Podcast

Ep. 11 of ‘The Next Stop Is…’

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 9, 2014

NextStopis It’s a new year, but it’s the same podcast. Welcome to the 11th episode of “The Next Stop Is…” the one and only audio version of Second Ave. Sagas.

While a lot has happened over the past few days — a Metro-North resignation, Chris Christie’s George Washington Bridge scandal — Eric and I recorded this episode on Sunday night. The discussion, however, is still timely. We talk about how even the promise of transit drives real estate prices issues with the environmental review process, and subway collision numbers for 2013. I also give my pick for the most important transit development of 2013. What is it? You’ll just have to listen.

This week’s recording again runs just under 25 minutes, and it is, as you may have guessed by now, the perfect length for your subway ride home this evening. You can grab the podcast right here on iTunes or pull the raw MP3 file. If you enjoy what you hear, subscribe to updates on iTunes as well and consider leaving us a review.

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Penn Station Access

From Albany, a Penn Station Access champion emerges

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 9, 2014

Gov. Cuomo proposed federal funding for Penn Station Access in his State of the State speech Wednesday. (Image via @NYGovCuomo)

So far, Gov. Andrew Cuomo — lover of muscle cars — has not been much of a transit booster. He’s allowed the MTA to do its own thing while maintaining a close relationship with the people he tasks with running the show, but while he’s been aggressive in sending out press releases touting big news, his three years in office have not involved any major transit pushes.

This approach changed considerably with Cuomo’s State of the State speech on Wednesday afternoon. During his presentation of the laundry list of accomplishments and initiatives he hopes to launch as he ramps up his reelection effort this year, he spoke about a transit project familiar to Second Ave. Sagas readers. That idea — already in the planning stages — is Penn Station Access, a plan that would add four Metro-North stops to Bronx and bring trains into Penn Station. It’s not without its controversies, but it’s something that could be implemented relatively quickly if someone in Albany is willing to fight for funding.

When Cuomo announced this news during his speech, I was a bit skeptical. Again, it seemed as though the Governor had simply decided to take something that had seen a scoping study issued in 2000 when Cuomo was with HUD and a project the MTA had already determined to see through and make it his. Curbed, in fact, called me out for that position, but as I’ve thought about it, we should embrace Cuomo’s acceptance of this plan. Even if he can convince the feds to fork over the dollars as part of general recovery and resilience efforts, he will have championed it through.

So what’s the plan? In a corresponding policy book, Cuomo delved into the Penn Station Access proposal:

The need for additional railroad network resiliency was made clear by Superstorm Sandy, when for the first time in their 100-year history, the Hudson River tunnels and two of the East River tunnels into Penn Station were flooded. These closures, along with those of subway and auto tunnels, cut Manhattan off from the region, impacting the regional and national economy. Without the Penn Access connection, Metro-North’s only Manhattan terminal, Grand Central Terminal, would effectively be cut off in the event of a Harlem River Lift Bridge failure, affecting more than 275,000 daily commuters.

Using existing tracks, the project would establish new links for the New Haven Line that by-pass both the Mott Haven Junction and the Harlem River Lift Bridge. In the event of a disaster that disabled these points of access, commuters and others would still be able to use Metro-North to enter or leave Manhattan. In addition, the project provides Metro-North with access to a second Manhattan terminal in the event of an emergency affecting Grand Central or its tunnel and viaduct approaches.

The Penn Station Access Project envisions the construction of four new stations in the Eastern Bronx and the purchase of new rail cars to support the new service. The project will for the first time connect these communities via commuter rail both to Manhattan’s West Side and to the I-95 corridor, providing historic benefits…These new stations are proposed for Co-op City, Morris Park, Parkchester and Hunts Point, which are not currently served by commuter rail.

The benefits are obvious. The East Bronx will have 30-minute access to the West Side, and many Westchester and Connecticut travelers will have a one-seat ride to the area as well. If the MTA could figure out a way to rationalize the fare for intra-city travelers as well, so much the better.

But the problems are numerous. First off, as we saw last spring, Long Island politicians can’t see through the benefits of Penn Station Access and have been threatening to oppose any plan that takes space away from LIRR slots at Penn. Never mind that many LIRR commuters will embrace East Side Access when it opens; never mind that Metro-North riders are New Yorkers who should have West Side access as well. Long Island politicians are not known for practicality, and they are going to dig in hard.

Additionally, there is the matter of cost. While Cuomo didn’t discuss any figures, The Times quotes an “administration official” claiming that the project will cost in excess of $1 billion. Similarly, a 2008 state report estimated a $1.8 billion price tag for Penn Station Access. As Alon Levy skeptically tweeted, that’s what the cost for four new above-ground stations, some widening work done along a preexisting right of way, electrical work and rolling stock purchases would add up to be. There must be a way to build out Penn Station Access for cheaper.

But that’s part of the process, and the process starts with someone in power taking ownership of the proposal. Right now, Penn Station Access is in Cuomo’s lap. We’ll get to see if he can turn this into his own transit project. We sure could use it.

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Service Advisories

An abbreviated FASTRACK hits the G line

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 8, 2014

FASTRACK_mapG_Jan6_10_14

I’m around 90 minutes late on this, but bear with me. The fact that Transit cut short this new FASTRACK treatment threw me off a bit.

For seven hours a night, running from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tonight and tomorrow, there will be no G train service for a big chunk of Brooklyn. As part of the 2014 FASTRACK schedule, the G will run only from Court Square to Bedford-Nostrand Aves. as the stretch of track from Bed Stuy to Hoyt-Schermerhorn will be out of service for repairs. The only replacement service will be shuttle buses operating from Jay St.-MetroTech to Beford-Nostrand.

This FASTRACK was supposed to start Monday night but due to the cold, it was pushed back to tonight. It’s still pretty cold out, and the IND Crosstown tracks that are out of service are underground. But there you go.

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AsidesPANYNJ

Emails detail NJ traffic-as-political-revenge plan

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 8, 2014

For the past few months, the Wall Street Journal has been uncovering the story of a traffic jam intentionally manipulated as political revenge. For not supporting New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s re-election campaign, Fort Lee’s mayor apparently paid the price in the form of a massive traffic tie-up engineered by Christie aids and allies at Port Authority. While Christie has denied the charges and New Jersey’s Assembly is still investigating, trove of emails has surfaced, showing Christie aides at the highest levels organizing the payback.

As the accompanying article notes, the first email is the most startling. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Christie’s Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly says to David Wildstein. The former Port Authority official had a two-word reply: “Got it.” The Journal article delves into the responses and politics of the situation with one email bemoaning the impact on children while another dismisses them as “children of Buono voters.” Christie has yet to comment, and New Jersey politicians vow to press on with their inquiry.

It is ultimately unclear how this scandal will impact Christie on a national and local level. He’s shown a willingness to use and exploit transit for personal gain, but he hasn’t done much to expand or otherwise take responsibility for New Jersey’s rail needs. I think Clyde Haberman had the most astute question on the matter: “What does it say about New Jersey that a Christie aide’s chosen method of political revenge is creating traffic jam?”

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Superstorm Sandy

More of the same from Cuomo on post-Sandy transit protections

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 8, 2014

With Vice President Joe Biden in tow — one of the key players behind the federal dollars New York has used in its recovery from Sandy — I’d hope that Gov. Andrew Cuomo would have more to say about construction efforts than what we already know. Perhaps he’d elaborate on how the state and MTA plan to shore up a 100-year-old system that’s underground in some of the city’s more vulnerable areas. Perhaps he’d talk about how the MTA will protect trains, yards and tunnels. Or perhaps, with nearly a full term under his belt, he’d just reiterate what we already know.

If you put money on the latter, congratulations. You’ve won. Here’s how the Daily News’ Daily Politics blog reported:

In hopes of avoiding future Hurricane Sandy disasters, Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday the state plans to plug every hole in the city’s subway system. Cuomo, during a presentation at the state Capitol with Vice President Joe Biden, said that there are more than 540 openings in the subway system that need to be closed ahead of major storms to avoid problems.

The entire system, from trainyards to the tunnels, will be retrofitted as part of a $5 billion upgrade, he said. “We have over 540 openings to the subway system and our challenge is to come up with a way to close all 540 openings before a flood and before the system fills,” he said.

Subway tunnels and stairways will have sealing devices designed to hold back flood waters that wreaked havoc during Hurricane Sandy and caused a multi-day shutdown of the system. He also said the pumping system will be upgraded. “We’re going to do the most fundamental redesign of the subway system since it was created over 100 years ago,” Cuomo said. “And we’re going to retrofit the entire system, every facet of the system.”

In a corresponding press release, Cuomo said more of the same: “The MTA is undertaking a $5 billion overhaul of New York’s mass transit systems – the largest reconstruction of the subway system in 110 years. Every facet of the system’s infrastructure will be improved to withstand extreme weather. The State will invest in technologies to seal hundreds of subway and tunnel entrances, seal station stairways and increase pump capacity in stations and tunnels and projects to protect bus and train yards and the vital infrastructure that makes them run. The State will also explore permanent and temporary technologies to seal automobile and subway tunnels and prevent future flooding. Six under-river tubes used by 1 million people a day will be rebuilt.”

The only new information is that six under-river tubes will be rebuilt. So far, all we know is that the Montague and Greenpoint Tubes are undergoing reconstruction. That leaves four other tubes — for cars or subways — to be similarly rebuilt.

Outside of that, we’ve heard this from the MTA over and over again for nearly a year. Since Sandy swept through, the MTA has spoken at length about the need to seal 560 access points, and although Cuomo reiterated this stance yesterday, we still have no idea how this tale task will be completed. Perhaps I’m being too harsh on Cuomo but 14 months after the storm, we need more than just the same taking points over and over again. We need details, and we need leadership. We’ve gotten neither.

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View from Underground

Poll: ‘It’s showtime! Showtime’

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 7, 2014

A few months ago, I made a slight shift in my evening commute back home to Brooklyn. Instead of taking the 2 or 3 train as it slowly winds its way south of Chambers St. to Grand Army Plaza, I shifted to the Q train from Times Square to 7th Ave. Although Q headways are longer, the ride itself is faster and more comfortable. I can usually get a seat from the get-go, and if I can’t, the BMT rolling stock is wider than the IRT’s. What I didn’t account for was “Showtime.”

You know “Showtime.” What time is it? Showtime! If you ride the subways long enough, you’ll see it and hear it and see it again and hear it again and again and again. A group of kids — sometimes young, sometimes old — come into the car, blast some music, and spin around on the poles. It’s the modern-day version of break dancing. After an express run — from Union Square to Canal if you’re lucky, from Canal to De Kalb if you’re not — they canvas for money and move on to the next car.

As things go underground these days, “Showtime” is divisive. I can’t stand it. It’s loud; it’s in your face; it’s inconsiderate, especially at rush hour. People on already crowded trains are focused to move to the sides (though I’ve seen more than a few groups refuse to move), and then tinny music blasting from a portable speaker fills the car. I just want peace and quiet on the way home.

Not everyone is as curmudgeonly as me. Some people love the Showtime routines. It is, they say, just a way for kids to earn a few bucks, and it doesn’t harm anyone. It’s just good ol’ New York fun.

The debate came to a head shortly after Christmas when two men were arrested. DNA Info reported that a Showtime duo were charged with reckless endangerment as a misdemeanor as they “caused a hazard to themselves and others around them, and made excessive noise by blaring music from a stereo.” I think an arrest is a bit too harsh, but removing the threat of Showtime from a crowded subway is A-OK with me.

But I’m just one person. Let’s hear from you. What are your thoughts on Showtime? Let’s have a poll.

What do you think of "Showtime" routines on the subway?
View Results
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Metro-North

Report: MNR President Howard Permut to step down

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 6, 2014

It’s been a rough 12 months for Metro-North. Headlined by December’s fatal derailment near Spuyten Duyvil, the commuter railroad faced power problems over this fall and a series of high-profile collisions and derailments earlier in 2013. Now, according to a report in The Times, Metro-North President Howard Permut will step down at the end of January after nearly six years on the job.

It’s unclear from initial reports if Permut’s resignation is related to the safety issues. I think it’s safe to assume the recent spate of problem is at least partially responsible for the move. For now, neither anyone at the MTA nor Permut himself has issued a statement, but Matt Flegenheimer has this report:

Mr. Permut announced his retirement to staff members at a meeting late Monday afternoon, a transit official said. The official said that Mr. Permut is expected to be replaced by Joseph Giulietti, the executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, and that Mr. Permut intends to stay until the end of January to help with the transition…A member of Metro-North’s original team in 1983, the year the railroad was brought under the auspices of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Mr. Permut became president in 2008, steering the railroad as it burnished a reputation as one of the region’s most reliable commuter systems.

But last year seemed to deliver one nightmare after the next, prompting concerns from riders and attracting the glare of federal investigators. In May, a train collision on the New Haven line injured scores of passengers. Less than two weeks later, a track foreman in West Haven, Conn., was struck and killed after a trainee rail controller opened a section of track without proper clearance. Other episodes included the disruption of service on the Hudson line in July after the derailment of a freight train in Spuyten Duyvil and a series of problems on the New Haven line in September after the failure of a Consolidated Edison feeder cable.

But it was the crash on Dec. 1 that was particularly devastating. Four people were killed and more than 70 were injured when a Hudson line train hurtled off the tracks early on a Sunday morning just north of Spuyten Duyvil station. The train’s operator became dazed at the controls, according to his lawyer. Metro-North had never before suffered any accident-related passenger deaths. The derailment focused attention on safety features that had been missing from Metro-North, including a system to enforce speed limits around sharp curves like the one at Spuyten Duyvil.

The dots, I’d say, are firmly connected here, but I’ll have more once the MTA comments.

Meanwhile, as Permut exits on a down note, his legacy at the railroad should be a better one than that. As The Times noted, he was involved in the formation of Metro-North out of the Conrail entity in 1983 and had led efforts that resulted in record ridership and, until recently, record reliability for Metro-North. He helped streamline scheduling, marketing and advertising for the railroad, and for better or worse, he oversaw an initiatives to better utilize parking spaces and connecting services.

When Permut was named President, he noted that safety was a major focuses. While ridership has hit record highs throughout his tenure, he leaves on a down-note with regard to safety and reliability. Joseph Giulietti, who spent over 20 years with Conrail and Metro-North, will have to clean up while overseeing the positive train control installation and retaining and attracting riders. It’s not an easy job right now.

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MetroCard

A happy 20th birthday to the MetroCard

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 6, 2014

Twenty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was our mayor, Bill Clinton the president and Mike Gallego the Yankees’ starting short stop. Twenty years ago also marked the day the MetroCard made its New York City debut. On January 6, 1994, at two stations in Lower Manhattan, the MetroCard made its debut as riders at the IRT’s City Hall stop and the BMT’s Whitehall St. station could swipe in with the blue-and-yellow pieces of plastic.

Those first cards deducted $1.25 per swipe and MTA officials spoke of the ways in which this new payment system would change the fare structure throughout the city. “It’s a new era for our customers,” then-MTA Chairman Peter E. Stangl said. “It opens up the possibility for fare structures that over time will help us increase our ridership, which is why we’re in business.”

Three years later, in 1997, every station was equipped with MetroCard-ready turnstiles, and the MTA could begin offering unlimited ride cards thus realizing Stangl’s words. Those unlimited fare cards revolutionized transit and lead to a massive increase in ridership. The costs are higher today, but the bulk discount options remain a good deal for daily riders.

Over the years, the MetroCard has had its ups, downs and “please swipe again at this turnstile” moments. It took nearly 19 years for display screens to show the expiration dates for unlimited cards, and lately, both the fronts and backs of the cards have been for sale. I’ve always loved my unlimited MetroCard though through thick and thin.

In commemorating today’s anniversary, the MTA put out a brief release on the MetroCard’s two decades. “You can’t think of New York City without thinking of the MetroCard,” Carmen Bianco, President of MTA New York City Transit, said. “After two decades, it still serves millions of bus and subway riders daily offering a great transportation value. Of course, we are well on our way to developing the next generation of fare payment, part of our effort to upgrade and modernize the City’s mass transit system.”

Echoing Bianco’s line, the MTA says the agency is “working on something even better,” but we still don’t know what that will be. The replacement project had foundered over the past six or seven years and seemed rudderless last February. But the MTA knows that the costs of maintaining the twenty-year old system are continuing to creep upward, and a replacement is on tap. (That too is the top of my March 19 Problem Solvers session.)

Today, we’ll tip our caps to that ubiquitous piece of plastic. Please, swipe again.

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Second Avenue Subway

Second Ave. Sagas: A real estate spike, three years out

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 5, 2014

Phase 1 of the Second Ave. Subway will open in 2016 and is already spurring on Upper East Side real estate deals.

If all goes according to plan, the official opening for the Second Ave. Subway will be in 35 months. Of course, knowing the project’s multi-decade history and the MTA’s penchant for delivering on time, that date is far from set in stone, but already, the subway is affecting the Upper East Side real estate picture. If the latest news is a preview of things to come, we’ll soon see that a subway through a developed and previously up-zoned neighborhood can still drive the market.

The story that broke last week involves a property on East 66th St. near Third Ave. It is, in other words, only a few blocks away from the new entrance to the Second Ave. Subway and F train that will open at 63rd and 3rd. Adrianne Pasquarelli had the story in Crain’s New York:

The increasing popularity of northern Third Avenue has led to the sale of a building on the corner of East 66th Street. Chicago-based real estate investment firm L3 Capital recently sold a four-story, 5,300-square-foot property at 1128 Third Ave. for $9.5 million to a local investor. L3 purchased the building about three years ago for around $6 million, according to Adelaide Polsinelli, the Eastern Consolidated senior director who negotiated the sale on the firm’s behalf.

She attributes the 58% jump in price in part to the forthcoming upgrade in the neighborhood’s transit options with the arrival of the Second Avenue Subway. “There is activity percolating in the area,” said Ms. Polsinelli. “The Second Avenue Subway definitely has impacted this in a positive way.”

The history of New York is, of course, replete with examples of transit spurring on economic development and creating more desirable places to live. Without the the subways, jobs wouldn’t be as concentrated in Manhattan as they are, and the city wouldn’t be nearly as dense or as big. We’ve seen the famous photos of the subway snaking through farmland in Queens shortly after construction on the Flushing line wrapped, and we’ve seen a marked increase in development activity near the spot of the 7 line’s new 34th St. on the Far West Side.

Now, we’ve received another reminder of the power of transit. People want it, and it drives up the desirability of real estate. Plus, developers and building owners are tuned in, and as the completion of Phase 1 of the Second Ave. Subway inches closer, we’re likely to see buildings change hands and retail rents on the Upper East increase. It’s hard to over-stress how much more convenient everything east of 2nd Ave. will become when the subway opens.

The key going forward for New York is to capture some of that value and help turn it into additional transit upgrades. Tax financing will help offset some of the costs of the 7 line construction (though considerable tax breaks given to developers will eat into that money), and the same should be done both north for Phase 2 and south for Phases 3 and 4 of the Second Ave. Subway. Perhaps, too, such an approach could work in areas of Queens and Brooklyn that are ready and willing to embrace subway expansion.

It’s easy to lose sight of the way transit has pushed New York’s development throughout the ages, and those who forget history do not stand to gain from it. We have a modern-day reminder of the power of transit. At a time when future expansion efforts are in doubt, the city, the state and the MTA should harness that economic drive to promote further growth.

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AsidesMetro-North

Links: Prendergast talks safety as MTA applies for $1 billion loan

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 3, 2014

In the aftermath of last month’s fatal Metro-North derailment, MTA Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast knew he had to act quickly and decisively to confront safety concerns. The commuter railroads were unlikely to be compliant a federal mandate to install positive train control by the end of 2015, and public perception was starting to weigh against Metro-North. To speed up the project, estimated to cost at least $670 million, the MTA has applied for a $1 billion loan from the feds, Ted Mann of the Wall Street Journal reports today.

Meanwhile, Mann also spoke with Prendergast about his previous experiences with safety concerns. As a young engineer in Chicago in the 1970s, the current MTA head had to face down similar problems after a pair of fatal CTA derailments. Prendergast is hoping to strike the right balance between a reliance on technology and the need for human decision-making. It’s not an easy balancing act, and time is not on the MTA’s side.

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