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Service Diversions 07-29-11

Posted by
on July 29th, 2011 at 4:03 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions with the latest planned work for the upcoming weekend, next week, & beyond (in some cases).

7 Train line riders be aware that service is suspended between Queensboro Plaza & 42nd St-Times Square due to major construction work. Click here for complete details.

For those who plan on riding the 2 Train or 5 Train in the Bronx, please be aware that service is suspended between between 149th Street-Grand Concourse & East 180th Street starting this & every following weekend in July. Click here for complete information.

Riders on the L Train, be aware that service will run in two sections including every 24 minutes between Broadway Junction & Rockaway Parkway due to a fencing upgrade at the Canarsie Yard. Click here for complete information.

I suggest printing out a copy before heading to your destination. If you have an internet capable handheld device, use it to access Transit Blogger’s mobile site.

While out traveling, if I notice or hear any changes, I will update them on the twitter feed so don’t forget to follow @TransitBlogger today which you can do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

The next full update will be at 5:01 AM Monday when all weekend work will be removed. Any minor updates will take place on the page as it is updated daily but will not be noted in an entry.

As always stay safe & enjoy your weekend.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions
1

Weekend Work Continues On The 7

Posted by
on July 29th, 2011 at 3:57 am

As you will see in the updated “Service Diversions, a major diversion will be taking place on the 7 Train this weekend as service will be suspended between Queensboro Plaza & 42nd St-Times Square. MTA New York City Transit has more via this press release:

This coming weekend will be the third of three planned service suspensions on the No. 7 Line between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square this summer. There will be no 7 subway service between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza from 11:30 p.m. Friday, July 29 through 5 a.m., Monday, August 1. The E, N, Q, S and free shuttle buses will provide alternate service. The suspension will give us the opportunity to continue addressing problems that have caused service delays over the past several months.

This weekend, customers should use the E, N or Q to travel between Manhattan and Queens. There is a free shuttle bus operating between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Avenue and Queensboro Plaza. Q service will be extended to Astoria-Ditmars Blvd. from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 30 and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 31. In Manhattan, the 42nd Street S shuttle will operate overnight throughout the weekend.

Workers will continue upgrading signal components and replacing wiring and signal circuits. New fasteners are being installed and a major clean-up of the roadbed is being performed to correct damage caused by water infiltration. The power system is being upgraded and a comprehensive tunnel wash is being completed.

After we correct these critical issues, we will begin to install a new signaling system – Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) – this fall. CBTC will result in more frequent service, less waiting time, and provide real-time train arrival information at stations.

This project will take several years and require more 7 service changes. Combined with the 7 line extension to the west side of Manhattan, these investments will bring the Flushing Line into the 21st century.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Construction, Manhattan, Queens, Service Diversions, Subway
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Bronx Subway Stations Need A Makeover

Posted by
on July 26th, 2011 at 2:36 am

For those who ride any of the NYC Subway lines in the Bronx, the title of this entry would have you saying, they sure do! Well MTA Board Member Charles Moerdler shares your sentiment & shared to NYC Transit President Thomas Prendergast during a hearing yesterday. Marc Beja of AM New York has more:

Bronx subways need a visit from the “Extreme Home Makeover” crew, according to one MTA official.

“The Bronx continues to have the worst subway service, the worst subway stations, the worst on-time performance, the worst wait-time performance in the entire system,” MTA Board Member Charles Moerdler told Transit President Thomas Prendergast during an agency hearing Monday.

“If I were still building commissioner, I’d condemn the [subway] buildings — they’re that bad,” he added.

Prendergast said he agreed that work needed to be done, and said the agency was considering closing some stations overnight to fix them, but there’s limited funds to do the work. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said he’d “had it” with waiting for the MTA to address the foul odors, poor lighting, mice and dirty conditions in the stations, which he pointed out to the agency in March.

“We’re tired of excuses [about funding],” Diaz told amNewYork. “We want our subway stations fixed.”

I can attest as to how disgusting subway stations in the Bronx are. While the same can be said for the other boroughs as well, it seems to be much worse in the Bronx. The amount of stations that reek of putrid smells & are in need of repairs is way too high. While the agency understands this, the main issue holding back repairs is the almighty dollar.

Now leave it to Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to take full advantage of earning constituent brownie points by ragging on the MTA. While he is correct in wanting the stations fixed, will he offer up any solutions as to where the money to do so will come from?

We all know the answer is no & that goes for the majority of officials who choose to rag on the agency as if they purposely want the stations to look & smell the way they do. I knock the MTA when they deserved it but I will also be fair & defend them when they are ridiculously attacked by officials who refuse to help properly fund the transit agency. Sorry Ruben, that is now how this works.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Apple On The Express Track To Grand Central

Posted by
on July 26th, 2011 at 1:55 am

A little over 24 hours ago, I wrote about gadget giant Apple & their hopeful plans to build their biggest store in the world inside of Grand Central Terminal. The company’s plan needed to first be approved by the MTA Financial Committee which was set to meet later in the day.

As expected, the committee put their seal of approval on the lease plans & the next step comes tomorrow when the full board must do the same. Andrew Grossman of the Wall Street Journal has more:

After months of on-again, off-again negotiations and rumors, Apple Inc. is set to add its glowing white logo to the glittering stars in Grand Central Terminal’s firmament.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority took a first step Monday toward approving a 10-year lease with the company for a store on the terminal’s east balcony. The agency’s full board is expected to approve the lease Wednesday.

After that, Apple plans to spend about four months building the store, according to MTA documents. The company will also pay Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur $5 million to exit its lease on the space eight years early.

Apple isn’t planning to install any dramatic structures similar to its Fifth Avenue cube in the landmarked building, according to renderings shown at an MTA board meeting. The company’s logo will sit above the staircase leading from the main commuter concourse to the store. It doesn’t appear to be any larger than the face of the clock in the center of the terminal.

The space will cost Apple $160 per square foot, Mr. Rosen said. But that includes the payment to Metrazur and some construction Apple has agreed to complete, like building elevators for employees and work on a loading area. Still, the MTA will get a significant boost in revenue from its new tenant. In the first year, Apple will pay its consistently money-short landlord $1.1 million. Metrazur paid $263,997.

The deal with Apple comes amid a broader MTA push to wring more cash from its real-estate holdings. The MTA said Monday that it would hire Cushman & Wakefield to help it restructure its office space and weigh the sale or lease of its headquarters complex at 347 Madison Ave.

The authority also announced Monday a lease deal with Shake Shack, which will open one of its hamburger restaurants near the Grand Central Oyster Bar.

“I can’t imagine why any kid in Westchester would want to do anything other than go into Grand Central and shop at Apple and eat at Shake Shack,” Mr. Rosen said.

Click here for the complete report.

However all did not sit well with some board members such as Pat Foye representing Nassau County who said:

Kids from Long Island and Jersey can take the 1 and 2 [subway lines] and then the shuttle” to buy iPads and Shackburgers. This creates not only a digital, but a cheeseburger divide, between the two.

This was followed up by Suffolk County member Mitchell Pally saying:

It makes the Penn Station customers no longer second-class citizens,” he said. “It makes them third-class citizens.

While the comments come across as showmanship, they do highlight the clear reality that Penn Station is severely lacking as a transit hub & needs some seriously updating to properly meet the needs & demands of Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, & NJ Transit riders. As someone who frequents Penn Station, I know just how pathetic the station truly is. Metro-North riders have it so good.

As far as the actual numbers go, I feel Apple is getting off a bit cheaply here. They would be acquiring some prime real estate in Manhattan & to get it for under $200 a square foot is quite a gift. Are they getting a potential sweetheart deal? I do wonder….

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Service Diversions 07-25-11

Posted by
on July 25th, 2011 at 5:01 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the weekend work that wrapped up by a minute ago. The planned work for this week & beyond in some cases has been moved to the forefront.

I suggest printing out a copy before heading to your destination. If you have an internet capable handheld device, you can use it to access the mobile version of this site.

The diversions will have minor updates as scheduled ones drop off. Any minor updates will take place on the page as it is updated daily but will not be noted in an entry. The next complete update will be sometime on Thursday after I received the planned weekend diversions from the MTA directly.

While out traveling, if I notice or hear any changes, I will update them on the twitter feed so don’t forget to follow @TransitBlogger today which you can do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

As always, stay safe & have a wonderful week.

xoxo Transit Blogger

You might enjoy reading these related entries:
Service Diversions