Second Ave. Sagas

Category: Asides

  • A Far West Side rebirth, but without a key subway station

    For a long time, I was skeptical of the 7 line extension to the Hudson Yards area. With nothing in the area around the new terminal, New York City was spending $2.3 billion of scarce transportation money on a subway to nowhere that would largely benefit real estate interests without improving transit mobility throughout the city. The project still suffers from some of these problems, but as The Times details today, it’s clear that the Far West Side is booming and will continue to do so for years. Manhattan’s last frontier is having its coming-out party.

    Charles Bagli’s concept for his Times piece is an intuitive one: Mayor Bloomberg’s plans for Far West Side were designed to showcase the 2012 Olympics, but by losing out on those Summer Games, the West Side has benefited from mixed-use development far more than it otherwise would have. New York anticipates constructing more office space in Hudson Yards than in some small cities, and a variety of residential buildings have opened from 42nd St. down to 29th St. A few thousand new residential units will anchor the commercial areas, and the 7 line will bring everyone there.

    There is, of course, one grand omission from both Bagli’s article and the city’s West Side plans, and that is a subway stop at 41st and 10th Ave. Originally part of the 7 line extension, the station was axed amidst concerns of rising costs. The project likely would have carried a $3 billion price tag otherwise, and only the barest of provisioning for a future station has been put into place.

    By omitting a station in an area surrounded by both new and old developments, the city clearly decided to pursue uncharted opportunities above Hudson Yards, and that’s a serious omission in the tale of West Side Renaissance. It’s a short-sighted one that will cost New York and its residents more money in the future. While the Far West Side development deserves praise, we should not forget the mistakes of planning as well.

  • Holiday Happenings: Nostalgia Trains and a SAS party sponsor

    A few brief items this afternoon relating to the holidays: Transit will again be running the Holiday Special nostalgia train this year. According to the latest on Subchat, the R1/9 set will run on Saturdays this year from Nov. 26 through Dec. 24. The trains will leave Second Ave. at 9:58 a.m., 11:37 a.m., 12:57 p.m., 2:27 p.m. and 3:57 p.m. and make local stops to Queens Plaza. Planned departure times from Queens Plaza are 10:43 a.m., 12:13 p.m., 1:42 p.m., 3:13 p.m. and 4:43 p.m. Bring a camera, of course.

    Meanwhile, a reminder: My Second Ave. Sagas 5th Anniversary Soiree, planned for Thursday, December 1, is fast approaching, and I’m bring aboard a sponsor. The transit app Roadify will be sponsoring a part of the party so look for them over the next few days. To RSVP, mosey on over to the Eventbrite page. You’ll find all of the details there.

    Update: Due to a few circumstances, SAS has gone dark for Thanksgiving a day or so early. I’ll be back after the holidays. Have a safe Turkey Day.

  • At ESA under Grand Central, a fatal accident

    Some very tragic news from the East Side Access project: Michael O’Brien, a 26-year-old sandhog, was killed by falling concrete yesterday while working on the East Side Access project underneath Grand Central Terminal. As the Daily News reports, O’Brien, an employee of Dragados, a private contractor working on the project, was working not 10 feet away from his father when the slab of concrete came lose and fell on him. His father tried to perform CPR to save him, but he died at Bellevue Hospital yesterday evening. Said the MTA in a statement, “The Metropolitan Transportation Authority wishes to extend its deepest condolences to Mr. O’Brien’s family and his fellow workers.”

  • A brief overnight party reminder

    I unfortunately won’t have time to get up a full post this evening. Instead, I’ll have a piece up in the early morning on Friday. In the meantime, don’t forget to RSVP to the Second Ave. Sagas 5th Anniversary Soiree. Details and such are right here.

  • #OccupyTheSubways: Anticipating a crowd

    As the Occupy Wall Street Day-of-Outrage protests gather steam this afternoon, those in the streets are taking the message underground. As the group’s website notes, Occupy Wall Street protestors will descend upon the subways at 3 p.m. this afternoon. Initial media reports claimed that the protestors were seeking to “disrupt” travel, but the message on the group’s website is less convincing.

    According to the site, protestors will “gather at 16 central subway hubs and take our own stories to the trains.” So instead of disrupting travel, it appears as though the 99 percenters will instead be trying to convince fellow Straphangers to join their cause. For protestors, targeting the subways carries with it some risks as the so-called 99 percent use the subways to commute to and from work and travel throughout the city. Even if the subway-centric element of today’s day of action ends before a planned 5 p.m. rally in Foley Square, interfering with subway travel could do the movement more harm than good.

    As a warning then, the transit hubs are as follows. Expect crowds; expect slower trains; expect lots of people, both cops and protestors. Bronx: Fordham Road, 3rd Ave./138th Street, 163rd St./Southern Boulevard, Yankee Stadium. Brooklyn: Broadway Junction, Borough Hall, 301 Grove St., St. Jose Patron Church in Bushwick. Queens: Roosevelt Ave./Jackson Heights, Jamaica Center/Parsons/Archer, 92-10 Roosevelt Heights. Manhattan: 125th St. (A/C/B/D), Union Square, 23rd St./8th Ave. Staten Island: SI Ferry Terminal, 479 Port Richmond Ave.

  • Lhota: MTA must ‘focus on the good that it does’

    Earlier this morning, current MTA Executive Director and future Chairman and CEO Joseph Lhota had the opportunity to attend his first Board meeting as leader of the much-maligned organization. Both Michael Grynbaum and Andrew Grossman were on hand to file reports from the meeting, and it sounds as though Lhota is at least prepared for the daunting challenges he faces over the next six years. “In the last two days, not a moment goes by that I don’t think about the budget,” Lhota said during the meeting. “I have to be optimistic about everything I do, because that’s how you get things done and move things forward.”

    The next Chairman talked at length about both the MTA budget and its perception problems. He called the sprawling budget “a living organism” and spoke about improving the way the public views the MTA. “I do think the good that the MTA does, and all of its operating agencies, sometimes fails to get above the horizon,” he said. “Do I think it has a public-relations problem? I think it needs to focus on the good that it does and how important the MTA is to the economy of the region, because it is critical.”

    Results will be more powerful for Lhota, who has already admitted the need to maintain a predictable pace for fare hikes that is tied to the overall inflation rate. As with Jay Walder and Lee Sander before him, though, the public will judge him on subway service, station cleanliness and fare policy. No amount of talk can change that reality.

  • Federal contributions to MTA megaprojects lagging

    Despite a request by President Obama to fulfill full-funding obligations, Congress has authorized slightly less than promised for the MTA’s big-ticket items. As Rep. Carolyn Maloney announced yesterday, in the 2012 budget, House and Senate leaders have granted the MTA $186,566,000 for the Second Ave. Subway and $203,424,000 for the East Side Access Project. Some House Republicans had tried to introduce significant funding cuts, but a bipartisan effort led to the restoration of nearly all of the promised dollars.

    Despite these grants, the MTA had been counting on more. The President had asked for $197 million for SAS and $215 million for ESA. Some House drafts of the appropriations bill would have cut those mounts by 21 and 47 percent respectively. These cuts, in the 5-9 percent range instead, are much more palatable. It is, as yet, unclear how the lesser grants will increase the MTA’s two megaprojects.

    “These funding levels are not ideal, but the MTA should be able to keep the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access on track with the amounts provided. These desperately-needed transit projects are creating tens of thousands of jobs literally beneath our feet,” Maloney said in a statement. “At a time when pretty much everyone agrees that job creation should be our number-one priority, I’m relieved that adequate federal funding for two of the best job-creation engines in the New York area has been included in the 2012 budget. Transit projects are among the best economic stimulus programs around – indeed, every dollar spent on public infrastructure boosts our economy by an estimated $1.59.”

  • Media Hits: NBC New York tonight, Good Day New York tomorrow

    While I’m still waiting for you all to RSVP to my party, I have another little bit of self-promotion to plug this evening. At around 7:30 p.m. tonight, I’ll be making another guest appearance on NBC New York’s news hour with Chuck Scarborough. I’ll be talking about Joseph Lhota and his expectations, Transit’s plan implement line segment shut-downs and a recent report on the successes of Select Bus Service on the East Side. Tomorrow morning at the bright hour of 7:15 a.m., I’ll be on Fox 5’s Good Day New York to discuss the line segment shut-down. If you’re around a TV, give it a watch. I’ll post the video as soon as I can.

  • Reminder: Second Avenue Sagas 5th Anniversary Soiree

    Let’s do this again now that it’s not late on a Friday afternoon. As hard as it is to believe, this little site of mine is turning five years old at the end of the month, and what better excuse to we need to have a party. On Thursday, December 1 at 7 p.m. in the Vice Room at The 13th Step on 2nd Ave. between East 9th and 10th Sts., join in the birthday bash for Second Ave. Sagas. Everyone is invited, and admission is free. We’ll have some food, some sweets and a cash bar. Stop by for some subway schmoozing, grab a beer and say hi. It’s been a great five years because of you, my readers, and it’s time to celebrate.

    For those who are going to attend — and that should be every single one of you — I have a small request: Please RSVP on the EventBrite page for this event. As I need to have a rough headcount, registration is free. Looking forward to seeing you all there. [Second Ave. Sagas Soiree]

  • We’re havin’ a party

    As hard as it is to believe, this little site of mine is turning five years old at the end of the month. So let’s have a party. On Thursday, December 1, in the Vice Room at the 13th Step on 2nd Ave. between East 9th and 10th Sts., we’ll be hosting a birthday soiree for Second Ave. Sagas, and everyone is invited. We’ll have some food, some sweets and a cash bar for three hours starting at 7 p.m. Stop by for some subway schmoozing, grab a beer and say hi. It’s been a great five years because of you, my readers, and it’s time to celebrate.

    For those who are going to attend — and that should be every single one of you — I have a small request: Please RSVP on the EventBrite page for this event. As I need to have a rough headcount, registration is free. Looking forward to seeing you all there. [Second Ave. Sagas Soiree]