Nyc Subway

6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Matt Weber shares his "Urban Romance" series. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. A born-and-bred Upper West Sider, photographer Matt Weber has been watching New York all his life, taking pictures of everything he can. Over the years, he accumulated many photos of love, or at least, public displays of affection. Though people are constantly kissing all over the world, there's something especially gutsy, memorable, and nonchalantly confident in a subway kiss. For many, a quick peck or a full-on makeout session is among the least desirable things when you're being crushed like a sardine, underground, in a moving metal tube. Yet, New Yorkers do it constantly – a documented fact. Just in time for the most romantic day of the year, we had a chance to talk with Matt Weber about his photography, his "Urban Romance" series, and how New York has changed since he started capturing it.
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Places

As New York struggles with basic maintenance, global cities build cheaper, better infrastructure

Construction workers giving a tour of the Second Avenue subway; photo via the MTA on Flickr

February 6, 2018

As New York struggles with basic maintenance, global cities build cheaper, better infrastructure

The exorbitant construction costs of building transit projects, coupled with project delays, could make the New York region lose jobs and businesses to other global cities that are completing transit projects in a more timely, and economical, fashion. A report released on Tuesday from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) says high-costs and delays are ingrained in every part of the public-project delivery, including too-long environmental reviews, inaccurate project budgets and timelines and a lack of communication with labor unions. In their report, the RPA analyzed three projects and their costs and delivery issues: the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access and the extension of the 7-train.
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To fund MTA projects, Cuomo calls for a tax increase on properties near the subway

Second Avenue Subway station, courtesy of Governor Cuomo’s Flickr

January 29, 2018

To fund MTA projects, Cuomo calls for a tax increase on properties near the subway

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed FY 2019 budget, released earlier this month, calls on New York City to increase its funding to the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority, forcing the city to pay half of the authority's $836 million emergency action plan. Another provision in the governor's proposal allows the MTA to create special "transit improvement" districts and impose higher taxes on property owners in these areas in order to raise money for subway repairs and projects. According to the New York Times, the governor's plan, known as "value capture," would apply to future projects that would cost over $100 million. Like most issues involving both state and city cooperation, this proposal has continued the rift over MTA funding between the governor and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has already expressed disapproval of the plan.
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MTA plans wonky routes for D and 4 trains, and more weekend service updates

Photo by Giuseppe Milo / Flickr

January 26, 2018

MTA plans wonky routes for D and 4 trains, and more weekend service updates

Photo by Giuseppe Milo / Flickr This weekend, 1, G, Q, and L riders are in luck: trains will operate as usual (so, expect issues, but no scheduled ones). All other straphangers, especially those on the D and 4 trains: brace for service changes. Prepare both mind and schedules by debriefing with the below:
Subway foresight makes for a better weekend

Transit

MTA funding dispute postpones $200M of Cuomo’s subway stations renovations

R211 subway car prototype © MTA/Flickr

January 25, 2018

MTA funding dispute postpones $200M of Cuomo’s subway stations renovations

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday delayed a vote on construction contracts to renovate two stations in the Bronx and six in Manhattan after MTA members, appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, objected. The contracts fall under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $1 billion plan to outfit 33 subway stations with countdown clocks, LED lighting, USB ports and other amenities. The board's city representatives questioned why so much money was being put towards unnecessary, cosmetic improvements at stations that are in decent condition already, instead of funding signal and track repairs. As the New York Times reported, the decision to postpone the vote has ramped up the public dispute between de Blasio and Cuomo over MTA funding.
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MTA will spend $4 billion to buy 1,600+ new subway cars

R211 subway car prototype © MTA/Flickr

January 22, 2018

MTA will spend $4 billion to buy 1,600+ new subway cars

Following a very rough year for the city's subway system, the MTA announced it'll spend close to $4 billion to buy over a thousand new train cars to modernize the aging fleet. The New York Times calls it "a major investment meant to help remedy the delays and breakdowns that plague the system." The MTA has set up a three-phase contract with the Japanese company Kawasaki in which the first new cars should be delivered July 2020. Known as the R211, the cars will have brighter lighting, 58-inch-wide doors, rather than the current 50 inches, and eight digital screens displaying information and advertisements. An initial batch of 20 trains will feature the open-gangway cars, pictured above and on display to New Yorkers late last year.
The cars will also perform

Transit

Cuomo’s proposed MTA budget requires more funding from New York City

Photo of Cuomo via the governor’s Flickr

January 17, 2018

Cuomo’s proposed MTA budget requires more funding from New York City

Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled on Tuesday his proposed $168 billion FY 2019 executive budget, aimed mostly at raising revenue and protecting New York taxpayers from future federal cuts with a possible restructuring of the state's tax code. “Washington hit a button and launched an economic missile and it says ‘New York’ on it, and it’s headed our way,” Cuomo said. “You know what my recommendation is? Get out of the way.” While the governor's budget clearly targets President Trump and his administration, it appears to impose more financial responsibility on Mayor Bill de Blasio as well, according to Politico New York. The budget includes three provisions that require the city to increase their funding of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, including making City Hall pay half of the authority's $836 million emergency action plan. So far, de Blasio has refused to provide any additional funds to the MTA.
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Could legalizing marijuana be the state’s solution to fixing the NYC subway?

Photo via Dan Phiffer’s Flickr

January 16, 2018

Could legalizing marijuana be the state’s solution to fixing the NYC subway?

Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to present the state legislature this week with ways to fund the financially troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority. On Tuesday, he released his $168 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year 2019, which includes a proposal for charging vehicles for driving in the busiest areas of Manhattan during peak hours, with the money raised going to mass transit. According to the Daily News, a Republican gubernatorial candidate has a different idea. Joel Giambra, a former Erie County executive who announced his bid for governor last week, said he wants to legalize marijuana to fund the city's desperately-needed transit repairs.
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Service changes to hit subways nearly as hard as a bomb cyclone this weekend

Photo by Vladimir Badikov via Flickr

January 5, 2018

Service changes to hit subways nearly as hard as a bomb cyclone this weekend

The bomb cyclone may have officially passed, but the MTA is still struggling to get back on track following the relative havoc the storm wreaked on the frail subway signal system. Friday's overcrowded and delayed morning commute is unfortunately set to be followed by a weekend's worth of service changes, but hey, at least the LaGuardia Link is free again.
Bombs away

Transit

Cuomo asks MTA to study possible subway extension from Manhattan to Red Hook

Red Hook waterfront, photo via Sunghwan Yoon on Flickr

January 3, 2018

Cuomo asks MTA to study possible subway extension from Manhattan to Red Hook

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday to study a possible extension of subway service from Lower Manhattan to a new station in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook. In addition to expanding transit options, the governor is also asking the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to consolidate maritime operations by relocating them to Sunset Park, as a way to free up space for community activities. The revitalization of Red Hook is Cuomo's 21st proposal expected to be delivered in his 2018 State of the State address on Wednesday.
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Why do transit projects in NYC cost more than anywhere else in the world?

Construction workers giving a tour of the Second Avenue subway in 2015, photo via the MTA on Flickr

December 29, 2017

Why do transit projects in NYC cost more than anywhere else in the world?

Even as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has cut costs on basic maintenance, they have allowed trade unions, construction companies and consulting firms to negotiate exorbitant deals on transit projects, with little intervention from officials. According to an investigation by the New York Times, labor unions have secured deals requiring construction sites be staffed as many as four times more workers than anywhere else in the world. Construction companies have increased their projected costs by up to 50 percent when bidding for work from the MTA and consulting firms have convinced the authority to spend an excessive amount on design and management. Caught up in the bureaucracy of the industry, neither public officials nor the authority have attempted to contain the spending.
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December 29, 2017

December 29, 1947 was the subway’s most crowded day ever

By Michelle Cohen

After battling the mad crush of pre-holiday shoppers on city sidewalks, frenzied honking and general rudeness on streets and highways and endless airport queues, it's a little scary to think the worst might be still to come in the normally quiet days between Christmas and New Year's Eve–and on the subway, no less. The New York City subway system racks up 1.8 billion rides a year. The average ridership tally in 2015 was 5.7 million people daily; that number is the highest it's been since 1948. The New York Times tells us, though, that the actual record-setting day for subway rides was December 29, 1947, when a staggering 8,533,468 riders were counted. So, what drove so many into the subway's multitudinous depths?
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Subway, LIRR, and Metro-North all to have extended service this New Year’s weekend

Photo by Anthony Quintano/Flickr

December 29, 2017

Subway, LIRR, and Metro-North all to have extended service this New Year’s weekend

The year comes to an end on Sunday, and to keep up with the masses eager to celebrate in New York, the MTA has announced additional trains across its transit operations. Read on for the extent of added service this weekend, as well as changes related to the Times Square festivities.
All that right here

Transit

Photo via Pixabay

December 21, 2017

MTA testing technology to fix 100-year-old signals, let riders use cell phones in tunnels

While removing subway seats and employing customer service ambassadors in stations will slightly improve the commuting experience, these upgrades probably won't make the trains arrive at their destinations any faster. One of the biggest problems causing subway delays continues to be the 100-year-old infrastructure still used. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is finally addressing the failing, antiquated signals by testing technology known as Ultra-Wideband radio. As the Daily News reported, the MTA hopes the technology will more accurately locate trains, permitting them to run closer together.
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Transit

Artist uses the classic Vignelli design to reimagine the NYC subway map in concentric circles

Map via Max Roberts

December 21, 2017

Artist uses the classic Vignelli design to reimagine the NYC subway map in concentric circles

Map via Max Roberts The classic NYC subway map is instantly recognizable--but what if you were to turn the design on its head? That was the thinking behind mapmaker and subway enthusiast Max Roberts, who wanted to visualize the city’s cohesiveness in a map that focused on aesthetics, rather than the angles and geographic accuracy New Yorkers are more familiar with. According to Untapped Cities, this isn't the first time Roberts has experimented with a concentric design. A few years back, he released a map that re-imagined the tradition map in concentric circles. This latest version uses Massimo Vignelli's design, a distinctive map released in the 1970s in which each subway route is represented.
Check it out

Transit

MTA running longer C-trains to accommodate more commuters

Photo of a C-train via Wikimedia

December 19, 2017

MTA running longer C-trains to accommodate more commuters

It just became slightly easier to squeeze onto a C-train. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Saturday added 40 longer cars to the line to accommodate more riders. As part of its emergency action plan, the MTA replaced some of its 60-foot long R32 models, which first debuted in the system in 1964, with 75-foot long R46 cars. The longer cars increase commuter capacity by 25 percent per train set and are expected to also help absorb crowds during the 2019 L train shutdown.
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Transit

Republican tax bill cuts critical funding for the MTA, report says

Photo via Wikimedia

December 18, 2017

Republican tax bill cuts critical funding for the MTA, report says

If Congress passes the GOP-backed tax reform bill this week, the already-beleaguered Metropolitan Transportation Authority will find itself in even more financial trouble, says a joint study released by transit advocacy groups Riders Alliance and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign on Sunday. The legislation adds $1.46 trillion in debt by providing the wealthiest Americans and corporations with tax cuts. As amNY reported, the tax plan would jeopardize the financing of major projects from the MTA like expanding the Second Avenue subway and even everyday operations. The MTA relies on federal funds to pay for about 23 percent of capital needs.
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December 18, 2017

Next president of New York City Transit says subway lines may be shuttered for repairs

This November, the MTA announced it had hired Andy Byford as the next president of New York City Transit, the MTA agency responsible for subways, buses, para-transit services, and the Staten Island Railway. And already he's suggested that the city's struggling transit system requires aggressive steps to improve. According to the New York Times, he is weighing the option of shutting down lines for long periods of work with the goal of modernizing the system in years, rather than decades.
It may be a controversial choice

Transit

December 14, 2017

For $300, own a used subway trash can from the MTA

Every month the MTA sells outgoing buses and subway cars, station signs, doors, seating and other fixtures from retired subways to lucky buyers who for some reason want to bring the underground experience into their homes. This holiday season, the MTA and the New York City Transit are offering discounted prices of memorabilia and collectibles until Dec. 18, making it easy to check off all holiday shopping lists. Brand new items up for grabs include a used "authentic, unique" refuse canister (read: trash can) for $300 and an "iconic" 10-foot-long wooden subway bench for a staggering $650.
Check out the full list of MTA memorbilia

Transit

MTA releases plan to address impending 15-month shutdown of L train

Photo of the L-train via Wiki Commons

December 13, 2017

MTA releases plan to address impending 15-month shutdown of L train

The MTA unveiled on Wednesday its much-anticipated plan for the 15-month shutdown of the L train, set to begin in April of 2019. Hurricane Sandy heavily damaged the 100-year-old Carnarsie Tunnel in 2012, filling it with 7 million gallons of saltwater and forcing a total reconstruction of the tunnel. The 225,000 daily L train riders that travel from Brooklyn through the tunnel to Manhattan will be given alternative travel options, as amNY reported. The MTA's plan calls for a new bus route that would run between Brooklyn and Manhattan, a busway on 14th Street in Manhattan with a two-way bike lane on 13th Street and increase subway service on nearby lines.
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December 13, 2017

This map of NYC’s subway distorts geography to give commuters more realistic arrival times

While the standard map of New York City's subway from the MTA might be easier to read, it distorts the geographic distance between stops making it tough to really know how far apart they are from one another. Many designers and architects have taken a stab at creating more accurate maps to ease the struggle of subway straphangers. And now designer Nate Parrott has released his own interactive subway map that shows how many minutes it takes between point A and point B, as Co.Design reported. Click on a station and the whole map changes to show the travel time to reach every stop.
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Transit

MTA to close East River tunnel to speed repairs

Image ©6sqft

December 13, 2017

MTA to close East River tunnel to speed repairs

By Michelle Cohen

As part of an effort to speed up its emergency repair plan, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced plans to close the E and M line tunnels under East River between Manhattan and Queens for five days at the end of this month, the New York Times reports. The shutdown will start early on December 26 and end early on Dec. 31, taking advantage of a rare lull: Almost a million fewer people use the subway during that time than other weeks of the year— five million compared with 5.9 million according to MTA data.
Find out the timing is right for a shutdown

November 30, 2017

See inside the MTA’s proposed open gangway subway cars

All photos © 6sqft The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled its newest class of subway cars during an open house at the Hudson Yards station on Thursday, allowing the public to tour the sleek trains and provide feedback to officials. In order to reduce delays and speed up boarding time, the new R211 cars feature 58-inch door spans, eight inches wider than doors on existing cars. As part of a pilot program, some of the initial cars will be equipped with open gangways, which are accordion-like walls located at the ends of cars. This technology aims to let straphangers move freely between cars and reduce overcrowding. While some of the city's buses already have the open gangway, it remains unclear whether subway straphangers will enjoy this sometimes-wobbly section of the car.
Check out the prototype here

Transit

MTA hires Toronto’s Andy Byford to fix growing subway woes

Photo via Wikipedia

November 22, 2017

MTA hires Toronto’s Andy Byford to fix growing subway woes