Second Ave. Sagas

Author: Benjamin Kabak

  • Link: Four Penn questions for the next mayor

    Diller Scofidio & Renfro's plans for Penn Station. MSG would be relocated across the street.
    Diller Scofidio & Renfro’s plans for Penn Station. MSG would be relocated across the street.

    Whoever emerges from this morass of mayoral candidates to take City Hall will have to confront the future of Penn Station. With loud voices calling for a rebuilt and majestic headhouse, the City Council voted to grant Madison Square Garden a ten-year occupancy permit for the space, and along with that vote came the very explicit message that it’s time to fix Penn Station.

    Of course, fixing Penn Station isn’t nearly as easy as talking about fixing Penn Station, and various stakeholders have competing designs for the spot. The architectural renderings we saw a few months ago and Michael Kimmelman of The Times have seemingly prioritized style over transit expansion while rail advocates recognize that limited funds available for the project should be spent first on trans-Hudson capacity concerns and second on great public work.

    Somehow, the next mayor is going to have to figure out a way to balance out these competing interests, a growing city’s needs and the fight over dollars. To that end, Eric Jaffe at The Atlantic Cities offers up his four questions about Penn Station for the next mayor. It’s worth reading Jaffe’s explanations, but — spoiler alert — the questions are as follows:

    1. How will a new Penn Station improve transportation?
    2. How much economic value would a new station create?
    3. Is the money better spent elsewhere?
    4. Where will Madison Square Garden — and all its patrons — go?

    Question 4 is probably the easiest as there is some prime real estate right across the street from the current MSG that could easily house the future MSG. It would remain very transit-accessible and would be a state-of-the-art arena in Midtown Manhattan. Even with MSG’s recent renovations, the building has a finite lifespan, and the discussion on its future must happen in tandem with a look forward at Penn Station.

    Questions 1 and 3 I’ve been hammering since this effort to limit MSG’s permit got started, and Question 2 is an unsung one worth significant analysis. As Jaffe notes, the Municipal Arts Society plan for Midtown calls for 10.4 million square feet of new office space. “That’s the equivalent of four entire One World Trade Centers (itself still not filled),” he writes. “Such expectations may need to be tempered, especially since nearby areas of Hudson Yards and Midtown East will also be creating vast amounts of office space during the same time period.”

    So far, all we’ve heard from the mayoral candidates on Penn Station has been a big fat nothing, but this promises to be a big, if not the biggest, development issue facing Manhattan over the next decade. Hearing some answers to these questions would be a start.

  • The persistence of accessibility complaints at Smith/9th Streets

    Four months after the Smith/9th Sts. station has reopened, the MTA is still fielding complaints about accessibility issues. (Photo: MTA New York City Transit / Marc A. Hermann)

    As the MTA rehabilitated and renovated Smith/9th Sts. along the Culver Line in Brooklyn, the plans did not include accessibility. For the MTA to eschew adding elevators to a station undergoing full renovations is rare indeed. But Smith/9th wasn’t one of the 100 Key Stations, and the agency has secured some exemptions from full compliance in extenuating circumstances. While the MTA fielded complaints about this part of the project when the station reopened in April, the story hasn’t yet gone away, and it highlights an accessibility problem and the shortcomings of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    When the station reopened in April, the MTA addressed questions surrounding accessibility. In a statement, the agency said: “The design for ADA elevators at this station was structurally unwieldy and financially prohibitive due to the station’s layout.” An MTA spokesman explained to me that, as the station sits partially over the Gowanus Canal, is nearly 90 feet above street level and sees ridership of under 5000 per day, the MTA determined that elevators were cost-prohibitive, economically inefficient and nearly impossible at places.

    It was — and still is — unclear how the MTA avoided legal requirements, but in the five years of planning and construction, the agency faced no lawsuits over the decision. That’s not definitive legal proof that the MTA complied with law, but it’s strong circumstantial evidence as disabilities advocates have not been shy in forcing the MTA to court to amend or revise projects that don’t comply with ADA requirements.

    This weekend, State Senator Eric Adams took the MTA to task for the issues surrounding Smith/9th Sts. With an elderly rider standing near him, Adams expressed his displeasure with the project. “The Smith and 9th Street station is the highest station in our city, yet we don’t have an elevator after doing a state-of-the-art renovation,” he said.

    Here’s the full story on Adams’ press conference:

    Adams complained [that] the station has been left inaccessible to thousands of straphangers, and even fit riders are worn out after climbing all the stairs. The woman who joined Adams has been visiting from Israel, and has been unable to use the Smith-9th Street station because of the stairs, Adams said in a statement. He called on the MTA to implement a shuttle to the Church Avenue station, which is fully accessible and serves both the F and G lines.

    “The free shuttle can be similar to what we have now, which is called the Access-a-Ride, but they have to pay for that,” Adams said. “And we don’t believe a handicapped or disabled person should have to pay an additional fare to gain access to the public transportation system that their tax dollars help build and maintain.”

    Adams said with no options at the Smith-9th Street station and no easy transportation to another stop, the MTA is failing to serve the entire public. “Our public transportation system is supposed to be accessible to the entire public, and those who are part of the disabled population are included in having accessibility,” he said.

    Adams’ idea to run a bus to Church Ave. seems unnecessary. There’s already a bus that runs from the Smith/9th area to Jay St./Metrotech, a fully accessible station, and unless ridership shows a clear need to get from the Carroll Gardens area out to Coney Island, the bus would just be an empty one. But the fact that Smith/9th Sts. isn’t an accessible station remains deeply problematic.

    The MTA’s system on a whole represents a significant barrier to those with impaired mobility. Routes through accessible stations are circuitous and timely, and other issues — platform gaps, uneven boarding areas, unhelpful employees — abound. Meanwhile, the MTA sinks millions of dollars that could go toward accessibility improvements into Access-A-Ride because the ADA mandates such service without funding it. It’s one giant mess that no one is any closer to solving.

  • La Guardia, parking spots, maps and weekend service changes

    I’ve had a bunch of browser tabs open for a while, and I haven’t had a chance to write them up all. So I’ll leave ’em all here. Enjoy the weekend reading.

    La Guardia gets a facelift

    New York’s ugliest and most maligned airport is getting a makeover. As Crain’s New York reported a few weeks ago, the airport’s main terminal will get a multi-billion-dollar renovation that will expand available space by over 500,000 square feet. The project is expected to wrap in 2021 and will see the terminal move closer to the Grand Central Parkway. Considering the money spent and attention paid, now would be a great time to take a second look at rail access for the airport, but it hasn’t been a part of the discussion yet.

    The price of parking

    A few weeks ago, a parking spot in a Park Slope garage around the corner from my apartment sold for $80,000. This is the highest sale in the Garage Condominium, a 30-year-old parking coop in a neighborhood short on parking. The price per square foot is in line with other real estate sales in the area, and it certainly makes me question the idea of free on-street parking.

    Transit Maps: Schematic vs. To-Scale representations

    Here is a fun website that compares transit maps to the geographic reality. I’ve discussed this topic quite a bit over the years, and here, you’ll see the differences between schematic maps and those that graft transit systems over the street-level geography. The London comp is quite dramatic, and here’s New York.

    Meanwhile, onto the service advisories:


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, downtown 1 trains run express from 14th Street to Chambers Street due to cable work for vent plant repairs at Mulry Square.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 24, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 24 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 25, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, downtown 2 trains run express from 14th Street to Chamber Street due to cable work for vent plat repairs at Mulry Square.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 24 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, uptown 4 trains run local from Grand Central-42nd Street to 125th Street due to track tie renewal north of 125th Street and track maintenance south of 138th Street-3rd Avenue.


    From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday, August 24 and from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Sunday, August 25, 5 trains run every 20 minutes between Dyre Avenue and Bowling Green due to track tie renewal north of 125th Street and track maintenance south of 138th Street-3rd Avenue. Uptown 5 trains run local from Grand Central-42nd Street to 125th Street.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 24 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, 6 service operates in two sections due to track tie renewal north of 125th Street and track maintenance south of 138th Street-3rd Avenue:

    • Between Pelham Bay Park and 125th Street
    • Between 125th Street and Brooklyn Bridge


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Manhattan-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to 3rd Avenue-138th Street due to track tie renewal north of 125th Street and track maintenance south of 138th Street-3rd Avenue.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 24, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 24 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 25, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, uptown A trains run express from Canal Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to switch renewal north of 42nd Street-Port Authority and track tie renewal at Canal Street.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, there is no A train service at Fulton Street due to paint and lead abatement at Fulton Street.

    • There are no transfers between 2/3 and 4/5 service at Fulton Street.
    • Customers should use nearby Chambers Street AC station instead.
    • Customers may transfer between 23 and 4 trains at Nevins Street.
    • Customers may transfer between 23 and AC trains at Park Place/Chambers Street.


    From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25, uptown C trains run express from Canal Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to switch renewal north of 42nd Street-Port Authority and track tie renewal at Canal Street.


    From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25, there is no C train service at Fulton Street due to paint and lead abatement at Fulton Street.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 24, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 24 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 25, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Coney Island-bound D trains skip DeKalb Avenue and run express from Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center to 36th Street due to rail renewal at Union Street.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 24, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 24 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 25, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Manhattan-bound E trains run express from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue due to signal modernization at Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Jamaica Center-bound E trains are rerouted via the F line from 2nd Avenue to 47th-50th Sts due to switch renewal north of 42nd Street-Port Authority and track tie renewal at Canal Street.

    • No E trains between World Trade Center and West 4th Street. Customers should take the A or C instead.
    • For E stations between West 4th Street and 50th Street, customers may use the A local or the C. Transfer between trains at West 4th Street.
    • For 7th Avenue, customers may use the D; transfer between trains at West 4th Street.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Manhattan-bound E trains skip Van Wyck Blvd and 75th Avenue due to signal modernization at Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike.


    From 9:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the M line from 47th-50th Sts to Queens Plaza due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for Second Avenue Subway project.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Coney Island-bound F trains skip Sutphin Blvd , Van Wyck Blvd and 75th Avenue, due to signal modernization at Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, there is no G train service between Court Square and Nassau Avenue. G trains operate between Nassau Avenue and Church Avenue. There is no G service at Greenpoint Avenue, 21st Street and Court Square.

    Free shuttle buses operate on two routes:

    1. Via Manhattan Avenue between Nassau Avenue G and Court Square
    2. Via McGuinness Blvd between Lorimer Street L and Court Square

    Customers may transfer between:

    • G trains and shuttle buses at Nassau Avenue
    • L trains and shuttle buses at Lorimer Street
    • E and 7 trains and shuttle buses at Court Square


    From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, August 24 to 10 p.m. Sunday, August 25, Jamaica Center-bound J trains run express from Myrtle Avenue to Broadway Junction due to track panel installation at Kosciusko Street.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, there is no L train service between 8th Avenue and 14th Street-Union Square due to replacement of corroded steel column south of 6th Avenue. L trains operate between 14th Street-Union Square and Rockaway Parkway. M14 buses provide alternate service.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, M service is suspended due to station renewal work between Fresh Pond Road and Central Avenue. Free shuttle buses operate between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue, making all station stops.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 24, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 24 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 25, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Coney Island-bound N trains skip DeKalb Avenue and run express from Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center to 36th Street due to track tie renewal at Union Street.


    From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26, Coney Island-bound N trains skip 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th Avenue and 39th Avenue due to station painting at 30th Avenue.


    From 10:45 p.m. Friday, August 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 26 57th Street/7th Avenue-bound Q trains run express from Kings Highway to Newkirk Plaza due to station component work at Parkside Avenue, Beverley Road and Cortelyou Road. Note: At all times until December 2013, Manhattan-bound Q platforms at Cortelyou Road, Beverley Road and Parkside Avenue are closed for station component work.


    From 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25, Manhattan-bound R trains run express from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue due signal modernization at Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike.


    From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25, Bay Ridge-bound R trains skip DeKalb Avenue and run express from Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center to 36th Street due to rail renewal north of Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and track tie renewal at Union Street.

  • Link: The easier way to fix Penn Station ops

    The science fiction future for Penn Station.
    The science fiction future for Penn Station.

    Over the last few years, I’ve written a bit about the disconnect between the need to spend wisely and the need to build great public works. I don’t believe all transit infrastructure should be purely utilitarian, but in an age when cities have to fight for every last transit dollar, does it make sense to spend billions on fancy headhouses instead of rail expansion projects? I don’t think.

    In addition to this disconnect, a few Second Ave. Sagas readers have picked up on the theme of vanity projects. In the public works space, it can be hard to pinpoint and define a vanity project. Mayor Bloomberg is funding the 7 line extension with city money because, first, it was to be a part of the Olympics bid and second, because it is undeveloped land in Manhattan. The subway extension is useful, but is it a vanity project? Or what about the QueensWay park plans? Or my favorite whipping boy, Santiago Calatrava’s gold-plated subway station above the PATH terminal at the World Trade Center?

    The latest vanity project that’s come to view is this plan to replace Madison Square Garden with a grand new Penn Station. Few New Yorkers would dispute the charge that Penn is a dump. It is clearly in need of some work, and MSG’s place atop the station will forever interfere with improvements. Relocating the arena and rebuilding the train station makes sense if the money makes sense. How much should we spend on a majestic building when rail needs — such as a new trans-Hudson train tunnel — are so glaringly obviously more important?

    Last week, in a piece a long time coming, Stephen Smith at The Observer tackled this question and came up with a much better solution to Penn Station’s service woes. We don’t need a new building; we just need streamlined operations. Here’s his take:

    During peak periods, each track at Penn is used, on average, just three times an hour. While Penn Station struggles to move around 300,000 passengers each weekday with more than a dozen commuter tracks, Paris’s main commuter hub, Châtelet-Les Halles, handles half a million with just seven tracks.

    The key to making the most out of the existing station is what’s known as through-running. The gold standard in commuter rail integration, through-running would have trains from New Jersey come into Penn Station, but instead of making a capacity-taxing reverse maneuver, they’d run straight out to Queens and Long Island, much like a subway…

    This is not to say that large capital projects won’t eventually be necessary, even after the existing service patterns are streamlined. But rather than focus on new station complexes, the railroads should look to a solution considered for the first Hudson River crossing that Governor Chris Christie ultimately killed: a tunnel between Penn Station and Grand Central. New Jersey Transit and Amtrak need a new tunnel beneath the Hudson, but they also need somewhere to put the trains once they reach Penn. A tunnel from Penn Station to Grand Central would achieve this while also allowing for through-running not only between New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road, but also between Metro-North and job-rich suburbs like White Plains and Stamford, Conn. Not to mention giving Metro-North riders a one-seat ride to Penn Station, and New Jersey Transit riders a similar trip to Grand Central.

    There’s a lot more to Smith’s article, and it’s definitely worth a read if only for the fact that someone, somewhere is discussing an obvious topic that the transit agencies are hesitant to admit to considering. Smith recognizes that we’ll have to spend capital dollars somewhere, and I think Penn Station’s aesthetic problems can’t be overcome without a new station. But the priority should be first on streamlining current operations to make better use of the station while adding trans-Hudson rail capacity.

  • Link: Why the QueensWay isn’t the High Line

    Is this the future of the Rockaway Beach Branch right-of-way? (Courtesy of WXY Architecture)

    Throughout the debate over the future of the unused LIRR Rockabway Beach Branch right-of-way, I’ve frequently returned to a point about branding. While many QueensWay proponents understand the difference between the proposed greenspace in Queens and the High Line, media coverage has trumpeted the park as a High Line in Queens, and considering the popularity of the High Line, few Friends of the QueensWay are rushing to issue a correction.

    The QueensWay, though, isn’t the High Line for reasons relating to geographic and population. Chelsea was the ideal place for a successful elevated park. It was already a tourist destination and already an expensive and popular neighborhood. The corridor from Rego Park to Ozone Park is, as New York City neighborhoods go, off the beaten track. It’s not in the guidebooks, and the residents are fine with that. It’s not as densely populated as the High Line area and not as well trafficked.

    That’s the point made in a post on The Architect’s Newspaper today. Don’t call it a High Line, says B. Tyler Silvestro. He writes:

    The proposal calls for the connection of ecologies to be the guiding framework. “QueensWay with sensitive design can become a critical artery of green open space for a diverse, vibrant community, offering opportunities for recreation, education, community gathering, and ecological productivity to our great city,” said dlandstudio’s Susannah Drake in a statement. Claire Weisz, principal at WXY agreed, “This study is an important next step in making the vision of reclaiming the QueensWay as a green connector and cultural corridor a reality.”

    What they did not see was the High Line. The skyrocketing real estate value surrounding Manhattan’s famed elevated park is not the anticipated outcome of a park in Queens. Nor is it the intention. Both Rego Park and Ozone Park (neither of which are parks) are sorely lacking open space, and it is TPL’s ambition that the QueensWay will bring needed green space and more. “Boosting the local economy, activating abandoned and unsafe property, and accommodating bicycles—all with the goal of improving quality of life and connecting diverse neighborhoods.”

    It’s a key distinction in the debate over the future of the right-of-way. Creating greenspace and bike infrastructure is a laudable goal; restoring rail service too would be a laudable goal. But converting the ROW into a park without ensuring that rail is impossible must take priority, and that means recognizing that QueensWay won’t, can’t be and shouldn’t be a High Line for a different borough. It serves a more functional purpose but so does rail. Balancing the two complementary and competing uses is a tricky proposition.

  • From Long Island, a glimpse of a car-centric problem

    As part of a plan to improve reliability and frequency along the Long Island Rail Road’s single-tracked Ronkonkoma Branch, the MTA is going to spend a few hundred million dollars to double track the segment. It’s a long overdue project as ridership along the line has doubled in the 25 years since the line was electrified, and it still won’t be finished until around 2018. The project includes a better connection to MacArthur Airport, transit-oriented development along the 18-mile segment of track, and NIMBYs concerned about their cars.

    The double-track project enjoys nearly unanimous support from New York’s politicians. Sen. Chuck Schumer has been instrumental in lining up federal funding; Gov. Cuomo has thrown his voice behind it; and even State Senator Lee Zeldin, the man with a crusade against the MTA payroll tax, has expressed desire to see it through. “The announcement of $138 million in accelerated funding to build the second track project is a huge win for Long Islanders,” Zeldin said in a statement recently. “The impact of this important return on our investment will boost our region’s strength, and specifically our economy. This will create jobs, improve our tax base, and make Long Island a better place to work and raise a family.”

    So what’s the problem? For an area that exists and prospers because of its railroad connection to New York City, Long Island has a thriving car culture as well. Some of that is out of necessity; some of that is out of choice. And when drivers hear about increased at-grade railroad service, they think about how it will impact traffic. That was the gist of a recent Newsday article out of Suffolk County as drivers are worried that 20 crossings may see more frequent train service.

    Alfonso Castillo had the story:

    Some residents and elected officials fear that those extra trains mean more waiting time for motorists. But, the LIRR concluded in its recently published environmental assessment that vehicle backups at affected crossings won’t worsen. The overall impact will be minimal after adjustments to traffic lights and increased waits at three crossings would not be excessive, the study concluded.

    “Their assertion that there’s not going to be an impact is totally ludicrous,” said Suffolk Legis. Thomas Cilmi (R-Bay Shore), who has pushed for further study of the Double Track project’s impact on traffic. “No one in the community is saying, ‘Stop this project.’ But we’re all saying, ‘Tread cautiously here and let’s work together to address the concerns that exist.’”

    ..LIRR officials said adjusting the timing of some traffic lights to move more cars through intersections should eliminate any major delays from crossing gates being down more often. The railroad also wants to add a turning lane at one crossing in Deer Park to help move cars along. “We have acknowledged that there will be some impact,” LIRR Customer Service vice president Joseph Calderone said. “But we’re not walking away. We’re saying that we’re more than willing, and intend to work with local and state governments, to do what we can to try to mitigate any traffic issues.”

    To combat the LIRR, some Long Island civic associations are asserting that crossings could see delays of 10-15 minutes and others have proposed spending at least $100 million of state money to construct above-grade crossings for cars. I give them points for creativity at least.

    Now, I’m not saying we should ignore the needs of these drivers of the concerns they raise. Some are indeed valid, but it’s an overblown problem with a proportionality issue. The trains will be carrying far more people than the cars on the roads, and if that means some drivers may have to wait for a train to pass, so be it. Long Island works because of its railroad (even though the railroad works in spite of the agency running it), and the double track will be a significant improvement for the Ronkonkoma branch.

  • Podcast: Episode 3 of ‘The Next Stop Is…’

    Allow me to present the third episode of “The Next Stop Is…”, the official Second Ave. Sagas podcast. Host Eric Brasure and I talk about the possibility of Aqueduct station in Queens being renamed, the MTA/TWU arbitrator being dismissed and what that might indicate for the future of contract negotiations, and whether or not QueensWay will become a reality. I’m definitely talking too quickly at times in this one, but I promise to slow down next week.

    To grab the audio file to listen, click here. You can also find the podcast in iTunes. This week’s recording runs a little short of 30 minutes, the perfect amount of time for your subway commute. We’ll be back with a new episode in two weeks. We’d love to take reader questions too so if you have a topic you’d like me to cover, leave a comment or drop me a note.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    Subscribe: RSS

  • Labor relations and what the R hath wrought

    In addition to longer commutes for riders trying to bridge the gap left by the closure of the R train’s Montague Tube, the Sandy-related shutdown has led to some operating pain for the MTA. As the R now operates in two sections during the week, the transit agency has had to roll out more rolling stock and find more people to work the line. As such, we’ve become privy to the inner workings of the MTA’s relationship with its union.

    Since the R is running at regular headways but in two sections, the MTA has needed to juggle operations for the train. Eagle-eyed riders may have noticed R160s along the R. The new rolling stock is on loan from the F line during the tunnel repairs, and while the R46s will return in late 2014, for now, R riders get newer cars with dynamic route maps and automated announcements.

    But while we like to marvel over rolling stock, these extra train sets require someone to operate them, and to that end, the MTA has found themselves facing a bit of a personnel crunch. As such, the MTA has, according to the Daily News, asked some retirees to voluntarily return to work. It has created some problems and offers a glimpse into the tortured world of labor relations. As Pete Donohue reports:

    The MTA has a post-Sandy manpower shortage — and is asking retired motormen to come back to work, the Daily News has learned. NYC Transit sent letters last week to 120 former motormen in which the agency describes a “critical and urgent need” for their expertise. The division needs extra personnel to operate equipment trains for its $3.4 billion in repair projects, NYC Transit President Carmen Bianco told The News. It also needs more motormen for the R line because it is running less efficiently as two shuttles, he said.

    A lack of manpower hasn’t yet delayed repair projects, or impacted regularly scheduled subway service, but the work load is ramping up, Bianco said. “We’re on the edge,” Bianco said. “It’s not a situation we want to be in.”

    The job pitch, however, could be a hard sell. “I thought it was a joke at first,” Thomas Risi, a 31-year transit veteran, said Monday. “I just retired a few months ago.” Risi, 55, of the Bronx, said he’s enjoying his free time and his $47,000-a-year pension. That’s more than his take-home while working. As a retiree, Risi no longer pays city or state income taxes or the federal Social Security tax.

    Kevin Harrington, a vice president with Transport Workers Union Local 100, said it has become harder for motormen to take time off. The union, however, opposes re-hiring retirees “during this time of high unemployment,” Harrington said.

    So what’s going on here? First, note that retiree, who is 55, now takes home more after working than he did before. Keep that in mind when fares go up again in 2015. Second, the union would prefer to increase employees rolls and salary and benefits obligations than show flexibility in allowing retirees to return to service. It’s a snapshot of the need to reform the relationship between the MTA and the TWU and a prime example of how the public and its needs get entirely shut out.

  • Finally, Verizon inks deal with Transit Wireless for subway cell service

    When Transit Wireless and the MTA announced expanded cell service at 30 additional stations in late April, the press conference included word that the two remaining major carriers — Sprint and Verizon Wireless — would soon be on board. Sprint wrapped its deal a month ago, and today, Transit Wireless announced that Verizon has come to terms too.

    “We are extremely pleased to gain Verizon’s participation in our wireless network in the New York City subway system, facilitating high quality voice and data services in the underground,” William A. Bayne Jr., CEO of Transit Wireless, said in a statement. “We have now secured partnerships with all four major wireless carriers to bring the vast majority of New Yorkers, visitors, government agency personnel, transit employees, contractors and first responders the ability to be connected in the stations we’ve constructed – a real milestone.”

    The carrier will bring its 3G and 4G LTE voice and data services to Transit Wireless’ in-station network in the subway system. Verizon will begin installation of their equipment soon, and Verizon Wireless customers — like me! — should see service in the 36 stations currently online later this year. The 40 Phase 2 stations set for early-2014 activation will include Verizon services. Welcome to the future.

  • NJ Transit draws political ire as depths of Sandy failures come to light

    Redacted no longer.

    New Jersey Transit’s response — or lack thereof– to Hurricane Sandy is seemingly the gift that keeps on giving. Nearly ten months after the storm, thanks to one diligent Garden State newspaper, we now have a much clearer picture of how New Jersey Transit’s plans were simply ignored even as their own internal models badly under-predicted the looming storm. No one has yet to be held responsible, but Jersey politicians are starting to focus their rage on the rightly beleaguered transit agency.

    By now, the backstory is getting familiar. The agency suffered through $450 million in damage to its rolling stock when officials made a slew of mistakes including, as I mentioned, erroneous storm modeling. Claiming that their emergency preparedness plans dictated such a decision, NJ Transit moved trains into vulnerable areas but released fully redacted documents when pressed for their storm plans.

    In May, The Record sued for access to the non-redacted version of the plans, and this week, they won. The headline of the resulting article says it all: “NJ Transit didn’t follow its own storm plan.” Karen Rouse had the details, and I’ll excerpt at length:

    Newly released internal documents show NJ Transit had a plan in place for moving railcars and locomotives to higher ground as Superstorm Sandy approached, raising further questions about why the agency left hundreds of pieces of equipment in low-lying locations in the storm’s path, resulting in millions of dollars in damage. Only after The Record filed a public-records suit did the transit agency release a 3½-page copy of a hurricane plan prepared four months before the storm that advised transferring commuter trains to several upland sites. Nowhere did the plan recommend what NJ Transit ended up doing: moving millions of dollars worth of rail­cars and engines to a low-lying yard near water, where they were inundated by Sandy’s storm surge.

    The NJ Transit document stands in stark contrast to the more detailed hurricane plan prepared by New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, which, taking into account concerns about global warming, enabled the transit system to move the vast majority of its trains to higher ground, saving all but 11 of its rail­cars from flood damage. The damage to 343 pieces of NJ Transit equipment in low-lying yards in Kearny and Hoboken — 70 locomotives and 273 railcars, a third of the railroad’s fleet — is estimated at $120 million. The damaged equipment also included seven railcars and seven locomotives owned by the MTA that NJ Transit stored in Kearny, site of the agency’s sprawling Meadows Maintenance Complex.

    The “NJ Transit Rail Operations Hurricane Plan” prepared in June 2012 directs NJ Transit’s train crews to move railcars and locomotives “from flood-prone areas to higher ground” in the event of a hurricane or severe tropical storm. The plan is brief, but it lists more than a half-dozen locations where equipment is to be moved. Commuter railcars and locomotives used on the Main and Bergen lines would be stored in the Waldwick Yard, according to the plan. Equipment serving the agency’s Hoboken Division would be stored in the Bergen Tunnels under the Palisades. And cars and engines serving the Atlantic City Line would be moved to a yard in central South Jersey.

    Yet, for reasons the agency has declined to explain or discuss, NJ Transit crews stored trains at the Kearny Yard and left others in Hoboken. Both yards occupy low ground near bodies of water and both flooded in the storm surge. Neither was mentioned in the hurricane plan as a place to relocate equipment in a storm emergency.

    New Jersey Transit officials refused to comment, but other New Jersey politicians were more than willing to share their thoughts. “It is unconscionable that someone could get away with it. If I squander $100 million, the governor would be the first person to fire me,” Upendra Chivukula, Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, said to WNYC’s Alex Goldmark.

    Chivukula is one of many high ranking New Jersey politician to call for an investigation into NJ Transit’s practices and an ouster if necessary. He believes Executive Director Jim Weinstein should resign over the way the agency responded — or didn’t respond — to the threat of Sandy. “The process for finding out who made the decision, if that’s the key factor, should not be difficult for the governor,” he said. “The poor decision making process under the Governor’s jurisdiction should not tolerated.”

    It’s long been a no-brainer to me. New Jersey Transit ignored their internal procedures and ignored the warning signs. The mistakes were costly, and no one has been held responsible yet. Being stronger than the storm means being ready for the storm and taking responsibility for failures.