Queens Councilman Upset At Empty Retail Spaces
As someone who is an owner in multiple facets of real estate including residential & commercial, I understand the severe slump the industry is in. So it comes as to no surprise that the MTA has encountered the same issues that many others have as property owners.
The specific problem in this entry is in regard to the empty retail spaces at the 74th Street/Roosevelt Avenue transit hub in Jackson Heights, Queens. The transit agency has 3 retail spaces that are currently empty & this has Queens Councilman Daniel Dromm upset. John Mancini of NY1 has more in this report:
Subway retail comes in many shapes and sizes, bringing the MTA almost $70 million a year. Yet even though the 74th Street/Roosevelt Avenue hub in Jackson Heights, Queens underwent a $130 million renovation in 2005 that created 14 retail spaces, three spots in the station are still unrented.
“This is a shining example of MTA incompetence,” said Queens Councilman Daniel Dromm.
Almost a year ago, with service cuts looming, elected officials complained, and now with the fare hike coming next month, frustration has only grown.
“They promised me that this store right here behind me would be open by September as a pizza parlor. As you can see, they’ve had a lot of success,” said Dromm, gesturing at one empty space.
Street-level vacancies stand out where empty storefronts are rare. Underground, neighboring tenants would like to have more businesses nearby.
“Naturally, we’d like to see them full. This way, it attracts more business for us,” said florist Greg Kyroglou of The Flower Concept.
The MTA rents the majority of what is available and generally gets good marks on retail, even in the slow economy.
Click here for the complete report.
I find it hilarious that Councilman Dromm usedt he word incompetence in describing the situation considering his anger could be described the same way. Every time a fare hike is about to take effect, local officials grasp for straws to point out why the MTA should not be raising fares and/or cutting service. When they think they have found the brass ring, it turns out to be the usual idiotic rhetoric fooling only the sheep who continuously choose to get led to slaughter.
It is not as if the MTA is purposely not renting out the space & passing up on the money it could be making. The real estate market is one filled with some tough sledding & bumps along the way in our current economy. Retail spaces are not flying off the shelves as they were a few years ago. Plus throw in the hard luck the agency has had in renting spaces out there & chalk it up to some bad luck, it happens.
Honestly, the money they make from renting out retail spaces at this hub or throughout the system would not starve off fare hikes or service cuts so Mr. Dromm is wasting time comparing apples to oranges. Trust me, the agency did not stay up all day & night thinking of ways to break a promise to you. So get a clue & stop grasping for anything to attack the agency on as it is not going to get the spaces rented any faster.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Transit Worker Expected To Live After Fall
The worst fear of any worker on the track became a reality over the weekend as 50 year old supervisor Kent Morgan fell 20 feet from the elevated track at Roosevelt Avenue & 114th Street on the 
line. Ben Chapman & Jonathan Lemire of the New York Daily News have more in this report:
A track worker took a terrifying plunge from an elevated Queens subway Saturday, falling more than 20 feet to the street below, officials said.
Kent Morgan, 50, slammed onto the asphalt under the No. 7 line, leaving a pool of blood on Roosevelt Ave., near Citi Field.
Morgan was rushed to New York Hospital Queens after the harrowing 11a.m. accident and is going to survive, his grateful family said.
“We believe it’s a miracle,” said wife, Aleda Morgan.
“He’s in a significant amount of pain right now because of his injuries, but he’s going to be fine,” she said. “We pray for him every day.”
Morgan, a transit supervisor, was overseeing a switch replacement near the intersection of Roosevelt Ave. and 114thSt. when he fell, MTA officials said.
With a yell, he toppled through a path next to the tracks and plummeted to the street below.
He landed on his side, and his head bounced on the hard street, witnesses told rescue workers.
Some of his fellow track workers stabilized him until paramedics arrived. Morgan, a father of two, was alert and conscious when he was loaded into an ambulance, FDNY officials said.
He suffered a fractured elbow, a broken ankle and a gash to his head, his wife said.
Click here for the complete report.
I always fear for the safety of workers when I see them on tracks whether elevated or under ground. No one can argue that there has been too many accidents and/or deaths over the last few years. Thankfully this fall is not expected to be fatal but it highlights that more needs to be done to ensure the complete safety of everyone. My best wishes for a speedy recovery to Kent.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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LIRR Expects Normal Weekday Service
In a few hours, hundreds of thousands will head to their respective LIRR stations for the start of a brand new week. They will be grateful to know that the MTA Long Island Rail Road is expecting normal weekday service following the successful weekend testing of a new computerized switch and signal control system at Jamaica Station. Here are the details courtesy of their press release:
MTA Long Island Rail Road customers should expect normal weekday service Monday following the successful weekend testing of a new computerized switch and signal control system at Jamaica Station.
The new state-of-the-art, microprocessor-based control system replaces three antiquated signal towers just east and west of Jamaica Station, offering greater flexibility for train movement through the Jamaica complex, better backup systems and more reliability for LIRR customers. As of late Sunday afternoon, more than 95 percent of the testing scheduled for the final cutover to the new system had been completed, paving the way for normal Monday AM rush hour service.
“The successful completion of this weekend’s testing signals a new era of switch control for the LIRR at a critical junction. It means better reliability for our customers,” said LIRR President Helena E. Williams. “Once again, we greatly appreciate the cooperation and understanding of customers who traveled the LIRR in the face of significantly reduced train service into and out of New York City in this the second, and final, weekend of testing to successfully cutover to our new signal and switch control system, Customers heeded our advice about planning their trips before heading out and that paved the way for us to perform our battery of federally-mandated tests at Jamaica to bring this 21st century technology to one of the busiest rail hubs in the nation.”
“I would also recognize the hundreds of dedicated, professional LIRR employees who worked around the clock on Saturday and Sunday to complete this critical task,” Williams added. “In addition to the testing being performed, hundreds of employees were deployed throughout the LIRR system helping customers navigate the modified schedule this weekend.”
Trains from 10 of the LIRR’s 11 branches travel through Jamaica each day with weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 customers.
According to westbound customer counts conducted between 6 AM and Noon, LIRR ridership on Saturday was down about 45 percent compared to a normal Saturday during this period, while ridership on the Port Washington branch – the only one not impacted by the weekend work and running with added AM westbound and PM eastbound service – increased by about 63 percent. On Sunday for this same 6 AM to Noon period for westbound travel, ridership was about 21 percent lower than a regular Sunday, with a 104 percent increase on the Port Washington Branch, which translated into approximately 2,200 additional customers.
The $56 million Jamaica modernization project upgraded the control of LIRR’s switches and signals at Jamaica Station from electro-mechanical to state-of-the-art computerized microprocessor technology. The new more reliable system will increase operational flexibility for the large volume of trains that pass through this area, helping to reduce customer delays. The new system also will provide redundant signal control systems and will allow for quicker recovery time in the event of a power surge, or lightning storm or fire-related service disruption. The new system consolidates three tower operations into one, centralized control facility at Jamaica.
Right-of-Way (ROW) Clean-up at Jamaica:
With the reduced train movement through Jamaica Station during this second cutover weekend, the LIRR used this time to perform right-of-way (ROW) clean-up in the area surrounding Jay Tower (to the west of Jamaica). Throughout the day Saturday, LIRR track crews, used specialized track equipment, heavy machinery, dumpsters, rakes and other tools to perform a clean-up of the Jamaica Station tracks and surrounding areas in Jamaica. A total of 101.75cubic yards of debris and 79 scrap railroad ties were removed in the clean-up effort.
During the first cutover weekend, October 23-24, in a similar effort on the east side of Jamaica and at the Jamaica Station tracks, LIRR employees hauled away 85 cubic yards of debris and removed 350 old railroad ties as well as old running rail, track gauge plates, pipe, spikes, 3rd rail brackets and running rail fasteners
The clean-up effort for the combined weekends netted 186.75 cubic yards of debris and 429 scrap railroad ties.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 11-05-10
The next update for the Service Diversions page will not occur at 12:01 AM tomorrow as I have just finished making all updates.
A reminder to Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) riders, there will be extremely limited service due to the final phase of the signal modernization in & around the Jamaica Station. Click here for complete information.
To any runners or spectators going to the 2010 ING NYC Marathon, click here for service information.
The next update will be 5:01 AM Monday when all of the weekend’s diversions have wrapped up. As always, have a wonderful & safe weekend.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 11-05-10
I just updated the Service Diversions page with the latest planned diversions for the upcoming weekend, following week, & beyond in some cases.
A reminder to Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) riders, there will be extremely limited service due to the final phase of the signal modernization in & around the Jamaica Station. Click here for complete information. To any runners or spectators going to the 2010 ING NYC Marathon, click here for service information.
The next update will be at 12:01 AM Saturday where the diversions scheduled to wrap up by 11:59 PM tonight are removed. As always, have a wonderful & safe weekend.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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