable! At the present time our infrastructure is taxed to the max, as evidenced by a power outage that lasted for me & my neighbors for 13 days, which killed off 7 prosperous businesses in a 4 block stretch.
Very minimal improvements have been made by Con Ed, so I predict many more outages in the future based solely on the increased need for power this project will bring.
I find it interesting that this forum is not open to the public.