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Benjamin Kabak

AsidesPublic Transit Policy

Quote: Bloomberg on transit fares and congestion pricing

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on October 1, 2012

Streetsblog on Friday picked up an interesting tidbit from Mayor Bloomberg. While speaking at the unveiling of this crazy plan to build the world’s tallest Ferris wheel at the Ferry Terminal in St. George, the lame-duck mayor analogized a transit funding plan to the ferry. “If you were going to design the perfect public transportation system,” he said, “you would have it be free and you would charge people to use cars, because you want the incentive to get them to do that.”

This is essentially the Kheel Plan that Charles Komanoff has been working under the heading of the Balanced Transportation Analyzer, and it’s not the first time the mayor has espoused such a theory. Accomplishing such a policy goal would require a sea change in the way New Yorkers and Americans view public transportation and driving, and it would require a massive investment in expanding the reach and frequency of the city’s mass transit network. It’s not impossible, just improbable, and still a very noble goal.

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Fulton Street

Dey St. Passageway to remain shuttered for now

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on October 1, 2012

Renderings for the Dey St. Passageway do not include the throngs of homeless people the MTA fears may camp out there.

In two years or so, the MTA should be ready to open the Fulton Street Transit Center, and already, at parts, the construction is looking a little tidier. The oculus is taking shape above the main building, and the underground work is progressing apace. There is, however, a rub. According to the Daily News, the Dey St. Passageway may remain shuttered long past the Transit Center’s opening.

Pete Donohue has the story. As the Dey St. headhouse gears up for a looming opening, the concourse between the R and the rest of the Fulton St. station could remain closed for years. Writes Donohue:

For years, Metropolitan Transportation Authority construction and planning schedules have pegged November 2012 as the time for the opening of a new underground connection between the Fulton Center subway complex at Broadway in lower Manhattan and the Cortlandt St. station on the eastern edge of the World Trade Center site…

Yet transit officials now say they plan to keep the Dey St. Concourse padlocked — for several years. The official reason: Few riders will make use of the free transfer. The demand, officials say, will come when the new office towers being built at Ground Zero are completed and occupied, and the Port Authority finishes its permanent — and extravagant — PATH hub. That’s will be in 2015. Maybe. “The small number of people we believe would use the transfer . . . does not justify the expense of opening, maintaining and policing the passage,” MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg explained.

Incredibly, the MTA says an analysis concluded that if the tunnel were to open as initially planned, just five people an hour would want to use the walkway and make a free transfer between the R train at Cortlandt. St. and the many lines running through Fulton Center. So, then, who will come? The homeless — at least that’s the MTA’s fear. The concern is that the brand-spanking-new concourse might become an encampment for the poor, unmoored souls you see huddled in doorways in the city or standing outside soup kitchens.

We’ve seen this move before played out throughout the system. Sometimes, the problems involve disputes between the MTA and the private entities contracted to open or maintain entrances. Sometimes, the problems focus around maintenance work that, for some reason or another, just isn’t completed in a timely fashion. Sometimes, the problems center around security concerns that are seemingly forgotten to time.

For now, though, as Donohue writes, the MTA will have a passageway to nowhere on its hands. It’s a $200 million provision for the future. Try telling that to all the businesses forced out of their shops above ground as this pristine concourse sits unused for the next three or four years.

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Service Advisories

Weekend work impacting 13 subway lines

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 29, 2012


From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 30, downtown 2 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street due to track panel installation south of Prospect Avenue and at East 180th Street.


From 6 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 30, there is no 3 train service between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue due to switch renewal south of New Lots Avenue and track panel installation at Sutter Avenue. 4 trains and free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

  • 3 trains run between 148th Street and Franklin Avenue and via the 2 line between Franklin Avenue and Flatbush Avenue
  • Take 4 trains between Franklin Avenue and Utica Avenue (trains make local stops). Transfer between the 3 and 4 trains at Franklin Avenue
  • Free shuttle buses operate between Utica Avenue and New Lots Avenue. Transfer between 4 trains and free shuttle buses at Utica Avenue.

Reminder: From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., the 3 operates between 148th Street and Times Square-42nd Street only.


From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 30, there are no 4 trains between Utica Avenue and New Lots Avenue due to switch renewal south of New Lots Avenue and track panel installation at Sutter Avenue. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

  • 4 operates between Woodlawn and Utica Avenue, making local stops between Franklin Avenue and Utica Avenue.
  • Transfer between trains and free shuttle buses at Utica Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, 4 trains run local in both directions between Grand Central-42nd Street and 125th Street due to a cable pull and conduit installation north of 42nd Street-Grand Central.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, uptown 4 trains skip 138th Street-Grand Concourse due to station rehabilitation at 149th Street-Grand Concourse.


From 6 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 11 p.m. Sunday, September 30, there is no 5 train service between East 180th Street and Bowling Green due to track panel installation south of Prospect Avenue and at East 180ths Street. 5 trains run between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street. For service between:

  • East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse, take the 2 train instead.
  • 149th Street-Grand Concourse and Bowling Green, take the 4 instead.

Note: Manhattan-bound 2 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street.


From 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30, Manhattan-bound 7 trains skip 111th, 103rd, 90th and 82nd Streets, the installation of cable tray brackets between 74th Street-Broadway for Flushing CBTC.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, September 28 to 4:45 a.m. Monday, October 1, there are no A trains between Howard Beach and Far Rockaway due to rebuilding of existing piers and bearings on the South Channel Bridge, replacement of drain pipes and structure painting between the South Channel Bridge and Hammels Wye and track work between Howard Beach and Broad Channel.

Shuttle trains and free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

  • A trains operate between 207th Street and Lefferts Blvd/Howard Beach.
  • Rockaway Park Shuttle trains operate between Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park.

Free shuttle buses operate between:

  • Howard Beach and Far Rockaway, non-stop
  • Howard Beach and Rockaway Park, making a stop at Broad Channel.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30, C trains run express in both directions between 59th Street and Canal Street due to escalator replacement at East Broadway, track maintenance north of 47th – 50th Sts and electrical system installation north of 42nd Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, there are no uptown D trains at 34th Street-Herald Square, 42nd Street-Bryant Park, 47th-50th Sts and 7th Avenue due to track maintenance north of 47th-50th Sts and electrical systems installation north of 42nd Street. Uptown D trains are rerouted via the C from West 4th Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, D trains run local in both directions between 59th Street and 145th Street due to escalator replacement at East Broadway.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1. Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the A line from West 4th Street to Jay Street-MetroTech due to escalator replacement at East Broadway.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, there are no N trains between Lexington Avenue-59th Street and Queensboro Plaza due to electrical work in the under river tube. N service operates in two sections:

  • Between Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and Lexington Avenue-59th Street
  • Between Ditmars Boulevard and Queensboro Plaza.

For service between Queens and Manhattan, take the 7 train. Transfer between trains at Queensboro Plaza and/or Time Square-42nd Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, there are no Q trains between 57th Street-7th Avenue and Times Square-42nd Street due to electrical work in the under river tube. For service to/from 49th Street and 57th Street-7th Avenue, take the N or R instead.


From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30, R trains are rerouted via the F in both directions between Manhattan and Queens due to electrical work in the under river tube. R trains skip 5th Avenue-59th Street, Lexington Avenue-59th Street and Queens Plaza in both directions.

(Rockaway Park Shuttle)
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, September 28 to 4:45 a.m. Monday, October 1, there are no Rockaway Park Shuttle (S) trains to/from Broad Channel due to rebuilding of existing piers and bearings on the South Channel Bridge, replacement of drain pipes and structure painting between the South Channel Bridge and Hammels Wye and track work between Howard Beach and Broad Channel.

  • Rockaway Park Shuttle trains operate between Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park.
  • No A train service between Howard Beach and Far Rockaway.

Free shuttle buses operate between:

  • Howard Beach and Far Rockaway, non-stop
  • Howard Beach and Rockaway Park, making a stop at Broad Channel.
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Subway Maps

An updated Night Map, more widely issued

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 28, 2012

On the Night Map, both the uptown 4 and 6 trains provide a connection to the D and F at Broadway-Lafayette.

With the long-awaited opening of the transfer between the uptown IRT at Bleecker St. and IND station at Broadway-Lafayette earlier this week, Transit had to issue a new subway map. In doing so, the agency has decided to release a revised version of the Night Map as well.

The Night Map is the MTA’s recognition that one map isn’t quite enough. With overnight subway service vastly different than that of rush hour, the Night Map serves to provide late-night riders in the know with a proper route around the city. The first edition was available only at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn the museum’s Annex in Grand Central Terminal. It was quite popular amongst map collectors, to say the least.

“The first edition of the night map was a fabulous edition to our map offerings and a big hit with Museum visitors,” Gabrielle Shubert, Director of the New York Transit Museum, said. “Customers weren’t happy we only gave away one copy per customer, but because it was a limited edition, we wanted to make sure as many museum patrons as possible had a chance to get one.”

With the second edition of the Night Map, the MTA is expanding distribution. Still, only 25,000 copies will be available, but these copies can be picked up at some of the stations that suffer the most from overnight service changes, including all of the R stops in Brooklyn from 36th St. to 95th St., the overnight M train terminals and stations along the Queens Boulevard route that see significant reductions in subway frequency.

The Night Map is available online right here as a PDF, and the full list of stations carrying it comes after the jump. Pick one of these up when you can. Supplies won’t last.

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Subway Advertising

After a court ruling, a slightly revised ad policy

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 28, 2012

When the MTA lost its court ruling over Pamela Geller’s anti-Jihad advertising on First Amendment grounds, Judge Paul Engelmayer told the authority to amend its advertising policy or else. The MTA Board didn’t have a chance to address the issue until yesterday, a few days after the ads debuted and were defaced. With one person in jail over the ads, the MTA announced yesterday a revised advertising policy.

Faced with the need to eliminate the “no demeaning ads” standard due to its lack of constitutionality, the MTA has instead opted for a more inclusive policy, albeit on with a disclaimer. With board members speaking out against limiting both the revenue from advertising and the use of public space to express unpopular, but constitutionally protected, viewpoints, the MTA will allow viewpoint advertising. The agency will require a conspicuous disclaimer that says, “This is a paid advertisement sponsored by [Sponsor]. The display of this advertisement does not imply MTA’s endorsement of any views expressed.”

While the MTA could still appeal the district court’s ruling, it does not plan to do so. Such a case would likely not be a winning one, and litigation costs would be steep. The MTA further clarified its new position:

To be clear, the MTA does not believe the First Amendment compels the MTA to open up its ad spaces in this way to a wide range of expressive communications. MTA could, for example, adopt a narrower commercially oriented ad policy, one that limited the range of ads it will display to those selling a product or service, and by doing so, avoid having to run demeaning or divisive ads such as the AFDI ad that resulted in litigation. But the MTA for decades has permitted its ad spaces to serve a broader communicative function than mere commercial advertising, and the Board, today reaffirms that tradition of tolerating a wide spectrum of types of ads, including ads that express views on a wide range of public matters.

With that choice also come First Amendment limitations that constrain the MTA’s ability to disallow particular ads because their messages are uncivil or divisive. We had thought this did not mean having to run divisive ads that demeaned others, but the recent litigation tells us otherwise. A cost of opening our ad space to a variety of viewpoints on matters of public concern is that we cannot readily close that space to certain advertisements on account of their expression of divisive or even venomous messages.

We deplore such hate messages and remain hopeful that the vast majority of advertisers in our buses,subways, trains and stationswill remain responsible and respectful of their audiences. And when, as there inevitably will be, a very few sponsors of ads stray from civility, we have every confidence that our customers will understand that in our enlightened civil democracy, the answer to distasteful and uncivil speech is more, and more civilized, speech.

In response to the new policy — which still limits a wide array of false or misleading ads and offensive and mature content — the Straphangers Campaign sent out a list of questions: ” How will MTA determine if the ad contains “religious, religious, or moral” expression?, they asked. “What is the definition of a “conspicuous” legend? How much of the ad space would be devoted to the legend? What should be done in the case where there are many sponsors?” In 2000, the Straphangers were involved in another legal fight over MTA advertising when the authority refused to run an ad comparing subway crowding to cattle cars.

Gene Russianoff’s questions do seem reasonable, but so too does the MTA’s new policy. This should, for now, allow everyone to move forward with a policy that protects free speech, whether the reader agrees with it or not, and protects against future litigation as well.

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MetroCard

Waiting and waiting for a Metrocard replacement

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 26, 2012

Imagine, if you will, the computer you owned in 1993. Perhaps it was a Macintosh Quadra 660AV. For over $2000, you could get a blazin’ fast 25-MHz with 8 MB of RAM and a 230 MB hard drive. Perhaps it was a seven-pound laptop with an 80-MB hard drive or perhaps it was something else from Apple’s cutting-edge 1993 catalog. Whatever it was, that machine has long since gone to meet its maker. If you’re like most people, in fact, you’ve probably gone through four or five computers over the past 19 years.

The MTA meanwhile is still working off of that early 1990s computer. Every time we buy our Metrocards or swipe through the turnstile, we are using that computer system purchased in 1993. In reality, it’s even older, with the underlying technology dating from the 1980s. It’s end though isn’t as near as we’d like to think.

For the better part of seven years, the MTA has engaged in various pilots and initiatives to find a replacement for the Metrocard. As various transit agencies the world over have adapted smart cards, a 2006 pilot picked up again in 2010 examined a contactless system that used similar chips found in credit or debit cards. After the most recent pilot, the MTA unveiled its plans for an E-ZPass for transit in mid-2011, and Joe Lhota affirmed his commitment to the project in early 2012.

Since that statement in 2012 and really since 2011, the future of the Metrocard replacement is anything but clear, and late last week, Dana Rubinstein wondered why we’re still stuck with the antiquated, swipe-based technology. In a statement to Capital New York, the MTA remained a bit vague about the whole thing. “Yes, we are still working on it, always have been,” Adam Lisberg, said to Rubinstein. “But, no I don’t have a date for you.”

Rubinstein runs through the litany of arguments in favor of a next-gen solution: The Metrocard costs far too much to maintain; fare collection costs are through the roof; there’s no interoperability across transit systems as a new card would bring; swiping takes too long; etc., etc., etc. Meanwhile, even as the MTA’s BusTime installations allow for an open-payment system, the MTA’s progress has been slow.

Time, though, could force the agency’s hand. As Bill Henderson of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA noted, twenty years might just be too long a time for us to continue to rely on the Metrocard. “The MetroCard system is reaching the end of its useful life,” he said. “You’ve got to replace it with something.”

The problem with technology is that it all eventually becomes obsolete. Maintenance costs grow too high and compatibility declines. With the Metrocard pushing 20 in New York, its time has come, but when will something replace it? Based on the MTA’s technological adoption rates — bad for countdown clocks, good for BusTime, bad for CBTC — even if the agency had a plan in place today, we’re still a few years away from anything concrete, and no plan exists.

So much like we often do, we’ll wait. The MTA is going to spend tens of millions of dollars on an intercom system for the subway as the next-gen fare payment system inches slowly forward. One of those technologies will have a real impact on the MTA and its riders while the other will feature soothing blue lights. That seems to say it all.

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AsidesSubway Advertising

A day after debut, Geller ads creatively edited

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 25, 2012

After a year of legal wrangling over First Amendment concerns, Pamela Geller’s anti-Jihad ads went live yesterday. Transportation Nation tracked down enough people to draw out a mixed reaction to the ads which have popped up in ten stations throughout the city. “It’s hard for me to look at this poster and actually take it seriously,” one Muslim woman said.

True to New York spirit though, the ads lasted barely a day before someone took to editing them. As Mondoweiss reports in pictures, someone or someones have taken to placing stickers over the ads with their own message. So far, ads in at least seven stations — 57th Street and 5th Ave, 28th Street, 23rd Street, two on 42nd street, 34th street and Grand Central — have been defaced. Take that for what you will. In the meantime, the MTA has yet to announce a new policy for evaluating advertisements that better adhere to the spirit and letter of the Constitution as they cash Geller’s checks nonetheless.

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Subway Security

The incompatibility of seeing something and saying something

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 25, 2012

Help Point intercoms are set to arrive at 102 subway stations throughout the city. Photo by Felix Candelaria for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

For the better part of a decade, the MTA has been throwing a slogan at its riders. “If you see something, say something,” screams print ads, TV commercials, in-system announcements, placards, posters and everything else in between. The trademarked phrase has been leased out to transit agencies around the world and has become a hallmark of subway systems everywhere. The only problem is that you can’t anything when you see something because there’s no one around to listen.

Last Monday, as I was journeying back from the Upper West Side to Brooklyn, I got on board the IRT at the southern end of the 96th St. entrance. As the stop between 93rd and 94th on Broadway is just a few blocks from my parents’ place, I’ve been using that station my entire life. Lately, though, it’s changed as the booth is no longer staffed 24 hours a day. The lone station attendant sits outside of the fare control area in the new headhouse at 96th St.

When I reached the turnstiles, a pair of guys were hanging out around the entrances. These guys were swipe sellers. They had jammed the turnstiles with folded-up Metrocards, and I guess were trying to sell unsuspecting riders a swipe. They weren’t particularly good at their scheme as they failed to engage two people struggling to make heads or tails of the Metrocard Vending Machines and didn’t react when I pulled out one of cards to swipe through. Still, I figured I would tell someone if I could find anyone.

As I waited for the train to show up, I walked the entire length of the platform and hopped up the stairs at the north end of the station. I couldn’t catch the booth attendant’s eye and found no other MTA employee or NYPD officer around. I saw something; I wanted to say something; and I couldn’t. The MTA’s own staffing decisions and budget cuts had, for better or worse, rendered their slogan incompatible with the reality of the situation. Eventually, my train arrived, and I left to head back home.

It seems I’m not the only one wondering if the MTA’s ubiquitous ad campaign has reached its end. In this week’s New York Magazine, Dwyer Gunn argues against the anti-terrorism slogan. Noting that the campaign hasn’t really netted anyone terrorists and that New Yorkers are immune to weird goings-on underground, Gunn believes that the signs themselves posted in token booths block station agents’ views of their realm. While some minor criminals have been caught, tips to the MTA’s own hotline are relatively sparse, and the constant announcements concerning rider awareness are lost in the noise shuffle.

Gunn’s critique though is missing what I’ve mentioned as the biggest problem: There’s no one to tell. Unless one sees a ticking bomb, how many people are going to try to find that one employee somewhere? What if that one employee is across the street with no free transfer available as is the case at, say, Bergen St. along the IND Culver Line? Train arrives, person leaves, threat of whatever level goes unreported.

Perhaps, though, the MTA is onto something. After a successful pilot, Transit announced on Friday afternoon that the Help Point intercoms will be rolled out to 102 stations as part of the current five-year capital plan. The MTA had initially announced a system-wide rollout earlier this March. With two buttons — one for emergencies and one for contact with the station booth — the blue-light intercoms resemble those found on college campuses across the country.

“The Help Points are, figuratively speaking, light years ahead of the current units that customers see in subway stations,” NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast said. “They will be available to access both information and assistance during emergencies. When coupled with countdown clocks, they add up to the most significant customer communications improvements to be installed in the station environment in a generation.”

Eventually, these intercoms will be everywhere, but for now, it’s a start. At the least, those of us looking to report something — a suspicious bag, shady characters attempting to scam or intimidate other rides, a crime in progress — won’t be left empty-handed. As long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to act and move quickly, saying something after seeing something might not seem as futile as it does today.

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AsidesPANYNJ

Port Authority to study PATH extension to Newark Airport

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 24, 2012

With dreams of providing a one-seat ride from Lower Manhattan to Newark Airport, the Port Authority announced last week that it would study the feasibility of extending PATH train from its current terminus at Newark’s Penn Station to the nearby Liberty International Airport. The study will lead to updated cost estimates, ridership figures and construction timeframes.

“Mass transit options to our airports are essential to the future growth and economic vitality of our region,” Port Authority Chairman David Samson said in a statement. “We need another mass-transit link to Newark Liberty International Airport, which served nearly 34 million passengers last year, so this initiative is of utmost importance. We will move quickly to make it a reality.”

Off-the-cuff, the Port Authority estimates that such a project would include “more than $600 million in design and construction activity over the project’s life, while adding permanent jobs for the link’s operation.” Meanwhile, airport-bound travelers from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn as well as other parts of New Jersey could have streamlined routes to the airport. A PATH extension and the Newark airport parking lots could also serve as a park-and-ride option for New Jersey commuters heading into Manhattan.

It’s unclear when such a study would be complete, how such an extension would be funded or when we can expect all of this. Still, it’s a worthwhile PATH extension that would have a major impact on the Newark Airport. I’ll follow along when and if this plan moves forward.

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Self PromotionService Advisories

The returns of FASTRACK and ‘Problem Solvers’

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 24, 2012

It’s the final FASTRACK of 2012 for the IND Sixth Avenue line. (Click the map to enlarge)

How about some mid-day announcements on this fine fall Monday? We start with the return of FASTRACK as the MTA’s work program enters its final home stretch for 2012. Despite initial plans for two more treatments, tonight’s work begins the last rotation for the program’s first year, and the current victims will be passengers riding along the 6th Ave. line. From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., trains will be rerouted along the 8th Ave. line between 59th St./Columbus Circle and West 4th St. For all of the gory details, check out my post from July. Nothing has changed.

Meanwhile, I’m pleased to announce another return: “Problem Solvers,” my popular Q-and-A series with the Transit Museum, is making its fall debut on Wednesday, October 17 at 6:30 p.m. I’ll be sitting down with “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz, traffic engineer extraordinaire, to discuss how the city is combating congestion and what else it could be doing. The event will be at The Actors Fund Arts Center at 160 Schermerhorn Street, just a few blocks from the Transit Museum. Reserve your seat for this free event now.

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