[Busy Bee]

^^^

I've been meaning to comment on the latest tunnel tour and press conference with Hochul the other day. The press conference was pretty boilerplate but it did contain a couple highly satisfying moments where on the record two NY congresspersons Maloney and Espaillat, while standing next to Janno Lieber, the Governor and other senior officials made a point of mentioning the SAS shoulld and will continue under 125th "to the Hudson River" and the line will be completed to Lower Manhattan "and on to Brooklyn". This made me smile because it reaffirms there will be political pressure on the MTA to complete the full Manhattan portion as well as a reminder that the MTA should be more ambitious than what it has a tendency being. I was especially thrilled with the mention of the crosstown extension as this has never formally been revealed to be an ambition for the MTA even though it makes enormous sense and was included in early 20th century subway expansion proposals and even a route for the NYW&B to get to the West Side. My biggest hope is once SAS Phase 2 is in full construction they seek funding and approval to keep tunnelling with the TBM as far as the Broadway viaduct even if it means just leaving rough mined station boxes at Lenox 2/3, St Nicholas A/B/C/D and between the Broadway 1 and the future Metro-North station at 125th until capital is available to complete to operation.