New York City - Transit News

[Nexis4Jersey]

MTA NYC Subway Kawasaki R211 Alstom OPTONIX IGBT-VVVF AC Traction Motor Inverter Audio Recording

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[mrnyc]

good news today —


NYC subway riderships hits pre-pandemic ridership numbers for first time since 2020

Published: Mar. 18, 2023
By David Luces | DLuces@siadvance.com


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York City subway ridership numbers recently broke a record with ridership numbers not seen since before the pandemic. 
Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Thursday, March 16, there were 3,946,310 paid rides on the subway -- numbers not seen since March 2020 when 4.1 million New Yorkers rode the subway. 

March 16h’s ridership broke the previous record set on December 8, 2022 by 11,000 rides, according to Hochul’s office.


more:
https://www.silive.com/news/2023/03/...ince-2020.html

[Busy Bee]

Good news, but "March 2020" is an interesting definition of pre-pandemic.

[mrnyc]

ok good —



13,000 Solar Panels Will Help Power JFK Airport’s ‘New Terminal One’

By Jessica Stewart on March 18, 2023


New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport is getting an upgrade. Its New Terminal One, which started construction in 2022, was designed with both beauty and sustainability in mind. The $9.5 billion project includes a microgrid to power the terminal. This new power system is an innovative answer to the energy crisis and would allow the New Terminal One to operate without the city's power grid during emergencies.

The microgrid will produce 11.34 megawatts of electricity from rooftop solar, gas fuel cells, and battery storage. On the roof, 13,000 solar panels will set a record as the largest solar array in New York City and at any U.S. airport terminal. To put things into perspective, the microgrid will produce enough electricity to power 3,570 American homes for an entire year.


more:
https://mymodernmet.com/solar-panels-jfk-terminal-one/

[tdawg]

The new JFK is going to be mighty impressive on the heels of our gorgeous new LGA.

[mrnyc]

^ and for now lga is taking some hard earned bragging rights:


Survey says: LaGuardia’s new Terminal B named world’s best new airport terminal

By Bill Parry


It may not be getting an AirTrain, but LaGuardia Airport’s new $4 billion Terminal B was named the world’s best new terminal based on a global passenger survey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Wednesday, March 15.

The survey was conducted by the airport rating firm Skytrax and is based on multiple factors including check-in, shopping, security, terminal comfort and ambiance and choice of bars and restaurants. Presentations for a range of honors, including the world’s best airport as well as best terminal, were announced at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Amsterdam on March 15.


more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/new...al/ar-AA18I48D

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Good news, but "March 2020" is an interesting definition of pre-pandemic.

3 weeks before the first lockdown it was like half the city had already cleared out...so I would really use the December 2019 Ridership levels.

[mrnyc]

fix’r upping:


MTA has revamped 11 stations this year, plans to upgrade another 30 by year end

By Christian Murray
Posted on March 22, 2023



The MTA announced earlier this week that it has revamped 11 stations so far this year, with its crews conducting station repairs, deep cleanings and general upgrades.

The renovations are part of the MTA’s “Station Re-NEW-vation Program” that was launched last year and saw nine stations on the D line upgraded in 2022.

The MTA has now upgraded 20 stations, with a goal of revamping another 30 by the end of 2023. The upgrades are part of NYC Transit’s Faster, Cleaner, Safer plan that was announced in October that aims to improve customer experience.


more:
https://www.amny.com/news/mta-has-re...0-by-year-end/

[Busy Bee]

I know we shouldn't complain about any efforts to improve station conditions, but if you check out MTA's flickr photos of some of the work being done - well, let's just say it leaves a lot to be desired. The needed top to bottom revamp/renovations these efforts are not. If the 205 St-Norwood station is any indication, it appears they're taking it from truly revolting to just mildly disgusting.

[dchan]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I know we shouldn't complain about any efforts to improve station conditions, but if you check out MTA's flickr photos of some of the work being done - well, let's just say it leaves a lot to be desired. The needed top to bottom revamp/renovations these efforts are not. If the 205 St-Norwood station is any indication, it appears they're taking it from truly revolting to just mildly disgusting.

I'm generally fine with a general cleaning & sprucing up of stations, considering how much time & money it costs to actually perform a full station renovation (which is invariably a capital project = time & $$$$).

With that said, if anything needs to be replaced, it's all those small tiles on the wall. My parents & I followed this philosophy with their bathroom renovation: use large tiles on walls, but not too large as to be awkward-looking. That way, any eventual grout & masonry line maintenance work will be far, far easier and less time-intensive to perform. For their bathroom, the only with small 1"x1" tiles is at the new standup shower's floor, and that's only because the tile store told us that this was the easiest way to conform with the subfloor's drainage slope.

Assuming the wall's concrete/CMU backing is mostly straight, it should not be a problem to replace with larger tiles.

[mrnyc]

^ you got a wise and practical point, but i would guess the mta has a hangar sized warehouse full of traditional subway tiles to use up.

i would say they should just give them away to restoration hardware and home depot and the like. it was trendy to use subway tiles in home bathrooms and bars and restaurants back in the oughties, but it seems that design era has passed, so they are stuck with them lol.

[mrnyc]

caps are good — ok —



Exclusive: City to begin community engagement for transformation of Cross Bronx Expressway

By Aliya Schneider
Posted on March 24, 2023


The city is launching a wave of public events to give Bronxites the opportunity to be heard as efforts to reimagine the Cross Bronx Expressway are underway.

The city was awarded $2 million through a U.S. Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) two-year grant to conduct a study of the expressway, which was announced in December.

The study has not begun yet, and the public engagement process will guide its formation, a NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesperson told the Bronx Times.

According to Mayor Eric Adams, the study will look at ways to reduce pollution and noise, improve safety and sustainability and reconnect communities that had been torn apart by the expressway’s construction. More specifically, the government agencies will look at strategies for decking parts of the expressway — also known as capping — to create new public open space above the highway, according to Adams’ announcement.


more:
https://www.bxtimes.com/community-en...nx-expressway/

[mrnyc]

yay! train daddy is back — at amtrak:


STREETSBLOG EXCLUSIVE: Andy Byford to Join Amtrak

By David Meyer
Mar 23, 2023

more:
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/03/...o-join-amtrak/

[Busy Bee]

Yeah saw this great news in the Amtrak thread yesterday. Whats interesting is i just recently read something where Byford was literally quoted saying he didnt think he'd be running any agency again but instead would be an industry consultant or something along those lines. I think Lieber and Davey are doing a pretty good job at MTA but Byford returning would still be awesome. The guy just got it - and man does the MTA need people that get it... withoit idiot egomaniacal governors getting in the way. He should do an excellent job at Amtrak. Maybe a sizable NECHSR allocation can be accomplished towards the end of Biden's term in the range of 50-100 billion that with Byford at the helm will make full NEC modernization and HSR implementation actually doable.

[Randomguy34]

Byford might be one of the only people who can talk to republicans in congress and maybe, just maybe build support from them

[mrnyc]

what about pete tomlin, byford's hand picked signaling expert at mta?

he quit right after his boss byford got run out of town by cuomo.

what's he up to these days?

maybe amtrak or mta can get him back!

[mrnyc]

tragedy at jfk construction:


2 workers dead after being buried under rubble at JFK Airport

TEDDY GRANT
Mon, April 3, 2023

more:
https://news.yahoo.com/2-workers-dea...214144492.html

[k1052]

Happy Byford is back in the US doing stuff. I do wish he was running MTA instead because they are DEEPLY in need of his talents.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by k1052

Happy Byford is back in the US doing stuff. I do wish he was running MTA instead because they are DEEPLY in need of his talents.

Agreed. I'm satisfied with the operational administration of Lieber and Davey but I'm not convinced they have transformative vision that's badly needed at the MTA. I would have loved to have seen Byford brought back to aggressively direct MTA Construction & Development with a great deal of autonomy and separation from the day-to-day operations of the system. The MTA really needs an operating director and a planning director - different jobs with different needs - that would hold essentially the same level of power.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

tragedy at jfk construction:

2 workers dead after being buried under rubble at JFK Airport

That's terrible. A memorial will likely be placed out there to honor their memories.