NEW YORK | Second Avenue Subway

[Arthururban]

It's time this project got it's own thread. News, info, pictures, etc all in one place.

http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_alt.html

Second Avenue Subway

The Second Avenue Subway will be New York City’s first major expansion of the subway system in over 50 years. When fully completed, the line will stretch 8.5 miles along the length of Manhattan's East Side, from 125th Street in Harlem to Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan. In addition, a track connection to the existing 63rd Street and Broadway Lines will allow a second subway line to provide direct service from East Harlem and the Upper East Side to West Midtown via the Broadway express tracks.

In all, 16 new stations will be built, serving communities in Harlem, the Upper East Side, East Midtown, Gramercy Park, East Village, the Lower East Side, Chinatown and Lower Manhattan. The new stations will also provide transfers to other subway and commuter rail lines.

All of the stations will have escalator and elevator access including access for the disabled, and will feature climate control features to maximize customer comfort.

[Arthururban]

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/201...ay-east-harlem

MTA Prepares to Extend Second Avenue Subway to East Harlem

By William Mathis on March 4, 2016

EAST HARLEM — The next phase of the new Second Avenue subway is in the works, the MTA announced Friday.

Phase Two of the line will extend north and west from Second Avenue and 96th Street to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. There will be three new stations at 106th Street, 116th Street and 125th and Lexington Avenue.

“Our goal is to fast-track Phase 2 to every extent possible, and if these efforts to speed up the project timetable are successful, the MTA will amend our Capital Program and seek additional funds to begin heavy construction sooner,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast.

The MTA is advertising Requests for Proposals for the first three contracts, which include design, environmental and community outreach services.

The MTA recently released $66 million to ensure the first phase of the new line opens on time in December.

Construction of the $4.5 billion Second Avenue Subway project began in 2007 with the goal of connecting the Q line to the Lexington/63rd Street station, and providing service from East 63rd to East 96th streets along Second Avenue.

[Arthururban]

More news regarding second avenue

http://www.mta.info/news-w-second-av...subway-service

MTA Advances Work On Second Avenue Subway Service

http://www.mta.info/sites/default/fi...?itok=Ab0BsDHj

February 19, 2016

For those who miss the W Subway train...

The W Subway Wonderful letter may be coming back. In fact, MTA New York City Transit is proposing to hold a public hearing on the possibility of restoring the W Subway Line in Queens and Manhattan this fall, in order to allow the Q Subway Line to begin serving the Second Avenue Subway between 63rd and 96th streets when it opens later this year.

The Second Avenue Subway’s first phase will serve the existing F Subway Line station at Lexington Av/63 St as well as three new stations at 72 St, 86 St and 96 St., integrating them as one system into the existing subway network – an unprecedented accomplishment in the MTA’s modern existence.

MTA Capital Construction will also award final contract modifications on work for the first phase in line with the established budget for the project. Both measures will be presented to the MTA Board for approval at public meetings next week.

“With every day’s work on the Second Avenue Subway, the MTA gets closer to fulfilling a promise first made to New Yorkers in 1929,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “Opening the Second Avenue Subway will provide new options for our customers and relieve congestion on Lexington Avenue 4, 5, and 6 Subway trains.”

.....The proposed service changes would return the W Subway to Astoria, where it will operate local service into Manhattan and terminate at Whitehall St. The line would effectively replace Q Subway service in Queens. The Q Subway Line will temporarily terminate at 57 St/7 Av, but will continue to 96 St upon completion of the Second Avenue Subway. In addition, N Subway trains will operate express in Manhattan from 34 St-Herald Sq to Canal St, a change from its current local service in Manhattan. R Subway service would remain unchanged.

.....The proposed service changes will provide a cross-platform transfer to the F Subway Line at Lexington Av/63 St, giving customers an easy transfer to and from the Second Avenue Subway that will help alleviate current overcrowding conditions on the Lexington Avenue Line. The changes, including the restoration of the W Subway, maintain service frequency and loading guidelines for customers in Astoria and avoid significant deviations from current service that might confuse customers on those affected lines. Customers on the Broadway Line will also benefit from an increase in choices for express and local service in Manhattan.

If the changes are approved, they will be implemented in fall 2016. The new terminus for the Q Subway Line would be implemented after the Second Avenue Subway opens, with the extension of Q Subway service to 96 St.

The cost for these service changes is approximately $13.7 million annually, which has been incorporated into NYC Transit’s approved budget.

[Busy Bee]

Good news. Maybe a momentum will be built for the southward phase III as well.

[Arthururban]

https://commercialobserver.com/2016/...ubway-station/

Starbucks Nabs Space by East 94th Street Second Avenue Subway Station

https://nyocommercialobserver.files....roup.jpg?h=510

By Lauren Elkied Schram on March 8, 2016

Starbucks Coffee is bringing its ubiquitous coffee to Second Avenue between East 93rd and East 94th Streets, Alexander Brodsky, a principal at Brodsky Organization, told Commercial Observer.

The new store will be next to a new Second Avenue subway station, which is under construction, and Mr. Brodsky believes will be complete by the beginning of next year. In the meantime, Starbucks will take possession of the space, at 245 East 93rd Street, this summer and open in the fall.

Starbucks signed a 15-year lease for 1,500 square feet at grade and 1,000 square feet in the basement. The asking rent, he said, was $200 per square foot.

“I think it’s a great building amenity,” Mr. Brodsky said, nothing that his company only owns the retail space at the base of the residential condominium. He described it as “very user-friendly clean use“ and “a home run” being by the subway egress.

Starbucks liked the location because of its proximity to a new subway station, said SCG Retail’s David Firestein, who represented Starbucks and did the deal directly with Mr. Brodsky. He noted that the store will be a traditional Starbucks.

[K 22]

Since the northbound Lexington Av lines typically "empty out a bit" at 86th and 96th Street, hopefully this will help keep people off them.

[ChargerCarl]

Why are NYC's construction costs so insanely high for mass transit?

[Arthururban]

http://www.citylab.com/navigator/201...e-tool/472992/

See How the 2nd Avenue Subway Will Help Your Commute

The Citymapper app’s new “future” tool offers New Yorkers a peek at what they’ve been missing these last hundred years.

By Eric Jaffe on March 10, 2016

The first phase of New York’s Second Avenue subway is scheduled to open at the end of 2016, just a shade under a century since its conception. (If you bet the under on 100 years back in 1920 and have been sweating it out this whole time: congrats!) But if you can’t wait nine more months to see how the line will change your commute—or if you still doubt the project will actually be finished on time—then transit-app developer Citymapper has you covered.

Today the company is debuting a new beta navigation tool that lists the Second Avenue subway among its route options for trips that might one day involve the line. “The Second Avenue subway is one of the most infamous, for-so-long hypothetical lines,” says Joe Hughes, the head of mobile engineering for Citymapper. “Now that it’s finally on the horizon, we thought: What is this going to make possible?”

Let’s say you’re traveling from the Upper East Side to Carnegie Hall. Punching that trip into Citymapper now offers the following options: a 60-minute walk that burns 247 calories, a 25-minute bike ride that burns 87, a 12-minute Uber that costs $16-22, five subway or subway-bus options ranging from 29 to 34 minutes, and a ride on the Second Avenue train that takes 15 minutes. If transit is your preference here, the new line cuts your trip time in half.

......The new tool assumes Second Avenue trains will come every 10 minutes. Although Phase One service that’s set to open in December only runs from 96th Street to 63rd and Lexington, “Future” route options span the full project build—down to the new T-line stop at Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan. Since there’s no funding lined up for subsequent phases of the Second Avenue line, the app tool is the best New Yorkers will do for some time.

Any bets on whether the Teleporter gets here first?

[Arthururban]

Does anyone know if copy image url is still around? I can't link the photos from the articles on here? It will help and be eye candy to readers. Please help.

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by Arthururban

Does anyone know if copy image url is still around? I can't link the photos from the articles on here? It will help and be eye candy to readers. Please help.

http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/cit...jpg?1457549210


https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/m.../9acef9d10.png

You have to right click on "Copy Image Address" to link photos.

[Arthururban]

Originally Posted by bobdreamz

You have to right click on "Copy Image Address" to link photos.

Thank you! I'll update my other posts soon.

Edit: It's not working here for some reason. I tried on a different site and it works.....idk what I'm doing wrong

[Arthururban]

http://www.qchron.com/editions/weste...5c6b8bb88.html

A public hearing on Astoria subway lines

Posted: Thursday, March 10, 2016 10:30 am

In preparation for the opening of the new Second Avenue subway line, New York City Transit will host a public hearing to gather public input on proposals that would change service on the N and Q lines between Astoria and Manhattan; and restore the old W train to replace Q service that no longer would run in Queens.

The hearing will begin at 5 p.m. on April 7. It will take place at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s transit headquarters at 2 Broadway, on the 20th floor. The Second Avenue line is scheduled to open later this year or in early 2017, according to the MTA.

Once it starts up, the Q train will run under Second Avenue from 96th Street to 72nd Street, serving new stations at 96th Street, 86th Street and 72nd Street, requiring that it be rerouted away from the Astoria line across the Queensborough Bridge.

South of 72nd Street, the Q will connect to Lexington Avenue/63rd Street, where a cross-platform transfer to the F Line will be possible. West of the Lexington Avenue/63rd Street stop, the new service would connect to the Broadway Line express tracks at the 57th Street-7th Avenue station and continue south.

The restored W line will replace the existing Q subway service in Astoria, then operate local service in Manhattan, where it will, according to plan, terminate at Whitehall Street

The W was originally shut down in June 2010, one of several subway lines and bus routes that were eliminated or scaled back during an MTA budget crisis.

Under the plan, N subway service would operate express in Manhattan between Canal Street and 34 Street-Herald Square.

[mrnyc]

a bit of news regarding 'fast track' progress for phase II this past friday.

the mta released procurement requests for design and engineering:

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2016/03/06/16153/

contracts may be awarded this summer.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Arthururban

https://commercialobserver.com/2016/...ubway-station/

Starbucks Nabs Space by East 94th Street Second Avenue Subway Station

https://nyocommercialobserver.files....roup.jpg?h=510

By Lauren Elkied Schram on March 8, 2016

Little known fact about this new Starbucks is that if you purchase a trenta latte you get a code for a secret doorway in the floor of the restroom that will bypass the fairgates and lead directly to the platform. True story. It's one of these corporate cross promotional deals.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Little known fact about this new Starbucks is that if you purchase a trenta latte you get a code for a secret doorway in the floor of the restroom that will bypass the fairgates and lead directly to the platform. True story. It's one of these corporate cross promotional deals.

whoa now that would be a cool promotion -- a speakeasy subway pass.

while this will never happen at a regular station for 'the people,' i would not put it past the woolworth bldg redevelopers to try to redo something like that as an amenity for their nouveau riche tenants -- i believe that bldg once had its own subway entrance. as if they would ever use the subway. ha.

[K 22]

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

Why are NYC's construction costs so insanely high for mass transit?

A lot of digging, a lot of utilities being shuffled, a lot of business and homes being potentially displaced and a lot of politics.

It's no different than the financial hurdles LA's facing trying to get the money to get the Purple Line that runs on Wilshire Blvd to the Pacific Ocean.

[Arthururban]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/03/...ubway-opening/

Maloney: Second Avenue Subway Project Entrances To Open On Time

March 19, 2016

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney provided an update on the long-anticipated Second Avenue subway project as she announced her re-election campaign.

New entrances are now visible from the street as three new stations along the subway line are set to open in December, WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall reported.

Maloney expressed confidence that the new entrances would open on time, despite funding concerns for the project.

“There are some naysayers that say it won’t happen, but I believe it will because the professionals at the MTA tell me they are going to make it happen and they’re going to be on budget,” Maloney said.

Maloney has repeatedly expressed her concerns over the timing of the project.

.....Maloney said the project will be life-changing for those going and coming home from work.

“This is truly an investment in the economic development and quality-of-life for our great city,” Maloney said.

Last November, the MTA said the second phase of the project — which would extend the line up to 125th Street in East Harlem — will be delayed beyond 2019.

The MTA’s latest capital program includes $535 million to start phase two, which is $1 billion less than what was originally proposed.

[ChargerCarl]

Originally Posted by K 22

A lot of digging, a lot of utilities being shuffled, a lot of business and homes being potentially displaced and a lot of politics.

It's no different than the financial hurdles LA's facing trying to get the money to get the Purple Line that runs on Wilshire Blvd to the Pacific Ocean.

Thats true in every major city. Still doesn't account for why NYC pays 10x the amount of what other major cities do for similar projects.

Mass transit is incredibly expensive in LA too, but our costs are much more in line with the rest of the world (at about 2x what other countries pay).

[ChargerCarl]

Here's a good piece on the subject:

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/doe...t-cost-problem

[BrownTown]

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

Thats true in every major city. Still doesn't account for why NYC pays 10x the amount of what other major cities do for similar projects.

Mass transit is incredibly expensive in LA too, but our costs are much more in line with the rest of the world (at about 2x what other countries pay).

Couple of obvious points. First off the image below shows how they USED to build subways:

As you can see they just dug up the whole street and put the subway right under the road. These days we don't do that at all. NIMBYs would never in a million years let you tear up a whole street like this. Instead we have to use TBMs and deep mined stations which cost far more than cut and cover. When you add that to the fact that union labor makes ~$100/hr in wages and benefit (not even including overtime) it's pretty clear why expenses are so high. I work in New Jersey and our union chiefs make $200,000 a year, I bet a lot of these NYC workers are making even more.