New York City - Transit News

[Randomguy34]

This project hasn't yet reached Chicago's One Central levels of idiocy, but it's getting there

[mrnyc]

more on the penn project & neighborhood:


https://www.thecity.nyc/manhattan/20...opment-project

[mrnyc]

the city and state agree on penn:



NYC and state officials agree on how to pay for Penn Station redevelopment deal

BY STEPHEN NESSEN AND DAVID CRUZ
PUBLISHED JULY 18, 2022


Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the city is on board with the state’s plan that allows developers to build 10 skyscrapers in Midtown Manhattan and use money from leases toward the massive renovation of Penn Station and its surrounding neighborhood.

The agreement comes ahead of a key vote by the state entity charged with approving the financial terms of the deal along with the scope of the project. It also comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the project that’s largely been viewed as lacking any financial transparency.

Under the terms, the city will receive fees in place of taxes on the Midtown properties being developed as part of the project, with annual 3% increases. The city and state say this arrangement can last upwards of 80 years or until the project fees are paid off, but it still doesn’t outline how much the fees would be.

The project calls for nine office buildings and one residential property, making it one of the state’s largest redevelopment projects.


more:
https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-and-s...velopment-deal

[mrnyc]

penn agreement slammed by watchdog due to lack of specifics:


Hochul and Adams announce ‘financial framework’ for Penn Station deal; watchdog slams lack of specifics


By Kevin Duggan
Posted on July 18, 2022




Watchdog sounds alarm

Hochul’s proposal, which she inherited from former Governor Andrew Cuomo, has raised concerns among government transparency organizations and politicians since she revived the plans in November.

An expert report released last week and commissioned by watchdog group Reinvent Albany estimated that the plan could give developers up to $1.2 billion in tax breaks.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/hochul-...ion-agreement/

[mrnyc]

say goodbye to the last peace and quiet on the subway:


MTA to roll out cell service in subway tunnels, Wi-fi at above-ground stations

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on July 25, 2022

more:
https://www.amny.com/news/mtacell-se...wifi-stations/

[mrnyc]

ugh — can’t avoid financial troubles due to low ridership:



Transit
Runaway train: MTA ‘fiscal cliff’ arriving a year sooner because of lower ridership return, officials say

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on July 25, 2022


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-fis...wer-ridership/

[k1052]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

ugh — can’t avoid financial troubles due to low ridership:



Transit
Runaway train: MTA ‘fiscal cliff’ arriving a year sooner because of lower ridership return, officials say

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on July 25, 2022


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-fis...wer-ridership/

Maybe holding out for a massive return to office that never appeared to be coming wasn't a good idea.

MTA seems to have finally woken up that they need to improve weekend/night service since that's where they can gain riders. They are reprioritizing CBTC work also pushing up the work on the 6th Ave line to fix BDFM services massive unreliability, putting off this work on the Lexington Ave line until later.

[mrnyc]

^ absolutely. i think path is looking at more weekend service, more so than mta. not sure tho. it's gotta be on their minds for revenue, although i wonder if they have to pay workers more to work at night?

[manchester united]

The future will be more weekend and late night service.

[mrnyc]

nys agreement and payment for penn upgrades:


nys approval:

State oversight body approves Hochul’s Penn Station plan

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on July 27, 2022


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/state-a...-penn-station/


***


New York to pay at least $3.25bn for Penn Station upgrades

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on July 26, 2022


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/new-yor...tion-upgrades/

[mrnyc]

cutback in hours to the new 181st busway after community feedback -- similar to queens:



Uptown shrunk: City plans to cut 181st Street busway hours; second rollback under Mayor Adams

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on July 31, 2022



The four-block busway between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway bans car through traffic during those hours, seven days a week, to speed up buses and make it easier for delivery trucks to access the stretch.

Drivers can still access every block for drop-offs or short-term parking, but they must make the next right turn off of the busway.

The project consistently sped up travel times for bus commuters, who told DOT they felt service was faster and more reliable, and that the street felt safer since the changes took effect more than a year ago.

But area business owners were worried about lost parking and safety in the later hours, while also bringing up issues to local officials seemingly unrelated to the red-painted lanes.

The proposed cuts are not yet finalized and DOT will have more to share on the busway’s permanent form shortly, according to the agency.

This is the second time the city has moved to reduce a busway’s operating hour after it transitioned out of its testing phase and amid opposition from businesses.

DOT nearly cut in half the scheduled times of the Main Street busway in Flushing, Queens, from 24 hours a day to just 13 hours between 6 a.m.–7 p.m., earlier this month.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/181st-s...ack-adams-dot/

[mrnyc]

well ok:


Port Authority taps big-time architects for $10 billion bus terminal revamp

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on August 4, 2022


The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has tapped two big-time architectural and design companies for the $10 billion revamp of its aging 42nd Street bus terminal.

The bi-state agency hired British firm Foster + Partners and Chicago-based construction engineering company A. Epstein and Sons to advise the overhaul of the decades-old transit hub.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/port-au...-bus-terminal/

[k1052]

Thing is going to be up to $15B by the time they decide to do anything and $20B by the time they're done.

Every cent of that should be spent on NJ rail expansion (including NYCT into Hudson and Bergen counties) and a new replacement bus terminal at Secaucus instead.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by k1052

Thing is going to be up to $15B by the time they decide to do anything and $20B by the time they're done.

Every cent of that should be spent on NJ rail expansion (including NYCT into Hudson and Bergen counties) and a new replacement bus terminal at Secaucus instead.

You think in less than 2 years the price is gonna go up 50%?

[k1052]

Originally Posted by MAC123

You think in less than 2 years the price is gonna go up 50%?

You're very optimistic about the timeline here. I'm not, given the history. Two years might be only 30% more...

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by k1052

You're very optimistic about the timeline here. I'm not, given the history. Two years might be only 30% more...

No you're just pessimistic about it.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by MAC123

No you're just pessimistic about it.

*glances in direction of WTC*

I doubt it.

[chris08876]

Officials Celebrate Groundbreaking For Portal North Bridge In Kearny, New Jersey



• Video Link

Construction has broken ground on the Portal North Bridge, the long-delayed replacement of an 111-year-old rail bridge connecting Secaucus and Kearny, New Jersey above the Hackensack River. The project is expected to last approximately five and a half years.

The existing two-track movable swing-span bridge was completed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1910. Prior to the pandemic, the train span was the busiest in the Western Hemisphere, carrying more than 450 NJ Transit and Amtrak trains and roughly 200,000 passengers daily. The aging bridge has been the cause of delays, particularly when the span malfunctions while opening and closing for maritime traffic.

The new Portal North Bridge will be a fixed span that will not open or close, to eliminate the risk of malfunction. The bridge will rise 50 feet over the river and span nearly 2.5 miles of the Northeast Corridor.

a groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which represents a major milestone in the Gateway Program. When complete, the multi billion-dollar program will double rail capacity between Newark and New York.

In October 2021, NJ Transit approved a contract with Skanska and Traylor Bros. Construction for the new Portal North Bridge. The joint venture’s contract is valued at more than $1.56 billion, the largest award in NJ Transit’s history.

The contract costs will cover construction of retaining walls, deep foundations, concrete piers, structural steel bridge spans, rail systems, demolition of the existing bridge, and related incidental work.

Project costs are funded by the US Department of Transportation, Transportation Trust Fund, New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and Amtrak. In January 2021, Governor Murphy also signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement that secured $766.5 million in Federal Transit Administration funding to complete the project.

======================
NYY

[OhioGuy]

Admittedly I don't keep up with this thread but happened to see this recent article mentioning the 2nd Ave subway extension and the possibility of a crosstown extension under 125th.

New Harlem Subway Line Could Run Along 125th Street, MTA Suggests

The MTA will consider a transformative project that would extend the upcoming Second Avenue Subway even further by routing it west below 125th Street and then further uptown, the agency announced this week.

...

Now, the MTA is setting its sights even further. Documents released this week say that the agency will study extending the future subway line even further along West 125th Street, creating a crosstown line that would add between two and four more subway stations.

From there, the MTA laid out a few more possibilities: the new line could either terminate at Broadway and 125th Street, turn north below Broadway and connect with the 1 train at 137th Street, run uptown below Riverside Drive up to 137th Street, or head north under St. Nicholas Avenue and link up with the A-C-B lines at 135th Street.

...

Asked about the 125th Street proposal MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan told Patch that "The cost and benefits of this project are being evaluated on a level playing field with the other projects listed and the results will help inform our planning efforts."

[mrnyc]

^ a crosstown train is very badly needed on one two five. its just a question of how far west would they take it.


***


Madison Square Garden and Hudson Yards: Match Made in Hell or So Crazy It Just Might Work?

What would it cost to undo one of the city's great historical mistakes? And is it even worth it?

1:10 PM EDT on August 8, 2022

By Neil deMause



ReThink has proposed several sites for a new MSG, including: the old Gimbels department store site across 34th Street from Macy’s, now home to the running-on-fumes Manhattan Mall; the site of the Port Authority bus terminal ramps, which would theoretically no longer be needed if expanded Penn Station train service meant fewer bus commuters from New Jersey; and the still-undeveloped open rail yards on the western edge of Hudson Yards between 11th Avenue and the river. The Hudson Yards site, Turvey said, is now “favored” by his group. And this is where the plot substantially thickens.


more:
https://hellgatenyc.com/madison-squa...o-hudson-yards