Transit

Photo by Marc Hermann, courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

October 5, 2018

INTERVIEW: Take a ride with Concetta Anne Bencivenga, director of the New York Transit Museum

Concetta Anne Bencivenga wants you to visit the New York Transit Museum. After coming on as the museum's director early last year -- following Gabrielle Shubert's impressive 24-year run -- she's become "cheerleader in chief," in her own words, excited to promote the museum's exhibits and programming to a wide range of New Yorkers. With 6sqft she discusses how her diverse background brought her to the Transit Museum and what the past of New York's public transportation can teach us about moving forward. She also talks about the revamp of an existing exhibit, the introduction of new ones, and her goals moving forward as director. Do you know why the MTA subway system is featured so prominently in early comic books? Keep reading, as Concetta shares the reasons why public transit is so crucial to New Yorkers lives -- in both the obvious and more surprising ways.
Meet Concetta

October 4, 2018

REVEALED: Cuomo’s $13B JFK Airport overhaul to feature an indoor ‘park’ and food hall

By Devin Gannon

Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed new details Thursday of his $13 billion plan to overhaul John F. Kennedy Airport and transform it into a 21st-century transit hub. In addition to two much-needed new international terminals, the overhaul will bring NYC's biggest tourist attractions into its passenger waiting areas and a central hub. There will be interior green space called "Central Park at JFK," a food hall modeled after Chelsea Market, an elevated walkway called "The High Line," and artwork and exhibits honoring iconic landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty's torch.
See the new renderings

MTA will run a temporary ferry service during L train shutdown

NY Waterway, via Wiki Commons

October 4, 2018

MTA will run a temporary ferry service during L train shutdown

By Dana Schulz

Express buses, shuttle service, electric scooters, Citi Bike--now New Yorkers can add the ferry to their list of alternate transportation modes during the impending L train shutdown. The MTA announced that when the 15-month hiatus hits in April, they'll launch a temporary ferry service that will run express from Williamsburg to Stuyvesant Cove near the East Village. According to the agency, "In response to feedback from customers and elected officials, the temporary service will now include 240-passenger vessels that will provide up to 61% more capacity than originally planned."
All the details

Transit

No subway, no worries: Developers offer incentives to lure tenants off train lines

Williamsburg, where the L train shutdown will soon take effect, via Wiki Commons

October 3, 2018

No subway, no worries: Developers offer incentives to lure tenants off train lines

By Cait Etherington

Williamsburg, where the L train shutdown will soon take effect, via Wiki Commons In a city with fewer car owners than nearly any other location in North America, it should come as no surprise that subway access is a key factor for most New Yorkers when they go on the housing market. In fact, many New Yorkers won’t even consider renting or buying if the address is more than a 10-minute walk from the nearest subway. This explains why some neighborhoods, including Greenpoint, which has a subway but not one that leads to Manhattan, and Alphabet City, which doesn’t have a subway at all, have long reported lower real estate values and rental prices that their nearest neighbors. However, there are growing signs that subway access may no longer matter as much as it once did. While subway access remains important, it is increasingly no longer a deal breaker for developers or prospective tenants. In today’s real estate market, a growing number of developers are pouring money into developments located off the subway line, and many tenants don’t seem to mind. This may also explain why not all developers with projects located along the L line are worried about the pending shutdown, which is now slated to begin in April 2019.
READ MORE

Port Authority approves $355M project to rehab JFK runway and add a ‘high-speed taxiway’

Photo via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office

September 28, 2018

Port Authority approves $355M project to rehab JFK runway and add a ‘high-speed taxiway’

By Devin Gannon

The Port Authority's Board of Commissioners approved on Friday a $355 million plan to rehabilitate a key runway at John F. Kennedy Airport and add a new high-speed taxiway. The 10,000-foot-long runway, or 13L-31R, that will get the revamp handles nearly half of all planes arriving at JFK. This runway, one of four at the airport, will close between April and the end of 2019.
Get the details

163rd Street C station reopens, no 5 train service, and more weekend subway service updates

Photo via Wiki Commons

September 28, 2018

163rd Street C station reopens, no 5 train service, and more weekend subway service updates

By Hannah Frishberg

Yesterday, the 163rd Street-Amsterdam Avenue C station reopened for service in both directions after being closed since March for extensive renovations. In addition to structural improvements, cosmetic additions were added in the form of four new glass mosaic murals by area artists. That's the good news – the bad news is there's no 5 train service this weekend and the D and F trains are once again masquerading as one another for a large number of stops.
Here are all the planned service changes for this weekend

Transit

Electric scooters and more 6 and 7 trains could lessen blow of L train shutdown

Via Wikimedia

September 25, 2018

Electric scooters and more 6 and 7 trains could lessen blow of L train shutdown

By Devin Gannon

Electric scooters are currently illegal in New York City. But with the L train shutdown quickly approaching, Brooklyn officials are pushing to legalize them as a transit alternative to the subway. Council Members Antonio Reynoso and Ydanis Rodriguez announced on Monday plans to introduce legislation that would make e-scooters legal, amNY reported. "The L train shutdown is real. It is going to happen. It is going to be disruptive," Reynoso said. "When that shuts down, they’re all going to need alternate transportation."
More here

Despite growing demand, the $10B overhaul of JFK Airport does not include a new runway

Rendering via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office

September 24, 2018

Despite growing demand, the $10B overhaul of JFK Airport does not include a new runway

By Devin Gannon

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last year plans to overhaul John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with state-of-the-art modern terminals, world-class amenities, and centralized expanded parking lots. But the $10 billion plan, with more details coming from Cuomo in the next few weeks, does not include building a new runway, despite the airport serving a record number of visitors last year, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. In 2017, the airport served 59 million passengers compared to 48 million passengers in 2008, a 23 percent increase, according to Port Authority data.
Find out more

Brooklyn Heights Promenade could close for six years during BQE repairs

Brooklyn Heights Promenade via Wikimedia

September 21, 2018

Brooklyn Heights Promenade could close for six years during BQE repairs

By Devin Gannon

The Brooklyn Heights Promenade could close for six years while the city rehabilitates a 1.5 mile stretch of the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), transportation officials announced Thursday. According to Politico, the city's transportation department unveiled two plans for revamping the Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO section of the BQE, which supports the promenade. The options include a quicker, six-year plan to divert cars to an elevated highway next to the Promenade or replace the BQE lane by lane, which could take up to eight years.
Get the details

Transit

Entire 2 and M train lines to run with 12- and 20-minute planned delays

M train via Robert Marrero/Photo Bucket

September 21, 2018

Entire 2 and M train lines to run with 12- and 20-minute planned delays

By Hannah Frishberg

Straphangers can expect planned delays on the entire 2 and M lines this weekend, which will respectively be running with 12-minute and 20-minute delays (incredibly exact estimates for an agency rarely known for predictable service). Otherwise, this weekend has a relatively non-crippling array of planned service changes.
Here's the full line-up

Transit

NJ Transit offers discounted fares as it cancels some service to and from Penn Station

By Devin Gannon

New Jersey Transit announced Thursday it will offer discount fares for three months as it reduces train service to and from New York Penn Station. In addition to its already diminished service, the agency plans to cancel 18 daily trains on five lines and suspend all train service on a short rail segment in Princeton. There will also be no weekend service on the Gladstone Branch of the Morris & Essex line. All fares will be cut by 10 percent from November through January, Bloomberg reported.
Get the details

Transit

September 19, 2018

Find one of those elusive electric Citi Bikes with this interactive map

By Devin Gannon

Last month, Citi Bike rolled out 200 pedal-assist electric bikes in New York City. As one can imagine, demand is high for these e-bikes, which can reach speeds of 18 miles per hour and will most likely get riders to their destinations faster than the subway. A new map, aptly named "I Want to Ride an Electric Citi Bike," displays which docking stations have electric bikes at any given time (h/t Maps Mania). Users can find stations near them on the map, add them to a watch list, and be alerted within 10 seconds of its availability.
Get riding

Transit

The Second Avenue Subway’s second act: How the Q train has impacted real estate in Yorkville

Photo via Flickr cc

September 17, 2018

The Second Avenue Subway’s second act: How the Q train has impacted real estate in Yorkville

By Cait Etherington

For over a decade, a large swath of the Upper East Side was under construction, but for many residents, it felt more like being under attack. As the Q Line was being built—after a century-long wait—the neighborhood not only had to tolerate restricted traffic along Second Avenue above ground but also more dramatic interruptions. Indeed, at one point in the subway line’s construction, underground explosions even shattered the windows of several local businesses. But with the noise, traffic, and disarray of the Second Avenue Subway in the past, the surrounding neighborhood has already quickly bounced back. As per predictions, since the completion of the line, real estate values, volume of sales, and rental prices in Yorkville have experienced an upswing.
Get the data

Signal problems delayed the subway every weekday morning in August except one

Via Dan Phiffer on Flickr

September 17, 2018

Signal problems delayed the subway every weekday morning in August except one

By Devin Gannon

Signal problems caused subway train delays during morning rush hour every weekday during the month of August except one day, according to a report released last week by the Riders Alliance. Between 6 am and 10 am each weekday morning, except on Thursday, Aug. 23, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority issued a delayed train alert. Every line except the L train experienced signal and/or mechanical problems during one or more of the 23 morning rush hours last month, WNYC reported.
More here

Transit

Delayed train? MTA is on it (within the next 5 to 10 years)

Via rhythmicdiaspora on Flickr

September 14, 2018

Delayed train? MTA is on it (within the next 5 to 10 years)

By Devin Gannon

In August, Twitter users shamed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for vaguely announcing a tunnel closure on Twitter in the middle of Monday morning rush hour. And this month, the MTA is facing backlash after being too honest with its commuters. One straphanger tweeted at the agency, "The @MTA really needs to get its shit together. People got places to go." In response, whoever was running the agency's NYCT Subway Twitter promised they are working on "fixing things within the next 5-10 years with our Fast Forward Plan." That post did not bode well.
Not so Fast Forward

Transit

Cortlandt Street Station reopens 17 years later, rest of subway still a mess

MTA New York Transit President Andy Byford greeted the first train to stop at the station for service, a northbound 1 train that arrived at 12:01 p.m. Via MTA Flickr

September 14, 2018

Cortlandt Street Station reopens 17 years later, rest of subway still a mess

By Hannah Frishberg

Almost two decades later, the WTC Cortlandt 1 station has reopened, and boy does it look spiffy. Maybe not two decades worth of no service spiffy, but certainly it's in better shape than most other subway stations. Meanwhile, weekend G service is once again modified, all M trains are running with (at least) a 20-minute delay between trains, and D, F, and A trains are masquerading as one another.
Now, for the full roster of bad news:

Transit

NYC Council legislation and electric buses may aid L train shutdown agony

Via Wikimedia

September 13, 2018

NYC Council legislation and electric buses may aid L train shutdown agony

By Michelle Cohen

Several bills were passed in New York City Council on Wednesday to help address the inconvenience and traffic chaos expected during the planned 15-month L train tunnel closure for repairs due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, slated to begin in April 2019. The legislation calls for information centers in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, complaint investigation resources, and the fast-tracking of a new electric bus fleet, Curbed reports.
Find out more

Transit

Destroyed on 9/11, Cortlandt Street subway station reopens this weekend

Artist Ann Hamilton in front of her mosaic as a 1 train pulls into the new WTC Cortlandt Street station, via MTA Flickr

September 7, 2018

Destroyed on 9/11, Cortlandt Street subway station reopens this weekend

By Dana Schulz

Three days before the 17th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the Cortlandt Street subway station that was destroyed that day will reopen as the last piece of the WTC site. The MTA announced today that the new 1 train station, now dubbed WTC Cortlandt, will be back in use tomorrow, Saturday, September 8th, at noon.
All the details

Transit

Manhattan-bound 238th Street 1 train platform will close through winter 2019

Photo by Paul Lowry via Wikipedia

September 7, 2018

Manhattan-bound 238th Street 1 train platform will close through winter 2019

By Hannah Frishberg

Looking for a study in why passive sentence structure is a poor way to communicate, especially in the context of public transit service announcements? English teachers take note: the MTA's Weekender is a bonafide study in this. Below, a translation of the poorly written, redundant and unclear information available for this weekend's subway service changes. And to boot, beginning at a time this weekend the MTA can't, apparently, be bothered to make publicly available online, the Manhattan-bound 1 platform at 238th Street will temporarily close through winter 2019 – South Ferry-bound trains will skip 238 Street during this time.
Buy the ticket, take the ride

Transit

Cuomo reveals new LIRR entrance and public plaza at Penn Station

Rendering via the Governor’s office

September 6, 2018

Cuomo reveals new LIRR entrance and public plaza at Penn Station

By Dana Schulz

Rendering via the Governor's office At a well-timed press event this morning, Governor Cuomo touted the state's $100 billion building program, the largest in the nation, and said if elected for another term, he'd increase that commitment to $150 billion. Among the many airport redesigns and the subway emergency plan, perhaps no project is more dear to Cuomo's heart than that of Penn Station. And after a tour of the Moynihan Train Hall, on budget and on track to open by the end of 2020, the Governor announced that the dire safety, security, and circulation situation at Penn Station cannot wait two more years. While construction wraps up at the LIRR and Amtrak's future home, the state will build a new LIRR facility in the existing Penn Station. The proposal will double access to the trains with new entrances and an enlarged concourse and will create a permanent public plaza at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.
All the renderings and details ahead

There will be no G-train service between Bed-Stuy and LIC every weekend in September

Via Wikimedia

September 5, 2018

There will be no G-train service between Bed-Stuy and LIC every weekend in September

By Devin Gannon

Making weekend plans in Brooklyn this month will be a bit trickier than normal. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is suspending service between Bed-Stuy's Bedford-Nostrand station and Long Island City's Court Square station every weekend in September for "track maintenance." There will be free shuttle buses available for North Brooklyn-bound straphangers (h/t Brooklyn Paper).
OH G

Transit

Perkins Eastman reimagines Manhattan’s street grid with more pedestrian-friendly space

Rendering via Perkins Eastman

September 4, 2018

Perkins Eastman reimagines Manhattan’s street grid with more pedestrian-friendly space

By Devin Gannon

As a solution to Manhattan's growing gridlock, planning and design firm Perkins Eastman is proposing a physical redesign of New York City's street grid. In a CityLab article penned by Jonathan Cohn, who leads the firm's transportation and public infrastructure studio, and Yunyue Chen, the recipient of Perkin Eastman's 2017 Architectural Fellowship for the Public Realm, they argue the city should "transform the streets radically, dedicating them to pedestrians." This includes grouping blocks into larger neighborhoods and organizing them into either thoroughfares and local streets.
Get the details

The West 35th Street/Hudson Blvd entrance under construction. Image via Wiki Commons.

September 4, 2018

The second entrance at 34th Street-Hudson Yards 7 station is finally open

By Michelle Cohen

The Manhattan 7 subway extension makes it the only line south of 59th Street to offer service west of Ninth Avenue, providing a long-awaited public transit option–with a station at 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue–for the Jacob Javits Convention Center, the High Line, and Hudson River Park and serving as a selling point for Hudson Yards and the many new developments rising on the far west side. Delays plagued the extension overall, with its opening in September of 2015 happening two years behind its original scheduled date. It was announced at the time that the station's second entrance on 35th Street would take longer to complete. Now, two years later, the second entrance is open.
More ways to hit the west side

Transit

Your Labor Day weekend subway guide: J’Ouvert diversions and station reopenings

Photo via Wikipedia

August 31, 2018

Your Labor Day weekend subway guide: J’Ouvert diversions and station reopenings

By Hannah Frishberg

This Labor Day weekend, there will be the usual slew of service changes in addition to some special ones just for the holiday. The 2 train will be skipping Church Avenue in the wee hours of Monday during the J'Ouvert Festival – an odd rerouting, seemingly in the name of obstruction, likely to limit attendance to the celebration, which has attracted controversy following past years' violence. The Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum stop will be passed during the West Indian Day Parade. In good news, southbound service at the Cathedral Parkway-110th Street B and C stop – which has been closed for four months for structural repairs – will resume at noon on Sunday and northbound service at 5am on Tuesday. As well, regular A and Rockaway Park Shuttle service will resume on Tuesday following a disruptive summer of flood protection work. Plus, the LaGuardia Link Q70 bus will operate free of charge all weekend.
Here's what else is in store

Transit

With a higher cost and shorter route, de Blasio’s BQX streetcar plan is back on the table

Rendering via NYCEDC

August 30, 2018

With a higher cost and shorter route, de Blasio’s BQX streetcar plan is back on the table

By Devin Gannon

The long-delayed plan to bring a light-rail trolley between Brooklyn and Queens has been revived, following the completion of a two-year feasibility study, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday. But the proposal differs from the original idea for the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) the mayor had first released in 2016. The cost of the revised project has jumped to $2.7 billion from $2.5 billion, the number of miles on the route has dropped from 16 miles to 11 miles and the city expects the cars to run by 2029, instead of the original projection of 2024.
Find out more

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