MTA TechnologyQueens

For Astoria, next train info without the clock

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 7, 2013

Over the past few years, I’ve wholeheartedly embraced the MTA’s countdown clocks. Despite a seemingly interminable wait for technology that leading international subways have enjoyed for years, Transit finally figured out how to introduce a modern technology into its 100-year-old system, and now we never have to guess when the next 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or L train is coming. But what of the rest?

While the lettered lines are still years away from a countdown clock solution, one sliver of Queens is getting something resembling next train information today. As the Daily News first reported, five stations along the BMT Astoria Line — 39th Ave., 36th Ave., Broadway, 30th Ave. and Astoria Blvd. — will soon enjoy the MTA’s next-train announcements. These are audio messages broadcast into each station that proclaims a train one or two stations away. Decidedly low-tech, they allow passengers some measure of relief, but I’ve never been too convinced of their utility.

The system that will go live today in Astoria is the one in place at a few other stations. The BMT platform formerly known as Pacific St. has these announcements, and the IND level at Columbus Circle enjoys this system too. It’s not the most useful though. As Donohue notes, the audio announcements will not specify whether the next train is an N or Q, and it’s unclear how much advanced warning these systems give. As Queens riders note, it’s better than nothing.

My problem with this system is the lack of information. As opposed to offering something useful, the MTA here is providing a service that doesn’t deliver the key information. What train is arriving is equally as important, if not more so, than when that train is arriving. At Pacific St., the announcements simply talk of an arriving local or an express train one station away. That’s fine if you don’t care what train you’re taking, but except for Herald Square-bound passengers, everyone else wants to know if the next train is a D or an N. Columbus Circle suffers from the same problem. I want to know if a C or B is next because I need one and have no use for the other.

In Astoria, that problem is mitigated a bit. Most riders who board in Astoria don’t care if an N or a Q is next. Few of them are heading to the reaches of Brooklyn far from Queens where the N and Q diverge. It will be a relief for riders whose only way of trying to guess where the next train is involves peering down the elevated tracks. Still, these announcements can end up as noise pollution if they’re warning only of trains one or two (visible) stations away.

Meanwhile, according to the MTA, a countdown clock solution for the IND and BMT subway lines is still three to five years away. That’s a long time to wait, and I’m glad my nearest subway lines have countdown clocks. From the Subway Time API functionality to the in-system clocks, this technology has made waiting more tolerable and trip-planning easier. When these — and not just audio announcements — are available system-wide, the age-old New York complaint involving endlessly waiting for the subway may just go up in smoke. For now, though, the next Manhattan-bound train will be two stations away.

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Queens

Another Albany voice for Rockaway Beach reactivation

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 6, 2013

The LIRR’s long-dormant Rockaway Beach Branch right-of-way has seen better ideas. (Via Anandi A. Premlall/Friends of QueensWay)

The state-funded feasibility study for the QueensWay — a misguided effort that would turn an underused rail right-of-way into an underused park — is well under way with no comparable effort aimed at studying rail use, and Queens politicians are taking note. Already some local politicians and Congressional reps have voiced concerns over the sole focus of the study, and these politicians have instead urged rail reactivation. Now, another Queens State Senator and Borough President candidate has added his voice to the fray.

As Streetsblog reported yesterday, Tony Avella is the latest to call for rail reactivation. Joining with a group called the Queens Public Transit Committee, Avella has called for a study that includes rail as well. Stephen Miller has more on these efforts:

Rockaway Beach Branch rail service is the group’s priority. “The most efficient way is this train system,” said committee leader Philip McManus of Rockaway Park. “This goes all the way from South Queens all the way into Manhattan, and the Select Bus Service will not do that.” McManus said a study should determine whether LIRR service, which would not requite tunneling, or subway service, which would require a new tunnel beneath Rego Park connecting to Queens Boulevard, is the preferred option. “Whatever works,” he said at this morning’s press conference on Liberty Avenue. “We need a legitimate study, but it has to be first that the public needs to support this. That’s why we’re here.”

U.S. Representatives Hakeem Jeffries and Greg Meeks support federal funding for a feasibility study, and Avella joins Assembly members Phil Goldfelder and Mike Miller in advocating for rail.

If a feasibility study is conducted and political support lines up behind reactivation, the project would still need to secure funding from the MTA capital program. Avella, who opposed congestion pricing as a council member and mayoral candidate, thinks casinos could be a source of revenue for the project. “Hopefully the public will approve the gambling referendum that’ll be up in November,” he said. “That’s gonna generate billions of dollars.”

“It’s a transportation line,” McManus said, adding that it would be difficult for rail and trail to share it. “We don’t want a park, okay? We want a transportation option.”

The ask right now is a simple one: As the state is paying to study the practicalities of building a park through parts of Queens that likely won’t see much usage, the state should study the practicalities of restoring rail service along the Rockaway Beach Rail Line. Our governor has noted the need to build up infrastructure to better prepare for future storms, and the right of way already exists. Maybe the study determines nothing is feasible; maybe the study finds rail service could be restored. Either way, the study should go on.

As with any capital project, though, this one needs a clear champion. Avella is the fifth politician to either issue an explicit statement on the rail preference or appear with groups advocating for such a solution. If he were to win his Queens Borough President race, he could deliver some discretionary funding for a study, but nothing is stopping one of the other four from finding a grant of money either. The rail efforts won’t move forward without some funding. Now is the time for someone to step forward with it before QueensWay “wins” by virtue of being able to act quickly and coherently.

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AsidesMTA Politics

On bad transit ideas and the Staten Island Ferry

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 5, 2013

Early last week, The Times ran this editorial on the transit ideas that have come out of the 2013 mayoral campaign, and I sat on the article for a few days. On the one hand, I’m thrilled that candidates have decided to focus, to some degree or another, on transit issues, but on the other, the editorial is incredibly disappointing. It praises the candidates for offering up their ideas without taking a critical look at how nearly all of the ideas have been bad ones.

In fact, the editorial proclaimed many of the transit ideas “good,” and I had to wonder if we were all paying attention to the same campaign. Without even acknowledging John Catsimatidis’ zany monorail plans, The Times praised Christine Quinn’s horrendous Triboro RX SBS route, the new-found love affair with ferries and many plans already in the works, including more Select Bus Service routes and the Penn Station Access plan. “It will take effort and political skill to turn ideas into reality, from the tiny — Ms. Quinn proposes countdown clocks outside subway stations, which would be quite nice — to the transformational. But few jobs are more important for the next mayor,” The Times said.

The worst part though isn’t the fawning over half-hearted attempts at avoiding the city’s serious mobility problems. Rather, it is the framing device The Times used to present it editorial. It launched the piece with praise of Rudy Giuliani’s move to make the Staten Island Ferries free. It is, they said, “a small daily improvement in commuters’ lives that, multiplied by millions of rides and many years, surely adds up to something monumental.” Even though the decision was “influenced as much by politics as by need,” it is “an example of what can happen when a New York mayor highlights and fixes a neglected transportation problem.” Except its not at all.

By making the Staten Island Ferry free, the city has foregone literally millions of dollars annually that could have been invested into the transit system. This money could have been used to improve other connections between Staten Island and the rest of the city. Even if the city had simply installed Metrocard machines and granted ferry riders a free transfer to the subway or bus, the annual take still would have been around $5 million. Over the course of 16 years, that’s around $80 million not available for other improvements for no good reason other than politics. Is it worth it?

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Manhattan

Stringer conditions Midtown East rezoning on transit upgrades

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 4, 2013

Some new staircases and an enlarged mezzanine area won’t cut it.

As Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure rushes to an end, his effort to rezone Midtown East is coming to a head as well. Bloomberg wants to see this project through before he leaves office, and while many stakeholders are objecting to the relative breakneck pace of a project that has to go through a mandated review process, the rezoning is moving forward. Last week, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer gave the Midtown East his OK, conditioned on promises from the Bloomberg Administration to fund transit improvements. It’s a start, but is it enough?

“In order to make East Midtown’s plan a success, greater density in East Midtown should follow significant investments in its infrastructure,” Stringer said in his report. Expanding density before preparing the transit infrastructure, he says, “will have undesirable consequences for the City as a whole, [and] the ramifications of adding density to the already overloaded capacity of the local transit infrastructure raises serious questions about a development-first approach.”

Stringer’s ULURP review and the subsequent report focused largely on the impact the rezoning would have on the transit infrastructure currently in place. As regular riders of the Lexington Ave. IRT know, the Grand Central station is ill-equipped to handle more passengers. The trains themselves are packed, and the station — without much platform space or a large mezzanine area — can feel dangerously cramped at times. East Side Access will bring more riders into the area, and the rezoning would boost ridership on the line by well over 100 percent.

So what do you do with 15,000 new workers who will fill up 3.8 million square feet of office space and a few hundred thousand more square feet devoted to retail and hotels? In February, the MTA presented their mitigation plans, and Stringer grants his approval for the project as long as these plans are implemented first. These plans include new stairways — which eliminate some platform space — an enlarged mezzanine, new exits and an additional train per hour for the Lexington Ave. line. The 7 line would enjoy a few new staircases and high-speed escalators as well, and additional mitigation plans are being developed.

To fund all of this, Stringer calls upon the city to move towards what he calls comprehensive planning. “The City should advance proactive funding mechanisms, which could include, but are not limited to, direct capital investment, bond financing, or a special tax assessment district,” his report says. “Such funding mechanisms can provide capital dollars today that could be paid back by the proposed source (i.e. the DIB) over time.”

Now, this is all well and good, and Stringer is right to worry about the impact on transit such a rezoning would have. The system at Grand Central cannot handle many more people without some serious expansion efforts, but I worry that the proposed mitigation efforts aren’t enough. Incremental improvement is fine, but sweeping change may be in order. Plus, the rezoning isn’t the only project that will impact the area as two new East River high rises are going up in the East 30s.

The solution should be an increased focus on Phases 3 and 4 of the Second Ave. Subway. Now, I realize the MTA has only just started thinking about Phase 2, but as these Midtown East rezoning efforts move forward, Phases 3 and 4 are becoming even more important. This southern extension can siphon riders off of the Lexington Ave. line and to the new office space that will be developed. Additionally, bringing the subway south into an area with new office space could gain the approval of the Dan Doctoroffs of the city who would no longer view the subway line as a “silly spur that doesn’t generate anything.” It would generate relief for the Lexington Ave. line and could be a key selling point for new development in a rezoned area.

Ultimately, the rezoning will move forward, and without a champion, these phases of the Second Ave. Subway won’t for now. But they could be the key to the entire project, and Stringer’s report, while omitting reference to these phases, nearly says as much. “While the proposed rezoning targets development, any additional density onto a system that is over capacity will inevitably lead to potentially dangerous conditions,” he said. “It is therefore critical that the City mitigate the existing overcrowding conditions and create a real plan for investment in the East Side’s transportation infrastructure, including improving conditions at Grand Central.”

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Service Advisories

Montague’s end and weekend work on 13 subway lines

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 2, 2013

In just a little bit, the last R trains will make their ways through the Montague Tube before the MTA shuts it down until late 2014. At that ribbon-cutting, someone else who isn’t Michael Bloomberg will be mayor, and the 7 line will serve the Hudson Yards area. We’ll know more about the MTA’s next five-year capital plan, and we’ll be just four months away from the next fare hike.

I had a bit more on the R train earlier today, and tonight, on my way home from work, I ran across the sign you see above. The MTA has done an admirable job warning people of the impending shutdown, but that sign is…a bit of a challenge to comprehend in a snap. Lcl wkdys indeed.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend service changes.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, there is no 2 train service between 3rd Avenue-149th Street and 135th Street due to station rehabilitation at 149th Street-Grand Concourse and rail repairs in the Harlem River tube.
2 service operates in two sections:

  1. Between 241st Street and 3rd Avenue-149th Street
  2. Between 148th Street (3) station and Flatbush Avenue

Free shuttle buses operate in three segments:

  1. Between 3rd Avenue-149th Street and 135th Street only
  2. Between 3rd Avenue-149th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse only
  3. Between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 135th Street only

Note: 5 service is suspended between East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse.


From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday, August 3 and from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Sunday, August 4, there is no 5 train service between East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse due to statin rehabilitation at 149th Street-Grand Concourse and rail repairs in the Harlem River tube.
5 service operates in two sections:

  1. Between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street
  2. Between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and Bowling Green, every 20 minutes

Customers should use 2 trains and free shuttle buses. Take the 2 between East 180th Street and 3rd Avenue-149th Street. Take the 149th Street shuttle bus between 3rd Avenue-149th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse. Note: 5 trains from Manhattan skip 138th Street-Grand Concourse; no 2 service between 3rd Avenue-149th Street and 135th Street.


From 5:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4, Pelham Bay Park-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to Parkchester due to electrical work at Elder Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 3, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 3 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 4 and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, downtown A trains run express from 125th Street to 59th Street due to track tie renewal between 125th Street and 59th Street-Columbus Circle.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4, downtown C trains run express from 125th Street to 59th Street due to track tie renewal between 125th Street and 59th Street-Columbus Circle.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4, uptown C trains run express from Canal Street to 59th Street due to cable work north of Jay Street-MetroTech.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 3, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 3 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 4 and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, Coney Island-bound D trains run express from Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center to 36th Street due to track tie renewal at Union Street.


From 9:45 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the M line from 47th-50th Streets to Queens Plaza due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for Second Avenue Subway project. F trains run express from Queens Plaza to Roosevelt Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the A line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street due to cable work north of Jay Street-MetroTech.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, 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 3:30 a.m. Saturday, August 3 to 10 p.m. Sunday, August 4, there is no J train service between Broadway Junction and Myrtle Avenue due to switch renewal north of Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and track panel installation at Kosciusko Street. J trains operate in two sections:

  • Between Jamaica Center and Broadway Junction
  • Between Chambers Street and Myrtle Avenue, and then rerouted via the M line to/from Metropolitan Avenue.

L trains provide connecting service via Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs and Broadway Junction. Free shuttle buses operate between Broadway Junction and Myrtle Avenue, making stations stops at Chauncey Street, Halsey Street, Gates Avenue and Kosciusko Street. Transfer between J trains and free shuttle buses at Broadway Junction and/or Myrtle Avenue.


From 3:30 a.m. Saturday, August 3 to 10 p.m. Sunday, August 4, M service is suspended due to station renewal north of Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and track panel installation a Kosciusko Street. Customers should take the J train making all M stops between Myrtle Avenue and Metropolitan Avenue. (See J entry.)

Note: At all times until late August 2013, M trains bypass Central Avenue in both directions due to station rehabilitation work at Central Avenue.

(Montague Tubes Closed)
At all times beginning 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 2 until October 2014, there are no N or R trains running between Court Street in Brooklyn and Whitehall Street in Manhattan. Late night N and weekend R service are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge.

  • No N or R trains in either direction at Jay Street-MetroTech, Court Street, Whitehall Street, Rector Street, Cortlandt Street and City Hall.
  • Late night R shuttle in Brooklyn is unaffected.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 3, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, August 3 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 4 and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, August 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, Coney Island-bound N trains run express from Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center to 36th Street due to track tie renewal at Union Street.


From 10:45 p.m. Friday, August 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 5, Manhattan-bound Q trains run express from Sheepshead Bay to Newkirk Plaza due to track panel work at Sheepshead Bay. 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 11:30 p.m. Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4, Bay Ridge-bound R trains run express from Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center to 36th Street due to track tie renewal at Union Street.

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MTA Absurdity

Great Moments in MTA Typos: The Hugh Grant Tunnel

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 2, 2013

When the state of New York forced the MTA to rename the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel after one-time Governor Hugh Carey, I derided the move. It replaced a useful geographical name with the moniker of someone who served the state over 30 years ago. He had a long and distinguished career, but did we truly have to name a piece of infrastructure after him?

This week the move came back to bite the MTA in a rather hilarious way. As the Advance of Staten Island noticed, while programming in a service alert earlier this week, a hapless MTA employee accidentally termed it the Hugh Grant Tunnel. A screenshot of the error is below.

The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was not, sadly, renamed for an actor once named sexiest man alive.

The MTA rushed to correct the error, but it will go down in the annals of the Internet as a classic one and a prime example of the errors that can happen when bold-faced names end up on tunnels. In related news, are you ready for the closure of the R train’s Montalban Tunnel this weekend?

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Superstorm Sandy

The days of our post-Sandy discontent

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 2, 2013

WeekdaysR

This week’s issue of Time Out New York features a backpage interview with staffers complaining about their least favorite subway lines. One TONY editor bemoans the impending R train shutdown. The need to repair the Montague St. Tunnel will, he says, cut off the fastest ride he has to SoHo. Now, it’s hard to imagine that the R train offers the fastest ride from anywhere in the city to SoHo, but the sentiment is a familiar one echoing throughout the city. The Montague Tube shutdown is a necessary evil that will be a major inconvenience for a small number of people over the next 14 months.

The shutdown starts in 23 hours from my writing, and it is the most extensive repair effort the subways have seen since the September 11 terrorist attacks and the collapse of the Twin Towers destroyed a pair of subway tunnels in Lower Manhattan. Until next November — the then two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy — the R will run in two sections during the week and over the Manhattan Bridge during the weekend. Thousands of daily riders will have to find alternate routes, and it’s likely that already-crowded trains running between Brooklyn and Manhattan will be even more so.

“The job that we have ahead of us is an enormous challenge and we are grateful for the support that we have received from Governor Cuomo and the Federal Government in securing the funds necessary to perform these vital tasks,” Thomas F. Prendergast, Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said in a statement yesterday. “These investments in repairing and reinforcing the system’s infrastructure will help safeguard the most vulnerable areas of our subway system for decades to come.”

WeekendsR

In terms of the work, the MTA is essentially rebuilding the Montague Tube. The first contract will repair all of the right-of-way components except the signal system, and the second contract will repair the entire signal system. The total cost for this work alone will come in at $308.6 million. “Our goal is to complete this work as quickly and efficiently as possible while exposing our customers to as little inconvenience as we possibly can,” Acting NYC Transit President Carmen Bianco said.

Specifically, the ROW components that need repair include the track bed, the the tunnel lighting units, circuit breakers, power substations, pump rooms, fan plants, power cables and ducts. The signal work includes removal of sensitive equipment out of flood zones, modification of three signal circuits at Whitehall Street, Broad Street and Court Street and a temporary conversion of these stations into terminals. For railfans, Transit says that the last Brooklyn-bound train is scheduled to depart Whitehall St at approximately 11:33 p.m. The last Manhattan-bound train is scheduled to leave Court St at approximately 11:32 p.m.

Once the work starts, the R will not run between Court St. and Whitehall St. During the week, the trains will operate in two sections — in Brooklyn only and between Forest Hills and Whitehall St. During the weekend, the R will run via the Manhattan Bridge. For service to nearby stations, the MTA recommends the 2, 3, 4, 5, A or C trains, as applicable.

This is no one’s idea of a good time, but as far as work of this magnitude goes, it could be much worse. By and large, the R train service is a means to an end. For many Bay Ridge residents who need to get into Manhattan, the R is the first step on the way to a transfer to a speedier N or D train. The people who lose out here are those who live north of 36th St. but not too close to Atlantic Ave. and need to get to Lower Manhattan. Everyone else will find that their rides, while perhaps more crowded, aren’t much slower, and some may be faster. That’s a spin on a bad situation though.

Meanwhile, the MTA is also struggling to recover from Sandy in other ways. As WNYC’s Janet Babin reported this week, the agency has less catastrophe insurance this year than last. Premiums went up, and coverage amounts went down. That’s what happens when you have to file billions of dollars worth of claims. At least the reinsurance bonds have been popular, and by selling $200 million worth of bonds, the MTA has access to a bit more cash in the event of a storm.

“In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the traditional avenues we use for insurance and reinsurance contracted dramatically, making it exceedingly difficult for the MTA to obtain insurance,” Predergast said. “But as a result of this savvy and novel reinsurance arrangement, we are now in a stronger position should our area, God forbid, face another large-scale storm-surge event within the next three years.”

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MetroCard

Impact of the $1 Metrocard fee coming into view

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 1, 2013

I had to assist someone with a Metrocard purchase yesterday, and I nearly did a double-take when the vending machine alerted me to the $1 surcharge for new cards. As a WageWorks member, my new Metrocards come in the mail and without the MTA’s so-called green fee so I haven’t had a chance to go through the purchase process in a while. For many, of course, since March, the added charge for a new card has been a part of the routine process.

Now that the MTA has been collecting revenue from these purchases for a few months, the agency is in a better position to shed light on the economics behind the move, and according to a report in the Daily News today, it is paying dividends. Pete Donohue says the MTA has already collected $10 million in fees. He has more of a breakdown:

The MTA expects to print 60 million fewer MetroCards next year – so much plastic that, placed end-to-end, the cards would stretch 3,196 miles, the distance from New York City to Los Angeles and up the West Coast to San Francisco. It sold 101 million MetroCards last year, said MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg…

In its first four months, the green fee generated $10,841,000 for MTA coffers, said NYC Transit division budget director Aaron Stern. The MTA expects gross revenues to total nearly $24 million this year, and $28 million next year with a combined $3.8 million savings in production costs, said agency officials…

The green-fee windfall will be partially offset, officials said, by an estimated $11 million reduction in “fare media liability.” The MTA budget term is used to describe unused value riders leave on MetroCards: small change or trips paid for but not taken.

Initially, this is certainly good news for the MTA. Even though its fare media liability total is decreasing, it is saving significant costs by printing far fewer Metrocards, and the move has been environmentally friendly as well. I’m still a bit skeptical of the agency’s predictions of increased revenue from the fee next year though.

As I wrote in May, at a certain point, subway riders’ habits will change. Already Donohue easily found riders who have been using the same Metrocard since March, and that trend will continue. The MTA can save money on production costs, but will the revenue from the $1 fee continue to be as robust? Tourists will pay, but everyday riders will curtail their Metrocard purchases. For now, though, and until the Metrocard is finally phased out, the fee will remain.

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Second Avenue Subway

Doctoroff: SAS a ‘silly little spur that doesn’t generate anything’

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 1, 2013

Who needs a new subway station in developed areas anyway?

When I think about the benefits of the Second Ave. Subway, my thoughts turn to property value. Already upzoned in anticipation of the subway decades ago, the Upper East Side will see real estate prices spike when the subway debuts. It will provide significantly faster and more comfortable rides for 200,000 subway riders per day and will open up a large portion of the neighborhood closest to the East River to transit access. I’d think, then, that real estate developers would love the idea of a subway line.

I would of course be somewhat wrong. Amongst some circles of developers, the Second Ave. Subway is a useless vanity project while the real value lies in sending the subway to unchartered territories. The 7 line extension is instead the worthwhile project. Of course, it helps if this world view comes from the man once in charge of ensuring that the 7 line extension went forward, but the thinking underscores why developers do not often rush to embrace funding mechanisms for new subway lines in the city.

While speaking at the Forum for Urban Design’s Next New York dinner last night, both John Zuccotti and Dan Doctoroff issued statements arguing against the Second Ave. Subway as a worthwhile project. Stephen Smith was on hand to report, and he filed a story for The Observer. As Smith noted, Doctoroff had some choice words for this site’s namesake. “A silly little spur that doesn’t generate anything other than some convenience for people who are perfectly happy to live where they lived before,” Doctoroff said. He referred to it “a subway that doesn’t have any value added” and a “pet project” of the MTA and Sheldon Silver.

Smith’s reaction tracks mine:

Are we talking about the same subway…? The one that will serve one of the densest neighborhoods in the city? The one that’s supposed to relieve a subway line that carries more passengers than the entire Washington Metro system? The one that’s been planned for the better part of a century? The one that Yorkville was upzoned in anticipation of decades ago? The one that, despite having only four stops, is projected to carry more riders than the entire length of the L train?

…But alas, the comments were the perfect illustration of the mile-wide chasm between transit planners and real estate folks when it comes to picking projects. Transit planners think of projects in terms of the riders who will be served (200,000 each weekday for the Second Avenue line’s first segment, from 63rd Street to 96th)—to many transit advocates, a neighborhood with an existing population deserves infrastructure more than an empty one whose sole constituency is developers.

Real estate insiders, on the other hand, think of transit primarily as a way of spurring development, and are not swayed by arguments about easing overcrowding or serving tax-paying citizens. And it wouldn’t be the first time Mr. Doctoroff has argued that transit should serve the needs of developers over existing New Yorkers—when the 7 train stop at 10th Avenue and 41st Street was cut, he downplayed the significance, since buildings were already going up in Hell’s Kitchen without it. (By that logic, what was the point of the entire Independent Subway System, now the A/C/E, B/D/F/M and G trains?)

As you may have expected, Zuccotti expressed his support for the 7 line extension — a subway route to an area primed for new development. Doctoroff, who was in charge of the project while serving in the Bloomberg Administration, was forced to cut a station that would have served preexisting buildings at 41st and 10th, but that point isn’t important to developers.

This story and these comments detail, as Smith notes, the disconnect between transit planners and real estate developers. It’s why no one in Brooklyn is agitating for a Utica Ave. or Nostrand Ave. subway extension, why the Second Ave. Subway enjoys lukewarm support from REBNY and why the 7 line has been celebrated in some circles. Until we figure out a way to bridge that divide, built-up areas that need subway service for reasons other than virgin development won’t get the transit infrastructure they deserve. What a shame.

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AsidesBrooklyn

Does Brooklyn really need a ferry for the R train shutdown?

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on July 31, 2013

The Great R Train Montague Tube Shutdown of 2013-2014 kicks off later this weekend, but adventurous Bay Ridge and Sunset Park residents who don’t mind an exceedingly long walk will have an opportunity to take a boat instead. After agitating for solutions for those few R train riders who travel great distances, don’t switch to an express train and are bound for Lower Manhattan, politicians and the Riders Alliance celebrated a small victory yesterday when the city announced a new ferry stop, at least for a month.

As the Daily News reported, the Rockaway-Manhattan Ferry will make an extra stop near the Army Terminal at 58th St. near Brooklyn from August 5 through Labor Day. After that, if ridership warrants it and funds can be found, the service may be continued for a few more months of the 14-month R train shutdown.

While politicians celebrated the victory, the feelings were muted by the short timeframe. “We don’t feel that a month is enough time to gauge whether this is a viable alternative,” Justin Brannan, a spokesman for Councilman Vincent Gentile, said, trying really hard. “You have to give people time to know that it’s there before falling in love with the ferry,” Brannan said.

I have to wonder, as I often do, though, if this ferry is viable, necessary or both. Even though the ride is billed as a 15-minute one to Wall St., the ferry terminal is nearly a mile away from the nearest R train step, and the walk is hardly a scenic that snakes under the Gowanus Expressway. The vast majority of riders would be better served transferring to a 4th Ave. express and then to an IRT train at Atlantic Ave. The boat is a fine alternative for the few people who live close enough, but otherwise, those boats will serve as another reminder why ferries aren’t the answer.

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