Second Avenue Subway Project

Daily News...

2nd Ave. line back on track

By PETE DONOHUE

Plans for a Second Ave. subway line are rolling ahead - with two stations in lower Manhattan solidly on the drawing board.

The proposed line would run from 125th St. to the southern tip of Manhattan, with the final two stops - which had been under evaluation - at the South Street Seaport at Fulton and Water Sts. and at Hanover Square and Water St., according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority document reviewed by the Daily News.

The document is part of a supplemental environmental impact statement that has been completed and will be the subject of public hearings next month.

After public input, the MTA is to complete a final impact statement and, after federal approval, begin the final design early next year. Further study could change the project. Construction is slated to begin at the end of next year.

"It brings us one giant step closer to a shovel going in the ground in 2004," said Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields, a longtime proponent of the project.

There would be 16 new stations connecting about 8.5 miles of new track. The MTA estimates the $16 billion project will take 12 to 16 years to finish.

The goal is to relieve the stifling overcrowding on the Lexington Ave. line and provide more subway options and connections.

MTA drawings also show a spur from the Second Ave. line that would let trains turn west at 63rd St., then head to Brooklyn via the Broadway line, making its last Manhattan stop at Canal St. before heading over the Manhattan Bridge.

The MTA will conduct two public hearings on the draft next month: May 12, at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at 1 Bowling Green, and May 13 at El Museo Del Barrio, Heckscher Building, at Fifth Ave. and 104th St. The hearings begin at 4 p.m.

Proposals to build a subway line along Second Ave. go back as far as 1929 but never got very far. Construction of some tunnel segments began, but work stopped in the 1970s because of the city's fiscal crisis.

The MTA's 2000-04 capital program commits more than $1billion toward the project for preliminary and final design, and the start of construction. The next capital program is expected to continue funding for the project, and officials are hoping for large amounts of federal funds in future years.

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12 to 16 years to finish

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I like that kind of never-ending stories.
Good luck to the 2nd Ave. line !

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/planning/sas/index.html

Everything you need to know about the project, including maps and a construction timeline.

I doubt it:(. Transportation is so much more difficult due to the fact that the closest train is on Lexington! Well for me any way.

I live on Second Avenue, so it's somewhat more convenient. *But I'd still need to walk several blocks in either direction to get to a station.

I'm on York and this is LONG overdue.

sigh....I doubt I'll be living here TWO DECADES from now!!!!!

Hearings Set For Second Ave. Subway

The Associated Press

May 12, 2003, 11:53 AM EDT

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has scheduled public hearings to address the $16 billion construction of a Second Avenue subway line.

The hearings, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, are expected to detail the impact of the project, which is intended to relieve overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue line and improve transportation for people on Manhattan's East Side.

The 8.2-mile line would run from 125th Street in East Harlem to Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan and could take between 12 and 16 years to complete.

At the hearings, officials will discuss issues including congested conditions at intersections within construction zones, displacement of residential and business tenants, and noise caused by construction conditions.

The hearings begin on Monday at 4 p.m. at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Auditorium at 1 Bowling Green in Manhattan. Tuesday's hearing will begin at 4 p.m. at El Museo Del Barrio on 104th Street and Fifth Avenue.


Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

From NY1

East Side Residents Complain About Second Avenue Subway
SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2003

Hundreds of Upper East Side residents angered by plans for the Second Avenue subway packed a public meeting with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Monday night.

"The noise, the pollution, the potential rats," one resident said, ticking off a common list of concerns.

The construction, estimated to take at least 12 years, is scheduled to begin next year, and residents are starting to think about the impact on their community

"We can show statistics saying that your property in 10, 15 years will rise, but for people who are going to be affected on a day-to-day basis, it hits home a little harder,” said Dan Quart of Community Board 8. “And those statistics are not really comforting."

"There are potentially people that are going lose their homes,” said Manhattan Assemblyman Jonathan Bing. “There are businesses that are going to lose their livelihood from decades being here in their locations on the East Side."

From Falk Drugstore, a fixture at the corner of 72nd Street for the last 50 years, to the popular Patsy's Pizzeria on 69th Street, to nationally owned chains like Rite Aid, the Second Avenue Subway could spell doom for dozens of businesses. Then there are apartment buildings like 301 East 69th Street, where construction will affect hundreds of tenants.

"I just bought this apartment six months ago, and now I find out – after I bought the apartment – that they're thinking about putting a subway system in our building, knocking out the restaurant downstairs,” said one resident.

While Monday's public hearing gave them a chance to air their concerns, some residents felt they weren't being heard.

"It seems like everything's set in stone,” said one woman. “They're really not listening to anybody. They're not giving answers. What happens to people who've put all their life savings into an apartment, and they're going to lose everything? The MTA doesn't care about that. They're just moving forward."

Still, local leaders say the need for the Second Avenue subway will make it worth the pain in the long run.

"It's almost like there's no choice,” said City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, whose district is on the Upper East Side. “You're looking at the most overcrowded subway line in the United States of America, which is going to have added to it 40,000 riders when the Grand Central connection occurs. I mean, it's a nightmare."

MTA officials so no final decisions have been made on where to build station entrances for the new line.

Despite the opposition, the project is moving forward. Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2004.

When completed, the Second Avenue Subway will stretch from 125th Street to Water Street in Lower Manhattan.

- Bobby Cuza
Copyright © 2003 NY1 News

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which is going to have added to it 40,000 riders when the Grand Central connection occurs

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What's that about ? When will it occur ?

Long Island RR East Side Access Project
Completion 2012

http://www.pbbulletin.com/Volume19_I...ead_map_lg.jpg

http://www.mta.info/mta/planning/esas/description.htm

Why does it have to be 2nd ave? Anyone know? Is there a less central, less commercial place to do it?

It has to be east of Lex, so that leaves 3rd or 1st Aves.

It's the east side of Manhattan - no matter where it goes it will be a major disruption.

Why does it have to be a problem ?
Metro lines are being added to most of the major big cities in the developed world.

East Side access is a project that will allow the Long Island Rail Road to access Grand Central Terminal, right now only Metro North trains from North of the City are able to access Grand Central.

Long Island Railroad , NJ Transit and Amtrak operate out of Penn Station.

The Long Island Railroad will be able to double the amount of trains into Manhattan, right now Penn Station is at capacity so this will allow LIRR to send more trains into Manhattan. It will offer LIRR travelers access to the East Side of Manhattan, LIRR will offer service to Penn Station (34th street) and Grand Central Terminal.

http://www.parsons.com/about/press_r...001/index.html

There are also plans to build another "new" LIRR connection to Manhattan extending their Atlantic Ave branch under a new East River tunnel to Lower Manhattan

Stops on the Second Avenue Line are too far apart. The gaps between 72nd and 57th and between 57th and 42nd are both 15 blocks, or three-quarters of a mile. Adding the crosstown walk from some destinations like York Avenue, this will leave many people with still well more than a half-mile walk to the subway. There is also, inexplicably, a big 14-block gap in the densely-populated area between 86th and 72nd Streets. Why make all these people walk nearly twice as far as they need to? Additional stops are needed at 79th, 65th, 49th and 29th Streets.

As the example of Paris so persuasively demonstrates, train speed is MUCH less important to an efficient system than close proximity of stops and train headway. When you are walking to the subway you are approaching your destination at the speed of (at most) 4 miles per hour, and standing on a subway platform, you are progressing at exactly zero mph.

A second shortcoming of the proposed Second Avenue subway design is that it leaves the East Village with most of its presently-desperate subway service situation largely unaddressed. No new subway entrances are proposed over the two that presently exist. Having the additional option of riding the Second Avenue Line uptown will certainly be preferable to today's opportunities, but the walk to the subway will be exactly the same.

South of 14th Street, the Second Avenue Line should loop broadly into the East Village with maybe two stops. Can you imagine being able to hop a subway at Tompkins Square?

If all this money is going to be spent, it might as well be done right.