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J Train Service Alert

Posted by
on June 18th, 2008 at 1:35 pm

The MTA has posted a service alert regarding train service. The alert states:

Due to ongoing signal problems at the Broad Street station, train service is running with delays at this time.

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A Train Service Alert

Posted by
on June 18th, 2008 at 12:26 pm

The MTA has just posted a service alert regarding train service. The service alert states:

Due to someone requiring medical assistance at the 42nd-Port Authority Bus Terminal, Inwood-bound trains are running local from the Canal Street Station to the 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station.

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6 Train Service Alert

Posted by
on June 18th, 2008 at 12:24 pm

The MTA has posted a service alert regarding train service. The service alert states:

Due to a train with mechanical problems at the Astor Place Station, Pelham Bay Park-bound trains are running on the express track form the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Station to the 14th Street-Union Square Station.

Please expect delays in service on the  train at this time.

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The Related Companies Finds Their Guy

Posted by
on June 17th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

The Related Companies, the company that won the right to develop the MTA’s Hudson Rail Yards, has announced the hiring of Jay Cross to run their development project. WIlliam Neuman of the New York Times City Room Blog filed this report:

You would think that anyone interested in developing the Hudson Yards on the West Side of Manhattan might want to avoid comparisons to the ill-fated proposal to build a stadium on the same site for the New York Jets, which fell apart three years ago.

Think again.

The Related Companies announced on Tuesday that it is hiring Jay Cross, one of the men most closely associated with the Jets’ stadium project, to run its Hudson Yards development.

Related signed a preliminary agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last month making it the designated developer of the railyards west of Midtown, a deal worth an estimated $1 billion to the authority. The two sides are expected to sign a final contract for the development later this year.

In July, Mr. Cross, who is currently president of the Jets, will take over Related’s development team for the 26-acre site, which sits on both sides of 11th Avenue between 30th and 33rd Streets.

In a statement, Related’s chairman and chief executive, Stephen M. Ross, praised Mr. Cross’s familiarity with the railyards site, which is enormously complex. Mr. Cross led the stadium effort for the Jets.

Before new buildings can go up, the developer must build massive and costly platforms over the yards, even as Long Island Rail Road trains continue to operate on the tracks.
Related has proposed to build 12 million square feet of office towers, apartment buildings and parks on top of the platforms.

The Jets deal came apart in June 2005, when state legislative leaders refused to give it their support. It had long been a priority of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and its defeat was a heavy blow to his agenda.

The stadium had also featured prominently in the city’s proposal to host the 2012 Olympics; without it, the Olympics bid was severely weakened and ultimately failed.

Tom K. Wright, the executive director of the Regional Plan Association, which opposed the stadium project but supports the transportation authority’s development plans for the site, said that Mr. Cross was a good choice because he knows the area.

“I thought he was a very good spokesperson for the Jets, did a very good job of presenting it and in particular he never burned any bridges with anybody,” Mr. Wright said. “Even having debated him publicly and privately on it, it was always just about the issues. It was never personal. In many ways it makes enormous sense to snap him up.”

In signing on with Related Mr. Cross will join another alumnus of the stadium wars. Jay Kriegel, the former executive director of the Olympics bid, works for the developer as a senior adviser.

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MTA Sustainability Webinar Review

Posted by
on June 17th, 2008 at 3:32 pm

Earlier today, I took the time to watch & participate in the MTA’s Sustainability Webinar. The purpose of the webinar was to showcase some of their sustainability goals, initiatives, & practices. I found the webinar to be very informative in discussing what the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has already done & looks to do in the future to help further their sustainability goals.

One of the ideas that was discussed was platform doors. Readers of this blog know how I feel about them, if you do not, click here to read my feelings on them. The speakers pitched the benefits of the platform doors in terms of saving on energy costs. This prompted me to send in a question about them (which was answered first in the webinar). My question focused on whether or not the benefits of installing these doors would outweigh the safety concerns that would come from their installation.

Let me first say I appreciate the fact my question was answered. I do find it interesting that they felt the installation of these doors would help the crowding situation at stops such as the examples I gave in my question (Grand Central, Times Square, Lexington Ave; E, V, N, R, W). One of the reasons stated on how they would help with crowding was their effective use in other locations with major crowding. This would not be an issue for NYC riders as they would in a sense adapt to the changes easily.

No disrespect intended but I think too much credit is being given to the riding public in terms of manners. When it comes to riding mass transit in the tri-state area, the lack of common sense is never ending. I don’t know how taking away what little space is there now would not lead to even more stupidity being displayed. I’m all for saving energy & money in the long run but at what cost in the level of safety?

Overall the webinar went off without a hitch & I recommend that everyone check it out when it is posted in their webcast archive. When it is, I will post a link to it. In the meantime, I suggest reading “The Interim Report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Sustainability and the MTA” by clicking here.

By the way I apologize if the wording of my question seemed off. I did not phrase it as good as I could have. One last thing, it was quite interesting to hear them mention needing the funding to achieve their goals. Hopefully some politicians were listening/watching!

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