Second Ave. Sagas

Downtown residents want Fulton St. hub

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

Yup. There’s that dome again. (Source: MTA Capital Construction)

Add Lower Manhattan residents to that ever-growing list of New Yorkers annoyed at the plans to overhaul the Fulton St. Transit Hub. They join the displaced merchants as everyone tries to finger the MTA for this misguided plan’s shortcomings.

On Monday night, residents of Community Board 1 gathered with MTA officials to discuss the fate of the hub. While my suggestion of simply sticking a ladder into a hole in the ground probably wasn’t among the top choices, CB1 members urged the MTA to stick with their original plans. Amy Zimmer of Metro New York has more:

Bill Wheeler, the MTA’s director of planning, asked CB1 members last night what they wanted to salvage from the original plans. The answer was: the original plans.

“It would be utterly unconscionable to not build this project in a timely manner after 145 Downtown businesses were sacrificed to assemble the site and the entire population of Lower Manhattan has been forced to navigate around and through this massive dirty construction for years,” CB1 wrote in a resolution.

With billions going to the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, why couldn’t the MTA find the money for Fulton Street, Goodkind asked. “We want the MTA to deliver,” Goodkind said.

Herein lies the rub: The MTA is spending its capital construction money on the Second Ave. Subway and the East Side Access project. The Feds were supposed to supply the money for the Fulton St. transit hub from the Lower Manhattan 9/11 recovery fund, and they budgeted $750 million for the project. When the costs starting coming in at a level significantly higher than that, the MTA couldn’t cover the overruns without sacrificing other projects.

And why should they? Much like the City did with the 7 line extension, the Feds were supposed to pick up the budget for the hub. Yet again, the MTA did not come to an agreement on cost overruns that fit the agency budget, and they’re left saddled with a $750-million hole in the ground and no hub plans.

At some point soon, the MTA will have to unveil plans for the area because business owners and residents will demand it. Some have suggested a private/public partnership, and if that’s what it takes to get this oft-delayed and expensive hub off the ground, so be it.

Comments

7 responses to “Downtown residents want Fulton St. hub”

  1. Peter

    I think the simplest solution (bearing in mind that NOTHING in NYC is ever simple) is to have the MTA request proposals from entities willing to build the hub to the original design.

    Reply
  2. Marc Shepherd

    I believe the MTA already did request proposals. They received only one bid, and it was considerably higher than the budget. That’s the problem.

    Reply
  3. Gary

    Marc’s right.

    Ben, I’m told that your ladder idea was a non-starter due to safety reasons, but the MTA is studying an alternative with TWO ladders, one for egress and one for entry.

    But damn it, this thing needs to get built and get built right. Who is the Congessman from this district? Where is Schumer? Where is Clinton? Where is Rudy, Mayor of 9/11?

    Someone ought to be demagoguing this issue in the press (but on the side of spending the necessary money, for once.)

    Reply
  4. Peter

    I believe the RFP you refer to Marc is the one for construction. of the entire project. What I should probably have made clearer is that I expect that another solicitation, for construction and long-term leasing of the retail and commercial portions of the building would probably garner many respondants, and partially solve the cost overrun – budget problem.

    Reply
  5. Peter

    I believe the RFP you refer to Marc is the one for construction. of the entire project. What I should probably have made clearer is that I expect that another solicitation, for construction and long-term leasing of the retail and commercial portions of the building would probably garner many respondants, and partially solve the cost overrun – budget problem.

    Reply
  6. Marc Shepherd

    I don’t think so, Peter. The project already was divided up into multiple RFPs. The trouble is that the building, as designed, is not particularly attractive for retail. That was never its purpose. The design maximizes light and open space. It looks wonderful, but as a strictly commercial proposition it doesn’t really add up. If you need an analogy, look at Grand Central Terminal. That soaring structure wouldn’t get built today if it had to be justified in commercial terms.

    For your idea to work, the design would need to be scrapped in favor of something better suited to retail—something that can be justified as a business venture. That’s the most likely outcome at this point.

    Reply
  7. Second Ave. Sagas | Blogging the NYC Subways » Blog Archive » Thirty days hath the MTA’s Fulton St. calendar

    […] that the transit hub would be scaled back because of skyrocketed costs. Fulton St. residents objected and the MTA promised something in March and then, um, something in April. The only problem was that […]

    Reply

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