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Link: On Lhota’s first 100 days

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on February 27, 2012

It’s hard to believe how quickly 100 days can go by, but that’s the time that’s passed since Joseph Lhota took over the reins at the MTA from Jay Walder. Despite a delayed confirmation hearing that didn’t see Lhota officially assuming the mantle of CEO and Chairman until January, the new head has been in place since mid-November when he served as the agency’s executive director. Today, Dana Rubinstein at Capital New York looks back on those first 100 days and walks away impressed.

“To sum up,” she writes, “Lhota was installed by a governor who doesn’t much care about transit to straighten out the finances and public image of an authority that is a political pinata, all while keeping the trains running on time. Perhaps surprisingly, under these circumstances, Joe Lhota’s first 100 days have been fairly calm. And perhaps more surprisingly, transit people seem to like the job he’s doing.”

While Rubinstein makes the mistake of crediting Lhota with FASTRACK — it was a Walder program that Lhota opted to push through — she highlights the good of his tenure so far: He’s reached out to the TWU, and he’s been a vocal critic of the current MTA funding structure. He recognizes that the MTA cannot survive without the revenue from the payroll tax and has called upon the state to find a more sustainable way to fund transit.

I believe Rubinstein’s take is the right one: Lhota has had a solid first 100 days. Amidst doubts concerning his credentials, he has established himself as a very credible MTA leader. Still, he has his work cut out for him. The TWU still has yet to agree to a contract, and the MTA must continue to push for future expansion plans while shoring up its internal bureaucracy and funding structure. Hopefully, though, Lhota is here to stay as some stability atop the MTA would be a welcome change from the revolving door through which we’ve lived over the past five years.

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View from Underground

Device theft, subway ridership on the upswing

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

For the past few years, as smartphones, Kindles and iPads have become ubiquitous in society, they have invaded the subways. As I observe straphangers during my morning commutes, I’ve noticed how Kindles often outnumber books, and more people are reading the paper on their eReaders than in hard copy. It’s the wave of the future.

A few weeks ago, as I stood on my 3 train en route from Grand Army Plaza to Nevins St., I stood against the door reading The Times on my iPad as a cop stood next to me. In a friendly tone, he told me to guard my iPad because they are the number one item stolen on the subways. I politely thanked him and told him I knew the stats. I, along with many others on my car, went back to my digital newspaper.

Now, I and my fellow straphanger police officer are not the only ones who have noticed this increase in the number of eReaders underground. Thieves have as well, and over the past few years, we’ve heard multiple stories about how subway robbers are targeting smartphones and other electronic devices. One time-tested method involves the grab-and-dash. Thieves will pick a victim sitting close to a door who is seemingly paying more attention to their iPad than their surroundings. As the train pulls into a new station, the thief will grab the device and dash out of the train, leaving behind a electronics-less victim with little hope of catching the perpetrator.

This week, as the MTA Board committees gear up for their monthly meetings, the MTA has released a new set of data showcasing how these types of robberies are on the upswing. As the NYPD reports, reported grand larcenies for January 2012 were up by 42.2 percent over January 2011. Of course, with 155 reported larcenies, those numbers are still incredibly low. Average weekday ridership is over 5.4 million people so the chances of being a victim of such a grand larceny are slim.

Back in October of 2010, I noticed how New Yorkers these days ride obliviously. As a child of the 1980s, I remember when people were loath to ride the subways let alone flash their iPods, iPhones and Kindles. We take for granted the fact that the subways are safe, and even with grand larceny totals are rising, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that they are still essentially safe. Very few people are the victims of reported thefts, and the subways are safer. Even without station agents, rapes and murders are both at zero, and felony assaults are down too. With headlines talking about crime increases, we should ride carefully but not with a tinge of paranoia.

Subway ridership is on the upswing.

Meanwhile, subway ridership too is up significantly. According to the latest numbers from the MTA, total subway ridership last year hit 1.64 billion, and the authority says it’s the highest total since 1950. Average weekday ridership hit 5.3 million, the highest total since 1951, and combined Saturday and Sunday ridership was 5.4 million, the highest weekend total since 1947. As fares go up and service levels are cut, as cleaners vanish and station agents are cut back, people are riding the subways. Now if only someone in Albany would listen to the interests of the riders.

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Service Advisories

Weekend work impacting 12 lines, countdown clocks

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

The MTA has a full slate of weekend work planned for the next few days, but for the technologically-dependent among us, the worse news concerns the countdown clocks. For 12 full hours, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, the countdown clocks along the East and West Side IRT lines will be off. Transit says the temporary outage is due to “system maintenance on the Automatic Train Supervision system.” The clock themselves will not be touched, and they’ll go back on tomorrow evening.

This temporary move makes me laugh a bit. I’ve become so accustomed to riding on lines with the countdown clocks that I find myself far more impatient during waits on B Division platforms. Tomorrow, we go back to staring into dark tunnels awaiting the next train.

Meanwhile, it’s Friday, and you know what that means. Subway Weekender has the map.


From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Sunday, February 26 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, uptown 4 trains run express from Brooklyn Bridge to 14th Street-Union Square due to work on the Broadway/Lafayette-to-Bleecker Street transfer connection and station painting at Astor Place and Spring Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Sunday, February 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, downtown 4 trains run local from 125th to Grand Central-42nd Street due to station time signal enhancements.


From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday, February 26, downtown 5 trains run local from 125th Street to Grand Central-42nd Street due to station time signal enhancements.


From 12:01 a.m. Sunday, February 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, uptown 6 trains run express from Brooklyn Bridge to 14th Street-Union Square due to work on the Broadway/Lafayette-to-Bleecker Street transfer connection and station painting at Astor Place and Spring Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, February 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, there are no 7 trains between Times Square-42nd Street and Queensboro Plaza due to track panel installation and CBTC work south of Queensboro Plaza, ADA work at Court Square and station renewal at Hunters Point Avenue. Customers should take the N, R, E or F between Manhattan and Queens. Free shuttle buses operate between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Avenue and Queensboro Plaza. In Manhattan, the 42nd Street shuttle (S) operates overnight. (Repeats next five weekends through March 31-Apr 2.)


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, February 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, A trains run local in both directions between 145th Street and 168th Street and from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, February 25, and Sunday, February 26, there is no C train service between 145th Street and 168th Street due to track maintenance. Customers should take the A instead.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, February 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, Brooklyn-bound D trains run via the N line from 36th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue due to station and line structure rehabilitation near 9th Avenue. Note: Free transfers are available at New Utrecht Avenue-62nd Street with MetroCards. This out-of-system transfer at street level via New Utrecht Avenue is available until May 2012. Look for instructions on station signs.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, February 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, there is no L train service between Broadway Junction and 8th Avenue due to signal removal. The M train, M14 bus and free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

  • M service is extended to the 57th Street F station.
  • Customers may take to M14 bus between 1st Avenue and 8th Avenue.
  • Free shuttle bus operates in three sections:
    1. Between Broadway Junction and Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs.
    2. Between Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs and Lorimer Street-Metropolitan Avenue (G)
    3. Between Lorimer Street-Metropolitan Ave (G) and Marcy Ave (J, M)

Note: Manhattan-bound customers may transfer to the A, C or J train at Broadway Junction or the M at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs or Marcy Ave.


From 6 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, February 25 and from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday, February 26, M service is extended to the 57th Street (F) station due to L suspension.


From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, February 25, and from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, February 26, some N trains operate between Ditmars Blvd and 34fh Street-Herald Square due to track panel installation and CBTC work south of Queensboro Plaza, ADA work at Court Square and station renewal at Hunters Point Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, February 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, N trains stop at DeKalb Avenue in both directions all weekend in order to provide a transfer to and from Q trains.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, February 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, February 27, there is no Q train service between 57th Street-7th Avenue and DeKalb Avenue. Q trains will operate to and from Whitehall Street on the R line. Customers may take the N between 57th Street-7th Avenue and DeKalb Avenue or the R between 57th Street-7th Avenue and Whitehall Street.

(42nd Street Shuttle)
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., Saturday, February 25, Sunday, February 26 and Monday, February 27, 42nd Street operates overnight due to the 7 line suspension between Queens and Manhattan.

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Subway History

Was the L train considered for elimination?

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

The New York Post had one of the more infuriatingly tantalizing two-paragraph articles you’ll ever see about the subway today. The story is here, and this is the entire thing:

Every hipster’s favorite subway line — the perennially packed L train — was almost completely shuttered 25 years ago because barely anyone was using it, MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota revealed yesterday.

Now that line — serving once- desolate but now trendy Williamsburg — is one of the fastest-growing in the system.

With a nary a hint of history, The Post drops a bombshell. The MTA may have considered eliminating the L during its nadir. Could it be true? Would the authority sever a cross-borough connection that now is packed morning, noon and night, seven days a week? Some brief Google searches didn’t turn up any history, and this story piqued my interest.

I initially reached out to the MTA for initial comment, and while they’re working on it, they didn’t seem optimistic that too much would turn up. I queried SubChat as well, and those responses were equally as vague. One SubChatter noted a rumor that the TA may have considered shutting down the G, and another noted that a proposal to shutter the L could have been a part of the so-called “planned shrinkage” movement from the late 1970s when the city was literally burning down.

But what of The Post’s claims themselves? One SubChatter disputed the notion that the L was “barely used” and recalled the era of the 1980s when the train was full during rush hour commutes. Perhaps the J/M trains were to be axed instead? Another though remembered a time in the 1960s when the BMT Canarsie line was not a popular route.

There is, it seems, some truth to the fact that the L was not a popular line for a while. Mike Frumin, who used historic ridership data to chart station popularity, noted in 2009 how L train traffic tanked for decades and only recently has enjoyed a relatively strong upswing. At its low point in the late 1970s, only 1.2 million annually — or around 3000 per day — used the Bedford Ave. stop. That figure spiked to nearly 7 million in 2010 with average weekday ridership up to 21,000.

All told, considering the financial and ridership problems that plagued the MTA as well as the social and political situations in New York City at the time, it makes sense that the authority could have considered shutting subway lines. That was, after all, the time of the infamous Ford to City: Drop Dead Daily News cover. Still, without the L train or the J/M/Z or even the G train, areas in Queens and Northern Brooklyn that are enjoying growth today would be entirely lost. Shutting full subway arteries isn’t something that should be considered as an option, no matter how bad a temporary financial situation lasts.

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AsidesView from Underground

Subway-related deaths account for 7% of NYC suicides

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

While New York City’s suicide rate is nearly half the national average, seven percent of New York suicides come via subway-related deaths, according to a report from the City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The report notes that around 475 New York City residents take their own lives annually, and based on numbers from 2006-2007, around 33 of those deaths come via subway accidents. TWU officials tell me that in 2011, 54 New Yorkers committed suicide in the subway with another 36 people suffering serious injuries. Men are far more likely to attempt suicide via subway than women.

The reaction to those who attempt a subway suicide has always been mixed amongst straphangers. Any suicide is disruptive to many people’s lives and often a cry for help. But a subway suicide multiplies that impact. The person driving a train that causes another’s death has to live with the accident, and subway riders who are trying to get to their destinations can be delayed for hours. It is, some say, the most selfish way for someone to take his or her own life.

To help prevent suicides and otherwise address crisis intervention, the city runs a hotline at 1-800-LIFENET and has more information available on its website.

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MTA Construction

Eying the next generation of MTA megaprojects

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

As hard as it is to believe, the current slate of MTA megaprojects are, by and large, operating at something akin to autopilot. While the authority still has to worry about construction timelines, budget caps and placating neighbors, the various expansion projects are generally well on their ways toward completion. Thus, it is never too early to talk about the far-off future.

Over the past few months, it’s become clear that, despite some concerns about timeframes and budget figures, the MTA has its projects under control. The 7 line is on pace to open in late 2013, and the Fulton Street Transit Center, after years of delays and a lack of leadership, is set for a 2014 debut. The authority is making progress underneath Second Ave. and continues to stress a 2016 revenue service date. The East Side Access Project’s timeline remains in limbo, but Capital Construction should be coming back with an update within the next few weeks.

So what’s next? We don’t know where the money will come from, but the MTA can’t stop expanding its system. There are too many worthwhile projects that have been years or decades in the making. As the MTA is no longer planning its current slate of projects, the authority could begin to look toward its next round of so-called megaprojects. As I see it, the authority could have four projects ready to go pretty quickly.

1. Second Ave. Subway Phase 2: As far as I’m concerned, this is a no-brainer. While Phase 1 of SAS is supposed to carry 200,000 passengers daily, for the line to be worthwhile, it must fulfill its full potential. Phases 3 and 4, through midtown, will be costly and tricky; after all, Michael Horodniceanu recently guessed the total price tag on the remaining sections to be over $23 billion. But Phase 2 should be the easiest. Much of the tunneling has been completed, and this Phase offers the promise of a connection to the Lexington Ave. IRT at 125th St. Furthermore, it allows the MTA the option to build north or west at a future date.

2. Reactivation of the Staten Island North Shore Rail: Restoring rail to Staten Island’s North Shore has been in the works for some time. At the behest of local politicians, the MTA has been hosted planning open houses for a few years, and they have developed a fairly extensive North Shore Alternatives Analysis website. The city’s Economic Development Corporation appears to be on board, and the authority issued a study last year focusing on the various transit possibilities.

3. Metro-North Access to Penn Station: Again, this is another project that has been percolating within the MTA for some time now, and it is largely dependent upon the East Side Access Project. Once ESA is completed, the MTA could bring some Metro-North trains into Penn Station to provide better access to both sides of Manhattan for residents from Westchester. In fact, this plan first popped up in the early 2000s, and the MTA revived discussions this past fall. The authority plans to release an environmental assessment in 2013 and has up a project website. For some reason, Long Island politicians and residents aren’t yet on board though.

4. Third-Tracking the LIRR Mainline: In 2005, the MTA to began to discuss plans to improve service along the LIRR Mainline, and those plans included a highly controversial third track. Long Island politicians and transit advocates feel that this is an entirely project that will help the LIRR adapt to a planned jump in ridership that a completed ESA will bring. Yet, NIMBYs along the route have long spoken out against it. Four years ago, some LI representatives stressed how this project would happen, but it’ll take a battle to see this one through.

These aren’t particularly out-of-the-box ideas for the MTA’s next big expansion push, but reading the tea leaves here is not challenging. The authority appears to have its sites set on these projects, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them become the focus of MTA Capital Construction as its current works wind down over the next few years. The key to all of them however will be the costs. The authority must figure out a way to get construction costs down to reasonable levels or else these projects won’t move from beyond the drawing board.

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Service Advisories

Transit readies 6th Ave. for a FASTRACK treatment

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on February 23, 2012

The FASTRACK express heads to 6th Ave. on Monday night, and Transit has laid out the week’s service closures. From 10 p.m.-5 a.m. each night beginning on the evening of Monday, February 27 and ending in the morning on Friday, March 2, there will be no service along 6th Ave. between 57th St. and West 4th St. in both directions. Here’s how service will operate instead:

  • D trains are rerouted and operate in two sections:
    • D trains will operate between 205th Street and 59th Street-Columbus Circle, then via the C line between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and West 4th Street, then via the F line between West 4th Street and 2nd Avenue, the last stop.
    • D trains will operate between Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and 36th Street in Brooklyn, then via the R line between 36th Street and Whitehall Street in Lower Manhattan, the last stop.
  • F trains operate via the E line between Roosevelt Avenue and West 4th Street in both directions. For service to Lexington Avenue/63rd Street, Roosevelt Island and 21st Street-Queensbridge, customers should take the Q. Q service will be extended to 21st Street-Queensbridge via the F line after 57th Street-7th Avenue.
  • Manhattan-bound B and M service in Brooklyn and Queens ends at 9:30 p.m. Service in Manhattan is available until 10 p.m.
  • Free Shuttle buses provide connecting service between the Grand Street D station and both the Canal Street N/Q/R/6 and Broadway-Lafayette D/F stations.

With the various routes along 6th Ave. branching off to numerous locales both north and south of Manhattan’s so-called Central Business District, this is a tricky FASTRACK to run, but things seem to make sense. F trains will run via the E until West 4th St. before heading into Brooklyn, but any D trips from Manhattan to Brooklyn require a pair of transfers. I’d say anyone needing a D train late at night next week is better off finding a different route if possible.

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Brooklyn

Closed for decades, Brooklyn’s 4th Ave. station entrances reopen

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on February 23, 2012

In an effort to enliven a dead spot on the avenue, the east subway entrance at 4th Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets in Brooklyn, seen here last year, have been reopened. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak)

As part of the extensive Culver Viaduct rehabilitation project, the MTA has reopened a subway entrance that had been closed for more than four decades. Transit announced today that the long-shuttered entrance underneath the viaduct on the east side of 4th Ave. between 9th and 10th Streets has been reopened, pleasing neighbors who had viewed the conditions under the viaduct as unsafe blight. Pedestrian advocates too are happy with the reopening as straphangers will now no longer have to cross a busy and dangerous 4th Ave.

“During the initial phases of this project, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to reopen the east side station house on 4th Avenue,” NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast said in a statement. “We are grateful to the elected officials whose contributions allowed us to do even more than we had planned at this historic station.”

The project, as I reported last year, was funded through an $800,000 grant from Assembly Representative Joan Millman’s office and $2 million from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as well. Both politicians praised the authority for its work. “The opening of the east side entrance to the 4th Avenue-9th Street station is a big win for the community and the first stage of what will be the eventual transformation of Fourth Avenue into a grand ‘Brooklyn Boulevard,’” Markowitz said. “Soon, the area adjacent to this entrance will be filled with retail, and the exterior archways and windows will be opened and restored to their original glory.”

Despite today’s reopening, Transit says it still has to put the finishing touches on the revived entrance and has a ways to go as it completes the station renovation. The doors that open onto 4th Ave. are temporary, and those that open onto 10th St. will remain closed until later this year. The historic arch, covered by billboards on both sides, will be unveiled by the end of the year as well as Transit works to give the station a “lighter, more open look.”

Other improvements to the 4th Ave. area include a fresh coat of paint for the underside of the viaduct, improved lighting above the sidewalks and new retail storefronts for the both the east and west side of the streets. Transit plans to award contracts for those stores in 2013. All told, it’s a welcome improvement to what is an ugly but well-trod block along 4th Ave.

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Public Transit Policy

Not-so-hidden inefficiences of HR 7 come to light

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on February 23, 2012

As things in Washington, D.C., stand now, H.R. 7, the transportation bill that has had many wringing their hands over the past few weeks, is unlikely to become law without some serious work. Still, New York representatives from both sides of the political aisle are concerned that the city will lose a major source of transit funding (and money that goes toward job creation in the area). They and leading transit officials have been speaking out against the bill.

Yesterday, in a conference call with numerous transit agency heads, MTA CEO and Chairman Joe Lhota explained how New York City benefits from the current funding scheme. “That billion dollars in funding is used to buy rail stock and switching and signaling equipment, critical to maintaining our system in a state of good repair,” he said.

Under the new bill, a dedicated funding stream for transit projects would dry up, and the money allocated for various grants for transit projects would be thrown into a common pot. Every project would compete for scarce funds, and transit and pedestrian-improvement projects would be a complete disadvantage to road building. But that’s the problem only on the top level. Below the surface the bill is rife with inefficient practices.

Take, for instance, Section 5310 of the new bill. This section concerns the bus and bus facilities formula grant. According to some commentators, approximately $900 million would be available for transit agencies under this section, but there’s a giant caveat. Section 5310(c)(1) discusses eligibility and defines it as such:

RECIPIENTS- Eligible recipients under this section are providers of public transportation in urbanized areas that operate fixed route bus services and that do not operate heavy rail, commuter rail, or light rail services.

In simple English, the only agencies eligible for funding under this section — the only folks who could claim a piece of a lofty $900 million pie — are those who operate bus systems only and also do not operate any rail service. That will lead to two consequences: Either any major transit agency — the MTA, the WMATA, the MBTA, etc. — would all be eliminated or they would have to spin off their bus operations into brand new agencies thus creating another layer of transit bureaucracy.

Transportation for America is highly critical of this section of the bill. This section, they say, “needlessly diverts tax dollars to bureaucratic overhead that should be used to provide much-needed transit services to local communities.” Why have one transit agency without streamlined operations that wastes money on bureaucracy when you can have two?

On a granular level, this is the kind of transit policy coming out of the House of Representatives right now. As three decades of dedicated transit funding sources are coming under attack, common-sense governmental operations are under the microscope too. The MTA has worked hard, with varying degrees of success, to tame a multi-agency bus system, and if H.R. 7 becomes law, the authority would either have to forfeit funds or discard its bus system entirely. Nothing about that sounds like sound policy to me.

As of now, the bill doesn’t have the votes to pass the House, but as Streetsblog noted yesterday, we’re not out of the woods yet. “I think that the drafters go back to the drawing board and they recognize that we have some issues that we can’t just overlook,” Michael Grimm, a House rep from Staten Island said. Hopefully, those drafters will listen to officials who are urging a better bill, but I’m not so optimistic.

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Queens

Trade show vets bemoan access to proposed Ozone Park site

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on February 22, 2012

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plans for a convention center in Ozone Park continue to draw headlines, more and more interested groups and interest groups continue to weigh on. Today, Charles Bagli of The Times checks in with convention experts, attendees and planners, and what they have to say deserves some serious consideration. Essentially, they say, poor transit access to Ozone Park and its out-of-the-way location make it ill-suited as a potential site for a massive convention center.

“The industry is skeptical about the viability of the Aqueduct site,” Jeff Little, a trade show organizer, said to The Times. “It has the potential to be a big white elephant. It’s true that there are large shows that can’t go to the Javits, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll go to a large facility at Aqueduct.”

Bagli summarizes the skepticism surrounding the proposed plan:

Conventioneers and other visitors come to New York expecting to see Broadway shows during their down time, eat in famous restaurants and shop on Fifth Avenue, trade show managers and hotel operators say. None of that exists at the relatively remote Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, where the Malaysian company, Genting Group, hopes to build a 3.8-million-square-foot convention center and 3,000 hotel rooms and enlarge its existing gambling hall.

More to the point, they add, Aqueduct is a 60-minute subway ride from Times Square. They fear that some conventions, trade shows and conferences will decide to go elsewhere…

Mr. Little’s view was amplified a week ago at a meeting of the New York chapter of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events in Manhattan. After listening to a presentation by a top Genting executive, Christian Goode, one trade show manager jumped up and asked the crowd, Who wants to see the Javits closed? Not a single hand shot up in assent from the 125 people in attendance.

With the Cuomo Administration noting that nothing has been set in stone and any convention center plan will include “a comprehensive master plan reflecting community and shareholder input,” the Ozone Park plan continues to suffer from a lack of integration into the aspects of New York City that make it New York City. While it may be close to JFK Airport, it simply isn’t near the attractions of the Big Apple.

“We know that Javits is the most successful convention center in the country in terms of bookings,” Mark Schienberg, head of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association and host of the annual auto show, said. “But people want to be in the heart of Manhattan. Do they want to be on the fringes of Queens?”

Even more practical, though, are the concerns about access. Genting has not indicated it will do much more than fund a super-express A train, and based on recent history, that idea appears to be a non-starter. A comprehensive plan involving the reactivation of the LIRR’s Rockaway Beach Branch line could cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. Furthermore, if a new convention center does not lead to the redevelopment of the current Javits Center, support from groups such as the Regional Plan Association may dry up as well.

Ultimately, this convention center plan, which came out of left field during the Governor’s speech, has a long way to go, but stakeholders are making appropriate noises early on. Better and faster transit access that doesn’t rob riders further down the line of train service must be a part of the equation, and as the convention industry and regional transit advocates voice these concerns, hopefully someone in Albany is listening.

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