MTA

Calls for a pied-à-terre tax have increased since billionaire Ken Griffin closed on a penthouse at 220 Central Park South for over $239 million. The sale shattered the existing record of the most expensive home sold in the US by $100 million but Griffin will only be using the residence as "a place to stay when he’s in town." City Council Members Mark Levine and Margaret Chin recently announced support for a bill that was first drafted by Sen. Brad Hoylman five years ago, which would place a yearly surcharge of 0.5% to 4% on secondary residences worth more than $5 million. In a statement released on Wednesday, State Budget Director Robert Mujica added his support, stating that a pied-à-terre tax could be combined with other revenue solutions to help fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $40 billion in capital needs.
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Corey Johnson proposes new city-controlled transit system called Big Apple Transit or ‘BAT’

Via City Council Speaker Corey Johnson

March 5, 2019

Corey Johnson proposes new city-controlled transit system called Big Apple Transit or ‘BAT’

In a self-proclaimed atypical State of the City address, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Tuesday laid out his vision for city control over New York City's mass transit system. Johnson said municipal control "means we decide how our system is run, we decide how we raise money, and we decide how we spend it." He added: "Municipal control means saying goodbye to the MTA." The new entity would be controlled by the mayor and called Big Apple Transit, or "BAT."
Is it goodbye MTA?

City will expand Fair Fares program to all eligible New Yorkers by 2020

Image via Flickr

March 5, 2019

City will expand Fair Fares program to all eligible New Yorkers by 2020

After facing criticism for the delayed and limited roll-out of Fair Fares, Mayor de Blasio and City Council Speaker Johnson have announced plans to expand the program. Starting this fall, eligible New Yorkers in NYCHA, enrolled students at CUNY, and military veterans below the poverty line will have access to the program, which provides half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. By January 2020, open enrollment will expand to all New Yorkers at or below the federal poverty line (a household income of $25,750 for a family of four). The program has also been criticized for its reversal on reduced fares for single trips, but Monday's announcement came with the good news that a pay-per-ride option will be available by mid-March.
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Does the subway ‘Pizza Principle’ still hold?

Image via Flickr

March 4, 2019

Does the subway ‘Pizza Principle’ still hold?

For decades some New Yorkers have believed that the price of subway fares and pizza slices are linked. Known as the “Pizza Principle,” the economic theory/urban legend tries to account for the fact that, for the past 40 or so years, the cost of a plain slice of pizza has pretty much tracked with the cost of a single ride fare. So far nobody has been able to provide a clear explanation of why that might be—or if there’s more to it than coincidence. The latest MTA board vote on fare increases may have severed the connection between subway and pizza before we could fully understand it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the “Pizza Principle” doesn't hold now that gourmet offerings have bumped the average cost of a slice to the $3-$3.50 range while the MTA is maintaining the base fare at $2.75.
More on New York's strangest economic theory

Some NYC subway newsstands will be replaced by vending machines

Via Jens Schott Knudsen on Flickr

March 4, 2019

Some NYC subway newsstands will be replaced by vending machines

The magazine-stuffed and candy-filled newsstands found across New York City's subway system may soon be a thing of the past. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it will replace some of the old-school booths with high-tech vending machines, the Daily News reported on Monday. The move comes as the cash-strapped MTA struggles to fill vacant newsstands, with 40 percent of 326 retail spots on the agency's property empty or closed.
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Transit

Cuomo and de Blasio endorse congestion pricing and reorganization of MTA in new 10-point plan

Via Flickr

February 26, 2019

Cuomo and de Blasio endorse congestion pricing and reorganization of MTA in new 10-point plan

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed congestion pricing and a proposal to reorganize the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in a joint 10-point plan released on Tuesday. The joint plan, which requires legislative approval, calls for tolls to be collected south of 61st Street in Manhattan, with the exception of FDR Drive. Cuomo said on Tuesday he hopes the package of transit proposals is included in the state budget, which lawmakers must pass by April 1. The tolls would not take effect until December 2020, if approved.
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Finalists announced in Transit Tech Lab accelerator program to help modernize NYC public transit

Image via Flickr

February 26, 2019

Finalists announced in Transit Tech Lab accelerator program to help modernize NYC public transit

As part of the much-needed effort to modernize New York City public transit, the MTA and the Partnership for New York City have announced six finalists for the inaugural Transit Tech Lab accelerator program. The eight-week program, which began this week, will give the six chosen companies an opportunity to try new technologies customized to solve for specific subway and bus priorities such as reducing cost and cutting down subway delays by employing predictive maintenance, deploying a transit network planning platform, using computer vision to untangle bus lane traffic and using sensors to address platform crowding.
More innovation this way

MTA touts subway improvements as more service disruptions lie in wait

Via Colin Mutchler on Flickr

February 25, 2019

MTA touts subway improvements as more service disruptions lie in wait

The subway has seen its best on-time performance and the fewest number of delays across the system in four years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Sunday. But while the stats reveal a promising start for the Subway Action Plan, launched by the agency and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2017, the gains come at a cost for straphangers with off-peak commutes. The rescue plan, as well as New York City Transit President Andy Byford's $40 billion plan to fix the subway, both which require new sources of funding, will require many subway lines to close on nights and weekends for years, as the New York Times reported.
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Transit

February 25, 2019

MTA announces public meetings to discuss revised L train repair plans

The MTA said in a press release that 100 percent of riders during high ridership hours will have full service under the revised approach to L train repairs. Also, added transit options such as more G, 7 and M service, new Williamsburg Link buses and free transfers will benefit evening and weekend riders. Starting in March, the MTA will be holding open houses with the community to discuss the plan.
Open house dates and more info this way

Delays, disruptions, and despair: Nearly every subway line to see service changes this week

This week's slate of planned subway service changes rivals the weekend's—and maybe even exceeds it. Service on parts of the B and D will continue to end early, 5 service between E 180 Street and Bowling Green will end at 8:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, and the L is only running every 24 minutes during the day. The A and C are the only lines without scheduled work, but unplanned signal issues are likely to shake things up there as well.
Know before you go

Transit

February 21, 2019

Pols suggest R train be split to save Brooklyn riders from Manhattan delays

A few Brooklyn elected officials asked the MTA to halt half of R subway service at Court Street, with Queens-Manhattan service covering the Whitehall and 71st Avenue stations on the other half, in the interest of streamlining the route and avoiding the traffic delays that plague the line, AM New York reports.
R they serious?

Transit

No weeknight service on parts of the B and D lines in the Bronx for three weeks

Photo via Flickr cc

February 19, 2019

No weeknight service on parts of the B and D lines in the Bronx for three weeks

By Dana Schulz

Bronx residents who ride the B and D lines, take note: beginning today and lasting for three weeks, maintenance, cleaning, and repair work will cause the MTA to close stations between 161st Street-Yankee Stadium and Norwood-205th Street from 9:30pm to 5am as part of their larger Subway Action Plan.
All the details

Transit

Plan for an all-day ‘busway’ on 14th Street will likely be scrapped as L train alternative

Via Oran Viriyincy on Flickr

February 13, 2019

Plan for an all-day ‘busway’ on 14th Street will likely be scrapped as L train alternative

With the L train shutdown called off last month after years of preparing for its impact on commuters, many New Yorkers were left wondering what would happen to the mitigation efforts planned for both Manhattan and Brooklyn. According to amNY, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority no longer sees the need for a busway on 14th Street, which was intended to limit car traffic during the L train shutdown. While the MTA said it intends to run buses as often as every three minutes on 14th Street when L train service is reduced this spring, critics say buses will move at a sluggish pace.
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Transit

Subway riders could save up to 9 days a year under the MTA’s Fast Forward plan

Photo via Dan Phiffer on Flickr

February 7, 2019

Subway riders could save up to 9 days a year under the MTA’s Fast Forward plan

Last May, 6sqft reported on the release of the MTA's ambitious 10-year "Fast Forward" plan to modernize New York City's transit system featuring a state-of-the-art signal system, more accessibility, a new fare payment system and thousands of new subway cars and buses. Perhaps the most ambitious part of the plan is that work previously estimated to take nearly 50 years would be completed within the next decade. But just how much would these marvelous changes improve our daily commute? Transit advocacy organization Transit Center breaks it down for a few of the city's more sluggish examples to show us how much time we might get back to do better stuff than sit on the subway.
More time to wait in line for coffee

NYC has fewer accessible subway stations than MTA claims, report says

Photo via Flickr

February 6, 2019

NYC has fewer accessible subway stations than MTA claims, report says

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority currently claims that 114 of its 427 stations—or 24 percent—are accessible. But a new study led by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s office shows otherwise. A team of staffers surveyed 42 of the stations that the MTA deems accessible, visiting each station on four separate days at different times of the day. Based on complaints and conversations with advocates, they assessed elevator accessibility, station signage, and features for vision-impaired riders. As Curbed first reported, their findings show that an already sub-par statistic is actually inflated.
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Image via Port Authority of NY & NJ

January 29, 2019

NYC tunnels finally have GPS service

By Ben Kharakh

The days of losing your GPS signal in the tunnel are over. The popular maps application Waze announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to deploy "Waze Beacons" in New York City. As of this morning, users of the Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and Brooklyn Battery tunnel will be able to enjoy this revolutionary technology.
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Transit

MTA is paying outside contractors $9.5M to deep clean subway cars and stations

Via MTA on Flickr

January 28, 2019

MTA is paying outside contractors $9.5M to deep clean subway cars and stations

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is paying outside contractors $9.5 million to clean 3,000 subway cars and 100 stations, the Daily News reported last week. While the transit agency currently employs thousands of station cleaners, the MTA is contracting the dirty job out because the cleaning, as an MTA spokesperson told the News, is a "level of work that our maintenance employees do not perform."
Details here

Transit

Overnight and weekend L train closures will last through March

Image via Flickr

January 28, 2019

Overnight and weekend L train closures will last through March

Beginning on Monday, the MTA is planning a series of overnight and weekend interruptions of L train service that will give commuters a glimpse at what's to come when Governor Cuomo's new one-track plan to fix the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel kicks in at the end of April. From January 28 and through March 18, L trains will not run between Broadway Junction and 8 Avenue weeknights from 10:45 p.m. to 5 a.m. In addition to the weeknight closures, there will be no L-train service on seven weekends in February and March: Feb. 1-4, Feb. 8–11, Feb. 15–19, Feb. 22–25, March 1–4, March 8–11, and March 15–18.
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Transit

Cuomo’s new L train plan will still bring headaches for commuters, as leaked memo shows

Image via Governor Cuomo’s Flickr

January 24, 2019

Cuomo’s new L train plan will still bring headaches for commuters, as leaked memo shows

With Governor Cuomo's plan to avoid a total L train shutdown for 15 months in favor of a "nights and weekends" approach confirmed earlier this month, questions still remain about just what the alternate plan will entail and how riders will be affected. According to an exclusive MTA memo draft obtained by Streetsblog and the New York Post this week, it looks like the new Canarsie Tunnel repair plan will bring its own set of headaches for straphangers, including 20-minute waits between trains on weekends and an exit-only system at First and Third Avenues on weekends.
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MTA board delays vote on proposed fare hike

Via Flickr

January 24, 2019

MTA board delays vote on proposed fare hike

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted on Thursday to table making a decision on a proposed fare hike until February. The board was set to vote on two proposals to raise NYC subway and bus, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North fares. But board member Peter Ward said he was worried about increasing fares without looking at alternative revenue options. "I'm concerned we're making a decision today when we need to be a little bit slower, a little more thoughtful, and consider a few more options," Ward, who was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said during the board meeting.
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Bronx icons radiate light in Rico Gatson’s murals at reopened 167th Street station

Beacons (2018) © Rico Gaston, NYCT 167th Street Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Audre Lorde portrait derived from a photo by Jack Mitchell

January 22, 2019

Bronx icons radiate light in Rico Gatson’s murals at reopened 167th Street station

A series of bright mosaic murals created by artist Rico Gatson was revealed last week at the 167th Street B, D station in the Bronx, which recently reopened after months of repair work. The artwork, "Beacons," features eight portraits of figures who have contributed to culture and society and who also have a special connection to the broader New York City community. Figures honored include Gil Scott-Heron, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Reggie Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor.
See the artwork

L train shutdown is really cancelled this time, MTA says

Via Wikimedia

January 18, 2019

L train shutdown is really cancelled this time, MTA says

"The total shutdown of both tunnels and all service scheduled for April 27 will not be necessary," reads a statement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released Thursday. The announcement comes just a few days after the MTA held an "emergency" meeting to present the agency's board with information about the new L train plan ahead of a vote on the project. But it appears the MTA will argue that the new plan, which would not require a total shutdown of subway service, does not need board approval to move forward after all.
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Five years ago, transit officials rejected L train plan similar to Cuomo’s over safety concerns

Via Flickr

January 15, 2019

Five years ago, transit officials rejected L train plan similar to Cuomo’s over safety concerns

Earlier this month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo shocked New Yorkers when he called off the 15-month shutdown of L-train service, part of the plan to fix the Canarsie Tunnel which had been in the works for years. Instead, the governor, along with an expert panel of engineers, presented a new, never-been-done-before plan that would require less construction in the century-old tunnel. But the New York Times reported on Tuesday that a similar plan was rejected by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority nearly five years ago over safety and feasibility concerns.
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Emergency MTA meeting on Cuomo’s L train plan set for Tuesday

Via Gov. Cuomo’s Flickr

January 14, 2019

Emergency MTA meeting on Cuomo’s L train plan set for Tuesday