Subway Thread

[TheScotsman]

Awesome pictures, I love the subway.

[TalB]

These are not subway stations, but these two stops on the LIRR do go underground and have interesting entrances.

Flabush Ave, Brooklyn


East NY, Brooklyn

[hkskyline]

NY subway union hails new pact one year after strike
Fri Dec 15, 7:01 PM ET
Reuters

Unionized workers of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority's on Friday said an arbitrator has awarded them a new contract that "mimics" the strike-settling pact reached last year that the agency later spurned.

Late last year, a three-day strike by nearly 34,000 bus and subway workers wreaked havoc for commuters, tourists and Christmas shoppers and cost the city's economy more than $1 billion.

The strike ended after the MTA, the biggest U.S. mass transit agency, and Transport Workers Union Local 100 reached a draft accord that obliged the MTA to pay $130 million in retirement benefits if state lawmakers failed to tap the state pension funds.

The provision was bashed by Republican Gov. George Pataki -- and by many members of the riding public who had endured long walks in the bitter cold during the strike.

The union then voted down the deal by seven votes, partly because it would for the first time have made members pay for health care, though it did give pay hikes of 3 percent to 4 percent in each of the following three years.

The MTA rejected the union's pleas to reinstate the accord, and the battle finally went to binding arbitration.

On Friday, the union in a statement said: "The arbitration award handed down today by (George) Nicolau virtually mimics the pact that the TWU and MTA signed as a condition for ending the strike in December 2005."

Nicolau is perhaps best known for settling clashes between Major League Baseball and the players union.

The transit workers get the same raises and the pension and health care benefits in the strike-ending accord, the TWU said. It said Nicolau also awarded them retroactive provisions to reimburse members for the cost of benefits in 2006, ranging from retiree medical care to paid schooling.

A spokesman for the MTA, which the union said had wasted $2 million in legal fees in fighting the accord, commended the arbitrator for his "consensus award."

"This award reinforces the fairness of the Taylor Law's peaceful dispute resolution process and proves that last year's illegal transit strike was utterly unnecessary," the MTA spokesman said.

Public employees are barred from striking under the Taylor law, and the strike cost the union $2.5 million in fines, though some supporters believe it led to a contract with much better terms than the MTA's first offer, which included givebacks.

The state Supreme Court judge who ordered the TWU to pay the steep fines also sentenced its president, Roger Toussaint, to serve a few days in jail.

A union spokesman said it did not yet know whether Toussaint had been reelected in a election whose results were expected as soon as Friday.

[The Urban Politician]

Wow, this thread is awesome! I only noticed it now..

[TalB]

Can somebody tell me why this entrance at Chambers St is closed as I noticed this recent shot on nycsubway.org?

[hkskyline]

[TalB]

BTW, if you look at the els where the 1 train elevates the rest of the way, excluding 125th St, then you will notice that they have power lines running along them as the last place in Manhattan you can find above grade power lines.

Dyckman St



207th St (Sorry for the old shot, but it was the best one that shows it.)


215th St



Marble Hill-225th St

[Lili]

Interesting observation.

[hkskyline]

MTA: 7 line extension on hold in NY due to possible cost overruns
By SAMANTHA GROSS
13 February 2007

NEW YORK (AP) - A major element in the mayor's plan to develop Manhattan's far west side was called into question Tuesday when transit officials said they would not immediately proceed with the extension of the 7 subway line.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Executive Director Elliot Sander said that the agency, which runs the nation's largest mass transit system, did not plan to pay for any cost overruns on the planned project and that no construction contracts could be signed until it was clear how such costs would be covered.

The city agreed last year to pay up to $2.1 billion for the project, which would extend the Manhattan-Queens subway line west from Times Square along 42nd Street then south on 11th Avenue to 34th Street. But the rising cost of construction and other miscalculations could increase the cost by up to $1 billion, according to Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, chairman of the committee that oversees the MTA.

Sander said the MTA's problem was that "we are in a financially constrained position." He added that he expects to meet soon with city officials about the issue and is "optimistic" the project will continue.

John Gallagher, a spokesman for the mayor's office, said the city had no plans to contribute additional money to the project.

"A deal is a deal, especially since the extension of the (No. 7) line will contribute billions of dollars to the MTA through the development of the rail yards and dedicated tax revenues," he said in an e-mail.

The extension was expected to create "hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in tax revenues," he said.

Sander said it was too early for the MTA to estimate the cost of any possible overruns.

The first contracts for the project had been expected by the end of 2006, according to the MTA's own schedule. It was unclear how any further delay would affect plans to redevelop the area, where the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is located.

The administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been pushing since 2003 to redevelop the area with high-rise office towers, calling the plan vital to the city's economic well-being. A connected proposal to put a new football stadium in the area was blocked by a state board in 2005.

The city's current plans for the area would add 24 million square feet of office space, 13,600 new units of housing, nearly 1 million square feet of retail space and 20 acres of parks.

[Ibague]

Why is it that a city like NY can not mantain and keep clean, organized and modern the subway stations?

NYC subway system for the most part looks like the subway system of a fourth world country...

Don't the politicians see that the subway is taken by tourist from all over the world?

Sometimes/somewheres the US seems to be a third or fourth world country

[g.m.n.y.]

new york city subway is the worlds largest urban mass transit system by miles of track and number of stations. it serves millions of riders a day, and the fare is among the great bargains going. in many large cities, riding mass transit is a choice, made to avoid traffic. in new york, for most riders, the subway is the ONLY option for getting around.
as this is my first post, i'll expect you all to begin picking me to pieces now!

[edsg25]

an utterly amazing thread!!!!!!!!!!!

does anyone know: Is the reason so many NYC subway station entrances are built into the facades of existing existing buildings due to narrow sidewalks or was there some other reason for such placement. thanks.

[Gil]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

MTA to boost L, G lines service
December 5, 2006
Newsday

There's good news for Brooklyn subway riders in the MTA's 2007 budget -- service improvements on the beleaguered L and G lines.
. . .

After reading this story and checking the MTA subway map I wondered why the Franklin Av. Shuttle (S) doesn't connect with the G at Bedford-Nostrand Avs or Classon Av.? It'd save having to go into downtown Brooklyn in order to make the transfer to any of the lines connecting with the (S).

[TalB]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02182007...ontefinise.htm
SQUEALS OVER NO. 7 SHUTDOWN

By MARK BULLIETT and ANGELA MONTEFINISE

February 18, 2007 -- Frustrated straphangers and fuming elected officials angrily criticized the city for shutting down a large portion of the No. 7 subway line - causing disruptions that began yesterday and are scheduled to continue for six straight weekends.

The 7 train is being shut down from 74th Street-Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, to Times Square on weekends until March 26 for "major construction, installation and rehabilitation," said MTA spokesman Paul Fleuranges.

And that includes tomorrow - Presidents Day.

Queens Councilman Eric Gioia said "the 7 is the lifeline of Queens," and called the situation "unacceptable."

Portions of the line have been shut down every year since 2003, but this is the most extensive in recent memory. Fleuranges said the overhaul of the 90-year-old signal system and other infrastructure was "necessary."

"There's really no good time to do work like this, but it has to be done," he said. "It's not just the 7. We're doing work everywhere."

[Spooky873]

Originally Posted by Ibague

Why is it that a city like NY can not mantain and keep clean, organized and modern the subway stations?

NYC subway system for the most part looks like the subway system of a fourth world country...

Don't the politicians see that the subway is taken by tourist from all over the world?

Sometimes/somewheres the US seems to be a third or fourth world country

um, our MTA system is over a century old (lemme break it down, thats over 100 years), and its the largest fleet in the world. annual ridership is 3rd or 4th in the world. you really dont think theyre doing anything about it? do some research, the MTA isnt quite exactly the easiest to maintain given its size and age. what the fuck do you want buddy?

[cincobarrio]

Originally Posted by Ibague

Why is it that a city like NY can not mantain and keep clean, organized and modern the subway stations?

NYC subway system for the most part looks like the subway system of a fourth world country...

Don't the politicians see that the subway is taken by tourist from all over the world?

Sometimes/somewheres the US seems to be a third or fourth world country

ontop of what everyone else has schooled you on, the system IS 24/7-365 too...

[TalB]

The fact that NYC has a one of the biggest subway systems in the world, taking care of all of the stations is not an easy task.

[lbjeffries]

Just an great, great thread. Many thanks to TalB and HK for their amazing contributions.

[AndySocks]

Originally Posted by Ibague

Don't the politicians see that the subway is taken by tourist from all over the world?

Actually, that's probably a big reason why the underground stations in Manhattan are much more nicely decorated and generally cleaner than the ones in Brooklyn and Queens.... with the exception of the Sutphin and Archer stop, which was probably given a massive rennovation because it connects to the AirTrain to JFK.

[hkskyline]

Too bad the really nice one at City Hall on the 4/5/6 line isn't open to the public anymore.