nyc subway – 6sqft

Photo via Tim Adams on Flickr

Another day, another missed deadline for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The plan to modernize the 7-line’s ancient signals has been delayed yet again, according to the Wall Street Journal. The MTA said the new system would be implemented by June 30, but the contractor installing the signals, Thales Transport and Security, told officials they won’t be able to finish until November. Andy Byford, the new chief of NYC Transit, said he refuses to accept the rescheduled deadline and has hinted at more outages on the 7, as a way to accelerate installation of the system. “I think customers would prefer to rip the band aid off and get on with it rather than have this slow creeping limp to the finish line,” Byford said on Wednesday.

Riders on the 7-line, which runs between Hudson Yards in Manhattan and Flushing in Queens, have suffered from years of service disruption, including overnight and weekend suspension of the line. Upgrading the 7 with the new system, called communications-based train control, has taken roughly seven years. Originally, the project was scheduled to be finished by late 2016.

Upgrading the eight-decades old system remains at the focus of Byford’s plan to improve subway reliability. Because the modern software lets trains run closer together, allowing for more trains to operate every hour, it could reduce the number of delays, according to officials. Currently, the new system only operates on one line, the L line, which also took about seven years to complete.

The MTA estimates installing the system across the remaining 25 lines would take a whopping 40 years ago. Byford has pledged to cut that timeline by decades, installing the system on lines that carry 80 percent of commuters over the next ten years.

Drastically speeding up the schedule would require more weekend and overnight closures and installing the system on two lines at once. Byford, who released last month a comprehensive plan to fix the city’s buses, will be releasing his subway-fixing proposal in the coming weeks.

The MTA also announced on Wednesday it awarded a contract for more repair work along the elevated 7 train, between 72nd and 104th Streets in Queens. The work includes removing paint, dirt and grease from the structure and then painting the structural steel surfaces.

The $45 million project will take about two years and according to a press release from the authority, communities “will be notified about construction specifics and steps to be taken to minimize impacts on riders and vehicular traffic beneath the elevated subway line.”

[Via WSJ]

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Photo via Richard Yeh / WNYC

Queens native and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Rail Control Center announcer Velina Mitchell is the new official voice of the transit authority. The 25-year MTA “insider” was chosen when Sarah Meyer, the NYC Transit chief customer officer, first heard Mitchell read a public service announcement. Little did Mitchell know she was auditioning for a much bigger role. Meyer told the Daily News: “She sounded like a New Yorker, but she was also warm and she enunciated very well.” The MTA is making an effort to improve communications with their riders by playing Mitchell’s announcements in stations as well as in four new train cars.

Hear the new voice of the subway:https://t.co/O2DDBJgSSA pic.twitter.com/2PJicQR29M

— Dan Rivoli (@danrivoli) May 16, 2018

Mitchell is not new to the game. Mitchell is supervisor to the 35 “dedicated announcers” that are stationed in some of the city’s busiest transit hubs, like Grand Central. According to a New York Magazine article, Mitchell works on adding emotion to the announcers voices without panic. She also works on getting native New Yorker natives to not drop ending of words, changing “runnin'” to “running.” And, perhaps most importantly for the job, she provides common talking points.

Giving the example if a pack of wild dogs were loose in a station, “If service had to be suspended, that’s what we’d be talking about. Not the dogs.” And by no means is a train ever delayed by a “fire”: Blame “debris on the tracks.”

Ironically, Charlie Pellett, the Bloomberg Radio anchor and the very familiar voice to all those who have ridden the NYC subway saying, “Stand clear of the closing doors, please,” is British. But there is no trace of his British accent in his voice, or any real accent at all. And don’t worry, Pellett will continue to say what he says best.

Adding Mitchell to the mix is an effort to tune riders back in. It turns out, the more we hear a voice, the more we tune it out (you don’t say!). So Mitchell will remind riders to not hold the train doors and not stand too close to the platform edge.

Just as Pellet was known as a friendly guy (he said about his announcements “I mean it in a nice way” explaining that he is probably stuck on the exact same train as you are). Meyer said: “We gravitate towards kindness and we want to make sure this new personality of NYC Transit is one that is empathetic and understanding to what is a complicated transit system.”

[Via NY Daily News]

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The latest fear to raise its ugly head in what will admittedly be a major inconvenience–that is, the 15-month shutdown of the L line starting in April of 2019–is the very limited number of trains that will be able to pick up the slack heading across the Williamsburg bridge. The topic surfaced at last night’s Town Hall meeting, when, according to the Village Voice, a concerned citizen by the name of Sunny Ng voiced his concerns about how many more trains could fit on the bridge.

NYC Transit president Andy Byford kept to the party line: “Rest assured, our intention is to utilize the J/M/Z lines.” But when pressed for an exact number of trains that would be, Peter Cafiero, chief of operations planning admitted that exactly 24 trains per hour can travel over the Williamsburg Bridge–in the best of cases, “if everything runs perfectly,” according to an anonymous source familiar with the planning process.

So how many more frustrated commuters, late for work and sick of being packed into a way-more-overcrowded-than-usual subway car is that? According to planning documents, that perfect-world 24 trains per hour adds up to only three trains an hour more than the current schedule, which equals 6,000 more riders per hour. The L train currently carries almost four times that–or 24,100 riders per hour–across the East River.

The MTA expects as many as to 80 percent of displaced L-trainers to look for subway alternatives; for many of those riders, that will mean the J/M/Z. And it’s not clear how the J/M/Z can handle the impending crowds.

So why not speed things up? A stretch of the J/M/Z tracks between the Marcy Avenue and Essex Street stations on either side of the bridge has “S” curves on each side. Trains must slow down when they round the curves for obvious reasons. Traffic jams form at the curves.

Even with all of the extra trains the MTA plans to add, there will be 12.5 fewer trains, which will reduce overall capacity by about 25,000 riders per hour. What does this mean? It means that somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 people per hour–based on the MTA’s estimates and information from the planning documents that were obtained by the Voice–might not be able to squeeze onto a Manhattan-bound train at rush hour.

As if that weren’t scary enough, we’re all counting on the G, which will add the most capacity–three additional trains running the full route, plus three trains per hour running between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand–and will be doubled in length. But those G riders will still need to cross the river. The transfer points and lines that can’t add as much capacity are expected to suffer the most. The Voice breaks it down thusly:

24,100 riders per hour during rush hours currently cross the East River on the L. The MTA estimates that between 20 and 30 percent of them — between 4,820 and 7,230 — will get to work by buses, bikes, or other non-subway means. Counting the longer C trains, the MTA will be adding the equivalent of 7.5 new trains worth of capacity, enough to accommodate approximately 15,000 passengers. That would leave between 1,870 and 4,280 commuters unable to squeeze onto trains at all.

“It’s pretty much a given that the line will be over guideline,” said the aforementioned inside source, who asked to remain anonymous in fear of getting fired. “I don’t know what to say besides we’re fucked and it’ll be miserable.”

[Via Village Voice]

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Photo via Dan Phiffer on Flickr

Within 10 years, the subway system will feature a state-of-the-art signal system, become more accessible, have a new fare payment system and boast thousands of new subway cars and buses. These ambitious improvements are all part of a plan released Wednesday by New York City Transit Chief Andy Byford and the MTA, called “Fast Forward: The Plan to Modernize New York City Transit.” And the plan does intend to move very quickly. Byford expects work previously estimated to take nearly 50 years to be completed within the next decade. The top-to-bottom modernization of the system will no doubt inconvenience commuters, with possible changes to bus stop locations, as well as station closures and service disruptions. “Fast Forward” breaks down into two five-year plans, with the first half estimated to cost $19 billion and the next five years to cost $18 billion according to the New York Times. However, a cost estimate of the plan has not yet been officially released by the MTA.

Signals on these lines will be upgraded as part of the MTA’s plan

A major focus for Byford’s plan involves installing a communications-based train control signal system, CBTC, which would allow trains to run closer together and increase capacity. The plan aims to deliver CBTC to five lines in five years to benefit three million daily commuters. This would affect trains along the A, C, E, 4, 5, 6, F, M, R and G lines.

The following five years would upgrade signals along the 1, 2, 3, B,D, F, M, A, C, N, Q, R, W and the Rockaway Shuttle. Upgrades will require continuous night and weekend closures for up to 2.5 years on each line.

Highlights of the plan include making roughly 200 stations accessible and rolling out nearly 4,000 new subway cars and 2,100 new buses. The MTA also hopes to “revitalize the station experience” by working on more than 300 stations in the next 10 years, installing a new tap-and-go fare payment system and deploying staff throughout stations to improve customer support.

Last month, NYC Transit released a bus-improvement plan that aims to bus speeds, create more off-peak trips and bus lanes and a redesign of the bus route network. The plan will consolidate closely-spaced bus stops and install real-time information at bus shelters. Plus, double-decker buses are currently being tested on an express route linking Staten Island to Manhattan.

Both the subway and bus plans build upon the MTA’s subway action plan, which was created after Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the system last summer. As with the emergency action plan, funding for Fast Forward could be an issue yet again between Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who only recently agreed to pay the city’s half of $400 million for the short-term plan.

A spokesperson for de Blasio, Eric Phillips, told the New York Times, that the city was not willing to help pay for Byford’s plan and recommended the MTA use existing resources instead. “While the devil is always in the details, early reports suggest the M.T.A. is finally focusing on the infrastructure riders need to get around,” Phillips said in a statement to the Times.

Read the MTA’s full plan here.

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Photo via Wikimedia

Actress and candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon released last week her plan to fix New York City’s transit system and many of the ideas look pretty familiar. To pay for much-needed subway repairs, Nixon’s plan calls for congestion pricing, a concept supported by her opponent Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and a millionaires’ tax, an idea backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio (h/t NY Post). Her campaign also details imposing a polluter fee on fossil fuel companies to “generate billions of dollars to be used to fund New York’s transition to green energy.”

And while disparaging the MTA remains one of the focal points of her campaign, Nixon’s plan to upgrade the subways is nearly identical to the Fast Forward plan released by NYC Transit Authority President Andy Byford last month. Jon Weinstein, a spokesperson for the MTA, said in a statement: “After three months of slamming the MTA in the press, Ms. Nixon released a plan to fix the subways and it was the MTA’s plan. Thanks.”

The MTA’s Fast Forward plan calls for upgrading the system’s signal system, making stations more accessible and rolling out new subway cars and buses, all within the next 10 years. While reports have said the plan could cost nearly $37 billion, the MTA has not released an official cost estimate.

Nixon’s campaign website details different revenue streams, proposing “comprehensive congestion pricing, as well as funding from part of the revenue generated from a polluter fee and a millionaires tax.”

Her congestion plan keeps the surcharge on for-hire vehicles implemented by state lawmakers in this year’s budget, but adds a congestion pricing fee of $5.76 for entry and exit into a particular zone. Nixon’s platform also includes giving low-income drivers who commute to Manhattan a partial toll rebate, which would not cost more than a subway ride, according to the campaign.

Nixon’s millionaires’ tax appears to be the same concept as the one supported by de Blasio. The mayor’s proposal would tax rich New Yorkers to pay for more subway repairs, increasing the tax rate of this group to 4.4 percent from roughly 3.9 percent for couples with incomes over $1 million. Last summer, Cuomo had called the plan “dead on arrival” because of political opposition in Albany.

While the mayor’s plan would tax rich New Yorkers living in New York City, Nixon is calling for a statewide tax on millionaires. The idea is unpopular with Republicans and a handful of Democrats, who told the Daily News that hiking taxes “is bad optics” and risks support from suburban voters.

“They’ve done pretty well under their reign and don’t want to give up their tax breaks,” Laura Hitt, a spokesperson for Nixon, told the Daily News. “It’s ridiculous to suggest that asking the wealthy to pay their fair share will turn off voters, especially in a blue wave year.”

[Via NY Post]

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The normally drab service posters found across the city’s subway stations got a burst of color this month. Instead of detailing changes to late-night train service, these rainbow-adorned signs remind commuters that no “bigotry, hatred or prejudice” is allowed at any time, as Pride Month, a celebration of LGBTQ love, kicks off. Originally created by School of Visual Arts faculty member Thomas Shim and alumni Ezequiel Consoli and Jack Welles (Kyle Harrison was added to the core team this year), the posters will remain fastened to the station walls throughout the month of June.

Good morning NYC! It’s going to be another pride-filled day! . . . #PrideTrain #pridemonth2018 #lgbtq #queer #lesbian #gay #bi #trans #gayrights #transrights #equality #love #pride #NYCPride #NYC #MTA #instagay #lovewins #loveislove #newyorkcity #rainbow #color #equality #missvanjie #streetart #instagay #rupaulsdragrace #designforall

A post shared by Pride Train (@pridetrain) on Jun 5, 2018 at 6:28am PDT

The PrideTrain campaign began last year in response to increased crimes against members of the LGBTQ community. Plus, President Donald Trump has refused to officially recognize June as Pride Month two years in a row, unlike his predecessors.

“We did this project simply to make a difference and contribute in a small way to create a better place for everyone. And Pride Train is not only about the LGBTQ community,” the team behind PrideTrain told 6sqft in an email.

“This is about everyone who has ever felt like they were not included or has experienced hate. We’re trying to scream louder than the hate in this country and to let YOU know that you’re loved, and are not alone, and that we’ll have your back whenever you may need it.”

The posters, intended to mirror the MTA service announcements, provide messages of love and inclusion, demanding subway station remain safe spaces. And of course, important reminders like “love is love” and “tip your drag queen.”

Follow @PrideTrain on Instagram for more updates.

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All images via @PrideTrain

Image by Ged Carroll on Flickr

Reduced-fare MetroCards may soon become a reality for low-income straphangers, as Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council have reached a deal Wednesday to provide roughly $100 million in funding to the program. The mayor’s agreement with Speaker Corey Johnson, who has been one of the most vocal supporters of a Fair Fares program, means the city would fully subsidize the cost of providing half-price MetroCards to New Yorkers who fall below the federal poverty line, or a household income of $25,000 for a family of four.

Nearly 800,000 New Yorkers could benefit from the discounted fares. Under the tentative deal, the city would allocate $106 million in its upcoming budget, which would pay for six months of the program beginning in January, according to the New York Times.

After months of back-and-forth between de Blasio and Johnson, the two officials are expected to close the deal with a ceremonial handshake on Monday. De Blasio resisted adding the program to the city’s budget and has suggested taxing the wealthiest residents to pay for the subsidy. He also backs the same millionaires’ tax to fund subway repairs, a notion that has been called “dead on arrival” in Albany by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In his first year as speaker, Johnson has fought for a Fair Fares program, making it one of his top priorities. During a news conference, he told reporters he had been talking to de Blasio “every single day about this.”

A source briefed on the deal told the Times that the money would not go to the MTA but instead be handled by a city agency, possibly the Human Resources Administration which manages the city’s benefit programs. The discounted MetroCards would mirror the fares currently subsidized for students, seniors, people with disabilities and roughly 40,000 others who receive cash assistance.

Some of these programs provide MetroCards for about $1.35 per ride, less than half the typical $2.75 rate for subway and bus fare. The City Council has estimated that 40 percent of those eligible would sign up, with the number of people enrolled doubling once the program is fully implemented. The full cost could be roughly $250 million.

[Via NY Times]

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Image by Ged Carroll on Flickr

Mayor Bill de Blasio reached an agreement with City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on a new city budget, the New York Times reports. The $89.2 billion budget includes funding for discounted MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. 6sqft reported last week on the deal struck between the mayor and the city council to provide about $100 million to fund the program. Johnson has been a tenacious and vocal supporter of the Fair Fares program, in which the city will subsidize the cost of providing half-price MetroCards to New Yorkers who fall below the federal poverty line, or a household income of $25,000 for a family of four. Nearly 800,000 New Yorkers could benefit from the discounted fares. The initial allocation in the budget will pay for six months of the program beginning in January, with further financing will be forthcoming in future budgets.

After months of back-and-forth between de Blasio and Johnson, the two officials closed the deal today with a ceremonial handshake. De Blasio had resisted adding the program to the city’s budget, favoring a plan that woudl tax the city’s wealthiest residents to pay for the subsidy, similar to a millionaires’ tax he also favors to fund subway repairs. The idea that wealthy residents should subsidize infrastructure improvements has been called “dead on arrival” in Albany by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In his first year as speaker, Johnson has made the Fair Fares program one of his top priorities. During a news conference he told reporters he had been talking to de Blasio “every single day about this.” The subsidy money will not go to the MTA, the mayor said, but will instead be handled by a city agency.The discounted MetroCards would mirror the fares currently subsidized for students, seniors, people with disabilities and roughly 40,000 others who receive cash assistance.

The new budget comes in at about 19 percent higher than de Blasio’s previous budget (his first), which was a $75 billion spending plan approved in June 2014. A substantial increase in the number of city workers–about 300,000 workers–has been a big contributor to the budget increase and in making the city’s payroll the highest ever.

About the new budget, the mayor said, “It’s a strategic investment concept,” adding that city spending on police had made New York the nation’s safest big city, and investment in early childhood education had improved public schools, making the city more attractive to residents and businesses. “I think these were very smart investments.”

[Via NYT]

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Photo via Flickr

Adding to straphangers’ woes this summer, the MTA will be shuttering three Manhattan subway stations for repairs in July. The 57th Street F, 28th Street 6, and 23rd Street F and M stations will close for six months of repairs as part of Governor Cuomo’s Enhanced Station Initiative. Last month, the MTA closed the 72nd Street and 86th Street stations on the B, C line–neither station will reopen until late October.

Cuomo’s program has been criticized for causing devastating service changes for the sake of unnecessary cosmetic updates, especially relative to the state of emergency the subway’s signal system is in. The program is also approved to close down five other stations – the 145th Street 3 and Penn Station 1, 2, 3 in Manhattan and 174th-175th Streets D and 167th Street D in the Bronx – in the near future.

As for the latest batch of closures, 57th Street will shutter July 9th, 28th Street July 16, and 23rd Street July 23 – although PATH service at the station will not be impacted. The stations are slated to reopen in December.

[Via Patch]

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Photo by Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit via Flickr

On the heels of the 2 and 3 resuming weekend service between Brooklyn and Manhattan, the MTA has more good news: The 30th and 36th Avenue stations in Astoria will be reopening on Monday, July 2 after being shuttered for repairs the past eight months. But with this also comes some bad news–the closure of the Broadway and 39th Avenue stations on the same N, W line, which are projected to remain shuttered for seven months.

Photos from January 2018 showing the deterioration at the 36th Avenue station

“These stations were in desperate need of repairs to their deteriorating structures, but now they look and feel brand new, which is amazing for two above-ground structures that had been in daily continuous use for more than 100 years,” said NYC Transit President Andy Byford in a press release.

The new 30th Avenue station

The new 36th Avenue station

In addition to necessary renovations to the crumbling structure of the stations, including the entrances, staircases, railings, and canopies, new “laminated glass panels in colorful abstract geometric patterns” have replaced the “deteriorating windowless wooden wall panels” on 30 Av’s mezzanine, with glass windows by a separate artist also added at 36 Av. The station also received a new exit staircase.

30 Av 36 Av Astoria reopening, NYC subway

Back to the bad news, Ditmas Boulevard has also been undergoing repairs, since April, but is still open for use. The MTA plans to upgrade all Astoria N, W stations.

And over in Manhattan, also as of July, the 57th Street F, 28th Street 6, and 23rd Street F and M stations will close for six months of repairs as part of Governor Cuomo’s Enhanced Station Initiative. Last month, the MTA closed the 72nd Street and 86th Street stations on the B, C line–neither station will reopen until late October.

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All photos by Marc A. Hermann courtesy of the MTA/Flickr

L train photo via Wiki Commons

6sqft previously reported on the city’s plans to provide alternatives to the L train during the 2019 shutdown for repairs in the Canarsie Tunnel under the East River and the reaction of community groups affected by the planned changes. A coalition of West Side neighborhood groups fearing disruptions from buses, bike lanes and other changes sued the agencies tasked with implementing the L train alternatives. Now the New York Daily News reports that according to court documents, 14th street will become a “busway” for 17 hours each day–among other strategies–to limit car traffic during the shutdown.

Car traffic on 14th Street from Ninth to Third Avenues eastbound and Third to Eighth Avenues westbound will be limited to pick-ups and drop-offs seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. according to details provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In addition, the Department of Transportation and the MTA will be implementing two one-way bike paths on 12th and 13th Streets instead of the previously-planned single two-way path on 13th Street. According to the DOT, the newer design would be better able to handle a higher volume of cyclists and make pick ups and drop-offs on the street’s south curbs easier.

The decision on the 14th Street busway and bike lanes addresses the needs of Manhattan drivers hoping for vehicle access on 14th Street as well as Brooklyn commuters who have been asking to have the street limited to buses 24-7. Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said, “We’re solving, hopefully, the local mobility and access challenge while discouraging through traffic on 14th Street.”

The new details have been approved by transit advocacy group Riders Alliance; spokesman Danny Pearlstein said, “With shuttle buses prioritized on 14th Street and the Williamsburg Bridge between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., the MTA can provide a robust replacement for the crowded L train morning, noon, and night alike. L riders will have transit they can rely on. And residents along the L can count on riders to use transit rather than cause congestion and pollution by taking cars, taxis and for-hire vehicles.”

[Via NYDN]

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Photo via MTA/Flickr

The 2 and 3 are finally running between Brooklyn and Manhattan on weekends again, but now two stations are closing (as two others reopen) in Astoria, and the 1 train has a slew of disruptive service changes planned at least for this weekend. Everything pales with the hell set for Rockaway residents this summer, as the A and Rockaway Park Shuttle won’t be connecting the beach to the mainland again until September.

Here’s the full list of trouble:

Uptown 1 trains skip Franklin, Canal, Houston and Christopher St. No 1 trains between 137 Street and 242 Street – free shuttle buses provide alternate service. South Ferry-bound 1 trains skip 86, 79, 66, 59 and 50 Sts.

Wakefield-bound 2 trains skip Franklin, Canal, Houston and Christopher Sts in Manhattan and Park East, Pelham Pkwy, Allerton Av and Burke Av in the Bronx. Flatbush Av-bound 2 trains skip 86, 79, 66, 59 and 50 St.

3 trains replace the 4 in Brooklyn.

5 trains run every 20 minutes between E 180 St and Grand Central-42 St. No 5 trains between Grand Central-42 St and Bowling Green. No 5 trains between E 180 St and Dyre Av – free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

Pelham Bay Park-bound 6 trains run express from 3 Av-138 St to Parkchester, stopping at Hunts Point.

Beginning at 11:45 p.m. on Sunday and continuing until September 3, there will be no A service between Broad Channel and Far Rockaway-Mott Av, nor Rockaway Park Shuttle service at Broad Channel. The Shuttle will also only be running approximately every 15 minutes between Rockaway Park-Beach 116 St and Beach 90 St, and via the A to/from Far Rockaway-Mott Av. Inwood-bound A trains skip 81, 96, 103 an 116 Sts.

168 St-bound C trains skip 81, 96, 103 and 116 Sts. Euclid Av-bound C trains skip 50, 23 and Spring St.

World Trade Center-bound E trains run express from 71 Av to Queens Plaza, stopping at Roosevelt Av.

L trains run approximately every 24 minutes between Broadway Junction and Rockaway Pkwy.

Norwood-bound D trains skip 182-183 Sts.

Coney Island-bound F trains run via the E from Roosevelt Av to Canal St and via the A to Jay St-MetroTech (no Coney Island-bound F service at 21 St-Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island, Lexington Av/63 St, 57, 47-50 Sts, 42 St-Bryant Pk, 34 St-Herald Sq, 23, 14, B’way-Lafayette Sts, 2 Av, Delancey St, East Broadway and York St) stopping at W 4 St.

M trains operate between Middle Village-Metropolitan Av and Delancey St/Essex St.

Coney Island-bound N trains skip 49 St and run express from Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr to 59 St. Beginning 5am July 2 until February 2019, the Broadway and 39 Av stations on the N and W will close.

No N trains between Ditmars Blvd and Queensboro Plaza – free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

Coney-Island bound Q trains skip 49 St.

Bay Ridge-bound R trains run express from Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr to 59 St in Brooklyn. Bay Ridge-bound R trains skip 49 St and run express from 71 Av to Queens Plaza.

No J trains between Crescent St and Jamaica Center – buses make all J stops between Crescent and 121 St.

No G trains between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Court Sq – buses provide alternate service.

Per the whims of the MTA, there will probably be other problems, and the problems stated above are subject to change and worsen.

Via MTA on Flickr

After a six-month development process, which included working with over 2,000 commuters, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched on Monday a smartphone app that offers real-time updates for the subway, buses and trains, as well as trip planning options and service updates. Because the app, called MyMTA, is a beta version, the MTA is asking for feedback from straphangers about the app’s functions and what needs to be added or improved. The authority also gave their website a much-needed upgrade, with a more sleeker web interface.

The authority’s managing director, Veronique Hakim, said the app and website will help plan commutes and “personalize” transit experiences. “Best of all, it gives our customers access to insider information from our control centers about planned work and delays,” Hakim said in a statement. “Want to know what’s going on anywhere in the system? MYmta will tell you.”

MyMTA, which is available on iOS and Android devices, also provides users with nearby stations and stops based on location. And the app includes a “unified” trip planning function which includes trains, subways, buses, the Staten Island Ferry, NYC Ferry, PATH and NJ Transit trains.

Transit officials believe this new, all-encompassing app will allow New Yorkers to delete the multiple other ones used on a daily basis.

“But with the beta launch of MYmta, riders will finally have one single app for everything: real-time service updates, subway and bus arrival times, LIRR and Metro-North schedules, and even commuter rail tickets through the eTix app,” Nick Sifuentes, the executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said.

The MTA is also asking commuters which features should be included in the next version of the app. These include real-time map tracking of bus, trains and subways, live trip alerts, share-trip feature and an iMessage integration feature that would allow users to share location via iMessage.

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Photo via Anthony Quintano/Flickr

It happens on every holiday, but a midweek July 4th promises to add an extra layer of confusion to the tourists, crowds and screwy schedules that will inevitably hit the city’s public transit system. We hope we can help you get your itinerary dialed in by giving you the low-down on changes to NYC subway, bus and ferry service on the 4th, so you can get to and from that optimal spot to watch the fireworks. The good news: The MTA will be offering extra rail service on Tuesday, July 3 and Wednesday, July 4. The possibly good/bad/mixed news: The MTA’s railroads, subways and buses will operate on weekend schedules…and then some.

Image © 6sqft

NYC Subways
On Wednesday, the subway system will operate on a Saturday schedule; there will also be some service changes.

There will be no 6 or 7 express service.

B trains will not run, customers are encouraged to use the A, C, D, and/or Q instead.

There will be increased subway service on the 4, 7, A, C, F, N, and S 42nd Street Shuttle prior to and following the Macy’s fireworks celebration which will originate from barges on the East River between 23rd and 41st Streets from 9:25 p.m. to 9:50 p.m..

There will also be fireworks shows on July 4 at around 9:45 p.m. in Coney Island, Brooklyn and at around 9:25 p.m. at Exchange Place, Jersey City. In the event that crowds reach critical mass in Battery Park and Battery Park City as a result of this show, N service will operate via the Montague tunnel to provide additional service at the Whitehall Street and Rector Street stations.

See the full MTA scheduling announcement here.

NYC Buses
Buses operated by MTA New York City Transit and the MTA Bus Company will operate on a Saturday schedule on Wednesday, July 4. There are many routes that either do not operate on Saturdays or do not run on part of the route at certain hours. Customers traveling on the Fourth of July should check Saturday schedules, lines and routes.

The following bus routes may be affected by delays and detours due to fireworks street closures.: M9; M14 A/D; M15 local, M15 SBS; M23 SBS; M34 SBS; M42; M50; M101; M102; M103; B24; B32; B43; B62; Q24; Q32; Q59; Q60; Q102; Q103.

Where to watch the fireworks; Image: Macy’s.

NYC Ferry
The city’s ferry routes will also be in operating in holiday mode, with all four of its routes operating on a weekend schedule and with the following specific route changes:

East River route:

Last Wall St./Pier 11 departure bound for E. 34th Street: 1:38 pm
Last E.34th St departure bound for Wall St./Pier 11: 2:39 pm

Astoria Route:

Last Wall St./Pier 11 departure bound for Astoria: 1:49 pm
Last Astoria departure bound for Wall St./Pier 11: 2:34 pm

There will be no midtown shuttle bus service provided on Wednesday the 4th. Shuttle buses will resume normal service on July 5th.

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Image via Wiki Commons

The MTA Board has approved an $88 million contract to Citnalta/Forte with Urbahn/HAKS for work at three of the city’s subway stations in Harlem and the Bronx after nearly a century of wear and tear. The 145 Street, 167 Street and 174-175 Street stations will be getting modernizing, structural and functional repairs beginning in July. MTA New York City Transit will be addressing needed upgrades for the nearly 20,000 subway customers on the Concourse B,D and Lenox 3 lines.

The stations have seen little more than routine maintenance to handle increasingly critical issues such as water mitigation, crumbling concrete ceilings and walls, deteriorating structural steel, daily wear-and-tear and cracked or missing tiles. The 145 Street 3 station opened more than a century ago in November 1904, while the other two stations on the Concourse opened in July 1933.

MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford said, “We’re excited to fix and update these stations because the structural work is critical and customers deserve to experience what a cleaner, safer, modern subway station is like. We thank our customers for their patience as we work to prepare these stations for decades of continued –and improved–service to the community.”

Critical repairs to station infrastructure–concrete and metal platforms, stairs, beams and columns–will be happening alongside modernizations like LED lighting, digital signage providing real-time service information, and new turnstile areas with security cameras and brighter lighting. Countdown clocks and Help Points, which allow customers to communicate quickly with staff for assistance or emergencies, will be installed throughout the stations.

The stations will be closed to service for less than 6 months; the 145 Street 3 station will close beginning July 21. At 167 Street BD, one stair entrance will close beginning Saturday, July 9, but the entire station will remain open for service until August 27. At 174-175 Streets BD, one stair entrance will close beginning Saturday, July 9, but subway service will not be affected until August 13, when the entire station will close for repairs.

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Photo via Wikimedia

Following years of commuter complaints, a subway car without functioning air conditioning on the 1 line is being taken out of service, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Friday. Car #1872 has repeatedly been a source of sweaty problems for straphangers, as well as the subject of many angry tweets sent to the MTA. As the New York Post reported, the authority will remove the car and overhaul its systems, including fixing its air conditioner. Heat-related complaints made via social media have increased, with 714 made between April and June, compared to 380 during the same period last year.

While complaints are on the rise, the authority says there are actually fewer cars without air conditioning currently than last summer. “Ninety-eight percent of the 5,356 subway cars in service every day have working air conditioning, but nobody should suffer through a hot car in the summer, and we’re fighting hard against heat waves and an elderly fleet to fix those last few stubborn cars,” MTA chair Joe Lhota told the Post last week.

The MTA doesn’t track A/C problems by line but did report that 46 cars had malfunctioning air conditioning during the last week of June, slightly up from 39 cars during the same week last year.

MTA spokesperson Shams Tarek told WNYC that the increased number of complaints could also be from the authority’s heightened engagement with commuters through social media, especially on Twitter.

“We’re engaging more assertively,” Tarek said. “People see they’re getting responses and action. We’ve also increased our followers tremendously since last year.”

According to Tarek, when commuters tweet regularly about the same sweltering car, its systems are reviewed at the end of its terminal. If found not to be working, the car is removed for repairs and replaced with an extra one.

Older cars, like the R62As used by 1 and 6 trains, use HVAC systems from the 1980s. These out-dated systems provide one compressor for each of the air units in the car, instead of multiple ones found in newer cars. Last week, the MTA announced it has hired 190 new workers, some of whom will be enlisted to work on the cars without A/C.

[Via NY Post]

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Photo via Wikipedia

Next week will start with the closure of yet another station for “enhancements.” This time, the 28th Street 4, 6 station will be the one to close, through December, while it is “enhanced”. Additional bad news this week is that even alternate shuttle buses now have service changes, apparently, with crane operations requiring eastbound 4 shuttle buses to reroute and run via Riverdale Avenue instead of from Livonia Avenue to Thomas S. Boyland Avenue. Also, for those who missed the initial news: the A isn’t running to Far Rockaway-Mott Av, and the Rockaway Park Shuttle isn’t servicing Broad Channel through September.

No 1 trains between Rector Street and South Ferry – free shuttle buses provide alternate service between Chambers St and South Ferry.

Flatbush Av-bound 2 trains skip Jackson Av.

No 3 trains between Utica Av and New Lots Av – free shuttle buses provide alternate service between Utica Av and New Lots Av.

Beginning 5am Monday until December, the 28 St 4 and 6 station will close. Downtown 4 trains skip 33 St, 28 St and 23 St. No 4 trains between Utica Av and New Lots Av – free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

Bronx-bound 5 trains skip 138 St-Grand Concourse. No 5 trains between 149 St-Grand Concourse and E 180 St.

Brooklyn Bridge-bound 6 trains skip 33 St, 28 St and 23 St.

Inwood-bound A trains skip Spring St, 23 St and 50 St. Queens-bound A trains skip 155 St and 135 St.

Uptown C trains skip 135 St – Inwood-bound A trains make the local stop at 135 and 155 St.

Jamaica Center-bound E trains skip Spring St and 23 St.

L trains run approximately every 24 minutes between Broadway Junction and Rockaway Pkwy, operating in two sections: between 8 Av and Broadway Junction, and between Broadway Junction and Rockaway Pkwy.

Coney Island-bound D trains skip Union St, 4 Av-9 St, Prospect Av and 25 St. Manhattan-bound D trains run via the N from Stillwell Av to 36 St – no Manhattan-bound service at Bay 50 St, 25 Av, Bay Pkwy, 20, 18 Avs, 79, 71, 55, 50 Sts, Fort Hamilton Pkwy and 9 Av. No D trains between 205 St and Bedford Park Blvd – free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

Jamaica-bound F trains skip 14 St and 23 St and are rerouted via the E after 47-50 Sts – no Jamaica-bound service at Lexington Av/63 St, Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge.

No M trains between Myrtle Av (Broadway) and Essex St.

Coney Island-bound N trains run express from Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr to 59 St, stopping at 36 St. No N trains between Times Sq-42 St and Ditmars Blvd – free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

Coney Island-bound Q trains run express from Prospect Park to Kings Hwy stopping at Church Av and Newkirk Plaza.

Bay Ridge-bound R trains run express from Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr to 59 St, stopping at 36 St. R trains skip 5 Av/59 St, Lexington Av/59 St and Queenz Plaza in both directions.

No J trains between Hewes St and Broad St – free shuttle buses operate between Hewes and Essex, stopping at Marcy.

Per the whims of the MTA, there will probably be other problems, and the problems stated above are subject to change and worsen.

Photo via Flickr cc

The MTA has released updated ridership figures for 2017, giving an even better look at how the Second Avenue Subway is growing in popularity and impacting the Lexington Avenue line. By looking at the three comparative stations–96th Street, 86th, and 77th/72nd Streets–we can see that average weekday ridership on the 4,5,6 line has dropped 29.5, 29.2, and 23.6 percent respectively. More impressive is the fact that in 2017, the annual number of riders at the 96th Street station and 77th and 72nd Street stations were almost identical on both lines at roughly 8.5 million. And at 86th Street, the Q station hit 7.7 million riders, still impressive compared to the Lexington line’s $14 million considering there are two express trains there, too.

Here’s a closer look at the data:

Since these figures are station-specific, this does not paint a picture of how the Second Avenue Subway has affected ridership system-wide, which would likely prove to be even more dramatic. In terms of this wider data, the most recent reports came in May 2017, just five months after the Second Avenue Subway opened. As 6sqft previously reported:

…ridership on the 4/5/6 decreased by 26 percent and a whopping 40 percent during peak morning hours. Moreover, Second Avenue’s average weekday ridership is up from 140,000 to 176,000 passengers, an increase which has prompted the MTA to add two additional train trips during rush hour come this November.

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scott stringer, nyc subway, ada compliance

Via City Comptroller’s office

More than half of the 122 neighborhoods served by New York City’s subway system do not have a single accessible station, a new report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer found. And out of the 62 neighborhoods dubbed “ADA transit deserts,” 55 are in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. In his report, “Service Denied,” Stringer details the gaps in accessibility for seniors and mobility-impaired New Yorkers and calls on the state legislature to create a new funding source dedicated to upgrades compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.

scott stringer, nyc subway, ada compliance
Via City Comptroller’s office

“Decades of underinvestment and neglect have real life consequences,” Stringer said in a press release. “For every inaccessible station, there is a New Yorker who can’t get to work, pick up their children from daycare, or visit their doctors. It’s simple – a person’s livelihood should not be dictated by their mobility status, and we must take action immediately to address this crisis.”

Only about 24 percent of the MTA’s 472 subway stations are considered ADA compliant, the lowest amount among the country’s rail systems in metropolitan areas. In the 62 neighborhoods that only have inaccessible stations, more than 199,000 mobility-impaired residents, 341,000 seniors and 203,000 children under the age of five live there.

scott stringer, nyc subway, ada compliance
Via City Comptroller’s office

According to Stringer, inaccessible subway stations affect where mobility-impaired residents or seniors choose to live, where they work and their overall cost of living. Median rents with at least one accessible station are more than $100 higher in neighborhoods with only inaccessible stations. Expensive rents on top of pricey medical care expenses and other services further the financial strain on these residents, the report found.

In March, the federal government joined a lawsuit accusing the MTA of not adding ADA upgrades when renovating stations. Passed nearly 30 years ago, the law requires transit stations to be accessible to the “maximum extent feasible.”

To address the gaps in accessibility, the MTA hired its first accessibility chief last month to oversee efforts to help mobility-impaired riders access them. The appointment comes as NYC Transit chief Andy Byford released his Fast Forward plan, which pledges to make 50 new stations ADA accessible in the next five years.

But, as Stringer wrote in his report, this plan would require a lot of external funding, as well as a new system for contracting and procurement. In “Service Denied,” the comptroller suggests introducing an $8 billion Transit Bond Act in the next legislative session in order to fund appropriate ADA upgrades.

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Photo via Flickr cc

According to new documents, the next leg of the extension of the Q line to 125th Street that comprises the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway will be done in 2029, the Daily News reports. And that completion date only holds if work is begun on time, in mid-2019, according to the same document from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Federal Transit Administration. The expected phase two completion date is nearly a decade after Governor Andrew Cuomo opened the first section of the project in 2017. That 2029 date refers to the time all construction equipment has left the site; MTA officials hope to begin running trains through the tunnels, bringing vital service to Harlem, in 2027.

Controlling costs is a big focus in designing plans for the project’s second phase. The MTA has been criticized for high construction costs compared to those of other cities like Paris and London, and a Regional Plan Association report on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s construction costs noted that the agency failed to ramp up work on phase two as phase one was winding down.

The project’s first phase of took eight years and cost $5.5 billion for the addition of three miles of track. MTA board members have formed task forces to evaluate ways to bring costs down, including using a single contractor to design and build the project and cutting down on customized designs. Early estimates reveal the second phase could cost $6 billion.

6sqft recently reported that the project’s first phase has helped ease traffic on the Lexington Avenue Line according to data. The MTA released updated ridership figures for 2017, giving an even better look at how the Second Avenue Subway is growing in popularity and impacting the Lexington Avenue line.

MTA officials have already begun preliminary phase two work with early design work set to finish by fall. Contracts for tunneling and building the structures are scheduled to be awarded in the first part of 2019, with hopes for a full funding deal with the federal government by the end of 2020.

[Via NYDN]

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