Making the Case for the East Harlem Phase 2 Subway Extension

Benjamin Kabak 

Construction continues on Second Avenue subway tunnels, Summer 2012. Photo by The New York Times Magazine. 

Amidst the dirt and debris of Second Avenue, the explosions and disruptions to business and everyday life, the Upper East Side is undergoing a seismic change. With endless subway construction stretching back into the past and onward into a future that seems so far away, it’s hard to appreciate what a new subway line—or even just four stops of a new route—will mean for the city, but from Fifth Avenue to East End, change is going to come. 

The story so far is one of missed opportunities and endless waits. Few New Yorkers around today remember the IRT Second Avenue line, an elevated train route that met its demise in 1940. Amidst promises of a Second Avenue subway, the city tore down the structure only to be stymied in its planning. World wars, economic slowdowns, city-wide declines and Depressions, and a general lack of enthusiasm for transit projects pushed the Second Avenue subway further into the future. When enough federal funding finally materialized to get even a part of the project off the ground, the city received only a part of the full line it deserves. 

Currently, the MTA is working on Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway, and Phase 2 north to 125th St. should be next. The current phase is the world’s most expensive subway project, a four-stop extension of the Q train north out of 57th St. and Broadway to an unused portion of 63rd St. and Lexington and then up Second Avenue. for three stations to 96th St. At the cost of a cool $4.5 billion and a timeline, charitably, of about nine years from groundbreaking to revenue date, the Upper East Side will finally have its second subway line after an eight-decade wait. 

In an ideal world, as Phase 1 progresses, the MTA would be laying the groundwork for subsequent phases. It would be, in fact, another missed opportunity to stop here. Phase 2 of this four-phase project – the northern extension from 96th to 125th and Lexington – is next, and with much of the tunneling completed, the work should be easier to see through to a functioning subway line. Originally, the four sections were expected to cost around $4 billion each, but the entire line built at once wouldn’t have cost much less. Under today’s political and economic scene, four installments of $4 billion spread out over years or decades is likely easier to find than one lump sum of $16 billion. 

So as Phase 1 inches its way toward the finish line, now just four years away, what comes next? It’s a question most Second Avenue residents and business owners would rather not ponder. Those north of the current construction zone have seen their neighbors to the south suffer and likely aren’t looking forward to a similar fate. To ease congestion on the streets and overcrowding underground, though, the city needs to keep moving forward with the subway. So what comes next? 

A few months ago, MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu spoke to a group of transit activists and reporters prior to a tour of the 7 Line Extension, another MTA megaproject currently changing the face of the Far West Side. During his remarks, Horodniceanu mentioned the future of the Second Avenue Subway. For many years, MTA officials refused to speak much about Phases 2-4 of the project. They were focused on securing full funding guarantees for the remainder of Phase 1 and ensuring that this segment would survive to see the light of day after too many false starts. After three failed attempts at building the line, after all, and with billions of dollars in federal money on the line, the MTA couldn’t afford to let this opportunity pass. 

In late 2012, we can comfortably say that Phase 1 will open. The MTA has received too many federal dollars that are contingent upon finishing this project to turn back now. The future though is hazy as the MTA seems focused on maintaining and upgrading signal and track infrastructure in the next five-year plan and the federal government’s spending outlook may depend heavily upon the looming election and subsequent midterms. Yet, as Horodniceanu explained, the irony is that with some extra money now, the MTA could have built SAS up to 115th St.

Since preexisting tunnels connect from 99th St. to 105th and from 110th to119th, the MTA, said Horodniceanu “could now build stations at 105th St. and 115th St.” The cost would be a cool $750 million - $1 billion per station, but the only obstacle is the money. The environmental impact statements are completed, and the tunnels themselves are in place. In fact, some of the preexisting tunnel north of the future 96th St. station built in the 1970s will be used as tail tracks for the Second Avenue Subway line that will open in 2016.

Courtesy of Second Avenue Sagas

Unfortunately, the MTA isn’t going to build those stations any time soon. In fact, future phases of the subway line may never materialize. Earlier this year, Horodniceanu estimated that the remaining three phases may push the project’s total cost to $23-$24 billion. Seven years ago, the four phases combined were expected to cost a total of $16 billion. By the time the authority puts their shovels or tunnel boring machines into the ground, I’m sure that estimated total will increase to even higher levels. The costs of infrastructure projects in American aren’t decreasing any time soon. 

Essentially, the original decision to split the Second Avenue Subway project into four phases seemingly doomed it from the start. The origins of that decision these days have always been a bit murky. Some have said it came about due to pressure from Sheldon Silver and the realities of funding. The MTA didn’t think it could secure the dollars needed at the start to complete the subway line and tried to break the project into more palatable pieces. 

A New York Times story from 1999 tells a slightly different story: “Transit officials said they had limited the plan for new construction to upper Manhattan because of the engineering difficulties and expense of extending a new line under the more congested parts of midtown.” In this telling, it almost seems as those Phases 3 and 4 were simply for show. Phases 1 and 2 were easier and cheaper, but the charade of Phases 3 and 4 could keep hope alive. The truth is probably somewhere in between. 

Today, New York City must live with the impact of this decision. The Upper East Side will soon have Phase 1, and Phase 2 should see the light of day. It requires some blasting around station caverns and some tunneling near the ends. It provides a bellmouth – extra trackage and tunnels that make future expansion easier – pointed toward the Bronx and another aiming at the West Side and the 125th St. Fairway. It would connect with Metro-North and Lexington Avenue Line. It’s likely to be expensive but certainly necessary. It could also be years as no one at the MTA now is talking about it as a reality despite the foundation already in place. 

The future then is anyone’s guess. Upper East Siders should clamor for Phase 2. Now is the time to act, and using preexisting tunnels, it is seemingly the easiest to build. Phases 3 and 4 through Midtown and Lower Manhattan present their own challenges, but the MTA made this multi-phase bed 13 years ago. Today, as construction slogs forward and costs climb, New York must live with it even as part of the Second Avenue subway line finally moves from city lore to reality. 

Guest columnist Benjamin Kabak is the creator and writer of the blog Second Avenue Sagas: www.secondavenuesagas.com. 

To read the complete fall 2012 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/

East River Esplanade Exhibition and Initiative Move Forward

Hunter F. Armstrong 

Reimagining the Waterfront competition winners, including (from left) Joseph Wood, Darina Zlateva, Takuma Ono and Nestor Lebron Gonzalez, at the Museum of the City of New York on June 5, 2012. Photo by Karli Cadel. 

In June, CIVITAS opened the Reimagining the Waterfront exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, and is taking steps toward developing a vision for improving the East River Esplanade between 60th and 125th Street. Over spring, summer and fall of 2012, CIVITAS organized community visioning discussions, published a full-color exhibition booklet and developed proposals for improving the waterfront. 

As CIVITAS has pointed out many times, great things are happening in waterfront parks across New York. In order for the Upper East Side and East Harlem esplanade to provide recreational and environmental experiences comparable to Hudson River Park or Brooklyn Bridge Park, a comprehensive planning process and political and community support are critical. CIVITAS is actively working towards that end. 

More than 200 individuals attended the opening reception for the exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York. Speeches were given by NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin, Brice Peyre representing Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Sarah Henry, the museum’s deputy director, and CIVITAS president Felipe Ventegeat. 

In her comments, Ms. Henry pointed out the appropriate correlation between the CIVITAS exhibition and the museum’s Activist New York exhibition which focuses on grassroots advocacy. Councilmember Lappin, Congresswoman Maloney and Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito sponsored the waterfront initiative with CIVITAS. 

Also attending the opening reception were many CIVITAS and waterfront supporters. Among the many guests were six of the eight winning teams including designers who traveled from as far as Spain, British Columbia and Puerto Rico and as close as Brooklyn and Chelsea. The top eight were selected from the more than 90 design teams that entered the juried competition. 

CIVITAS Chairman Genie Rice noted: “Having 90 responses from over 20 different countries illustrates that the world is flat, a concept described by Tom Friedman about how interconnected we are worldwide. The design team from Spain described how their submission was in part inspired by their children’s Legos.” 

The exhibition was curated by Andrea Renner and includes design panels and descriptive text from the top three prize winners and five honorable mentions selected by the competition jury. (An overview of the exhibition and NYC waterfront is in Andrea’s piece on page 8.) In addition, the exhibition includes a monitor with a rotating display of the 80 additional designs that were not selected as finalists but have intriguing and relevant ideas for an improved East River Esplanade waterfront. Further, there are comment cards available for exhibition visitors to provide feedback on their favorite designs and suggestions for an improved park. 

Other wonderful features of the exhibition are historical photos of the East River waterfront from the Museum’s collection. They include such varied selections as a 19th-century rural landscape of Gracie Mansion, and later photographs of the commercial and industrial development along the Yorkville and East Harlem waterfronts. Mid-twentieth century images document the demolition of the shipping piers and warehouses, and the construction of the FDR Drive, Carl Shurz Park and current Esplanade. In this writer’s opinion, the exhibition does an effective job of showing the historic evolution of the East River waterfront from rural and agricultural to commercial and industrial and finally to the barrier to waterfront access created by the construction of the FDR Drive. The visionary ideas from the competition show the enhanced recreational, cultural and ecological purpose the Esplanade could serve in the future. 

The Museum also published in September a full color catalog of the exhibition. Funded by CIVITAS, the catalog allows the community to consider the exhibition well into the future and extends the lifespan of the exhibition into the many years it may take to develop the park. In addition to designs by competition winners and historical photos of the waterfront, the catalog features quotes from notable park builders including August Heckscher, CIVITAS founder; Adrian Benepe, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Robert Hammond, Phillip Lopate, Regina Myer and Betsy Barlow Rogers. 

Using the competition and exhibition as a conversation piece and touchstone, CIVITAS stayed busy with public programming and visioning workshops through summer and fall. In June, jurors from the competition participated in a panel discussion at the Museum to discuss their decision-making process in deciding the winners and to offer advice for CIVITAS in moving forward. The panel was moderated by Erik Engquist, an editor at Crain’s New York Business. 

Notable quotes from the panel included this from architect Rob Rogers: “The winning scheme showed incredible ambition in the waterfront. It’s not just about the water, but in fact it’s about the entire city… I think one of the things about an ideas competition is you really want something that not only pushes the project forward, but raises the bar as high as possible.” He went on to say that “of course, in the end, this is New York, and I think this scheme did the most for real estate value in terms of the riverfront…And one of the challenges perpetually in trying to deal with the design and public projects and public ground in New York is that this town runs on real estate, and this one brilliantly included an economic impact aspect.” 

Al Butzel, an environmental lawyer and former Friends of Hudson River Park president, gave this perspective of how New Yorkers view our waterways: “I think the idea that we are a city of water means a lot. To be able to look out at the water which you couldn’t do 30 or 40 years ago. But it also means a lot to connect with the water, to be able to get into boats to get out in the water, to fish, or just to touch the water.” 

Further, CIVITAS staff and volunteers actively engaged key players in discussing future plans for the waterfront and plans for moving forward. Summer intern Lauren Begen developed preliminary design proposals and concepts for improved access and use at the East 96th Street access point. A graduate architecture student at the University of Virginia and former Upper East Side resident, Lauren worked with volunteers who actively use the waterfront at that location. Among the organizations that participated was East River C.R.E.W., which organizes summertime rowboat launches for the community, and is actively working to repurpose the open area and unused space underneath the elevated FDR Drive at East 96th Street. 

On September 29, CIVITAS organized a community visioning workshop at the Museum. Attended by park activists and users, participants focused on key locations along the waterfront, which included the 107th Street pier, access points between 64th and 125th Street and the design challenge of the FDR Drive’s heavy traffic, pollution and noise. The morning session opened with remarks by Councilmembers Lappin and Mark-Viverito and Senator Liz Krueger. Parks Department Planning Director Nick Molinari gave an overview of inspiring waterfront parks that have been constructed across New York City, and Jonathan Martin, a Pratt professor and consultant with BFJ Planning, presented examples of world-class waterfronts across the globe, including Stockholm, Barcelona, Auckland and others. In a sobering and moving testimonial, Jaysen Smith spoke about his son’s drowning in East Harlem in May and how the design of the Esplanade—with its high fence and concrete bulkhead edge—made it impossible for the boy to rescue himself. 

After the speakers, the workshop participants set to work in breakout groups focusing on key locations between 60th and 125th Street. The groups were facilitated by volunteer designers and planners from Grimshaw, Dattner Architects and the Pratt graduate planning program. The design materials created by workshop participants are viewable online and are being drafted as a companion piece and explanation of the planning process. 

In order to translate this ambitious project into an improved Esplanade, funding for a comprehensive planning process is needed. CIVITAS is continuing to organize design workshops for the community and other meetings for stakeholders to discuss the waterfront’s future. We are also continuing to publicize the issue of improving the Esplanade, as well as bringing attention to current concerns and future visions to community organizations and institutions that line the East River. CIVITAS is working diligently toward this end, and we need your support to put this in motion. 

To read the complete fall 2012 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/

Support CIVITAS in 2012

As CIVITAS’s 31st year of serving our community comes to a close, we need your support to continue our work to improve quality of life on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem.  Please consider making a year-end gift.

An update on some of our 2012 accomplishments is below and in our recently published newsletter.

A Call for a World-Class East River Esplanade Park:  CIVITAS sponsored an exhibition of the winning designs from the _Reimagining the Waterfront Design Ideas Competition for East 60th to East 125th Streets_ at the Museum of the City of New York from June through October. Throughout the year, CIVITAS also organized community visioning discussions, published a full-color exhibition booklet and developed proposals for improving the waterfront. Superstorm Sandy served as a reminder that the Upper East Side and East Harlem must develop a comprehensive plan to prepare for the future of our community's waterfront. The issues of rising sea levels and climate resilience were explored conceptually in the competition and exhibition. CIVITAS plans to continue community outreach for a better park in 2013.

Working to Improve Air Quality: CIVITAS sponsored a series of air quality and heating oil community workshops. Attendees were given an overview of the harmful effects on air quality of No. 6 heating oil. The East Side has the worst air quality in New York, and much of that pollution comes from the heating oil burned in neighborhood buildings.  Stay tuned for additional meetings in 2013.

Up-to-Date and Contextual Zoning In East Harlem: CIVITAS and Community Board 11 partners are pursuing an initiative to plan for East Harlem's future and bring modernized, appropriate zoning to the neighborhood. CIVITAS and CB11 met with hundreds of East Harlem neighbors to discuss the needs of the Madison, Park and Lexington Avenue corridors. Additional public meetings and outreach are scheduled for 2013.

Reducing Sidewalk Clutter: CIVITAS has called for improved enforcement measures for the frequently vandalized and often empty newsrack boxes that litter so many sidewalks in New York. Volunteers located more than 150 newsrack box violations between 59th Street and 96th Streets, York and Fifth Avenue. CIVITAS will continue to push for a NYC Council oversight hearing on maintenance and better legislation in 2013.

Thriving Street Trees: CIVITAS sponsored tree stewardship workshops to educate community members on topics including mulching, weeding, and cleaning up tree bed soil.

We hope you’ll send support for these important initiatives and our other work. To donate via credit card, visit www.bit.ly/SupportCIVITAS or call (212) 996-0745.  Or mail a check to CIVITAS, 1457 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10128.

Thank you and happy holidays.

Regards,

Hunter F. Armstrong
Executive Director

November 17 at La Marqueta, East Harlem: Textile Recycling and Thanksgiving Produce Sale

Update on East Harlem Rezoning & Upcoming Meetings

East Harlem Rezoning Meeting

On October 22, CIVITAS, Community Board 11 and land use consultants Insight Associates and George M. Janes & Associates presented an update on the initiative to bring new zoning to Madison, Park and Lexington Avenues between 115th and 132nd Streets. More than 80 individuals attended the meeting at The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College.

The presentation included potential land use and zoning scenarios and demonstrated how zoning can be used to create opportunities for affordable housing, to promote economic development, and to regulate appropriate building sizes and heights in the neighborhood. As part of the meeting, there was a question and answer session as well as a chance for community members to indicate their preferences and discuss their vision for the future of East Harlem. The October 22 meeting was the most recent of many public presentations and roundtable discussions that CIVITAS and Community Board 11’s Zoning Task Force have been organized.

Stay tuned for updates and learn more about the East Harlem rezoning by visiting the CIVITAS and Community Board 11 websites.

Read the Latest News

This week's news reports of the October 22 meeting are in: DNAInfo: "East Harlem Plans for Future With Rezoning Proposals" and The Daily News:"New zoning eyed for East Harlem’s desolate 17-block gasoline alley"

Upcoming Meetings

Upcoming Community Board 11 meetings on the rezoning will be:

November 19, 2012, 7:00 pm - City Properties & Land Use Committee, 7 East 116th Street

December 10, 2012, 6:00 pm - City Properties & Land Use Committee, 7 East 116th Street

January 14, 2013, 6:00 pm - City Properties & Land Use Committee, 7 East 116th Street

January 22, 2013, 6:30 pm - Full Board meeting, location to be determined

East Harlem Rezoning Meeting 10/22

What do you want the future of East Harlem to look like?

Join CIVITAS, Community Board 11 and land use consultants Insight Associates andGeorge M. Janes & Associates for a presentation and discussion of proposed land use and zoning scenarios in East Harlem. There will be updates from the July 9 community meeting.

Monday, October 22 at 6:30 pm 
2180 Third Avenue at 119th Street 
The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, Second Floor Auditorium

CIVITAS and Community Board 11’s Zoning Task Force have been working together to plan for the future of the neighborhood and take advantage of new zoning policies. Learn how zoning can be used to create affordable housing, promote economic development, particularly on vacant lots, and control appropriate building sizes and heights for the area under consideration: Madison to Lexington Avenues and 115th to 132nd Streets, excluding the 125th Street corridor.

Please RSVP by responding to this email or calling (212) 996-0745.

For more information, please visit www.civitasnyc.org and www.cb11m.org

Do you want to learn more about zoning in East Harlem?

Watch this video with planner Richard Bass.

East Harlem Walking Tour from Civitas Citizen on Vimeo.

Update on the 9/29 Visioning Workshop for the Esplanade and Upcoming Events

Update on East River Esplanade Visioning Workshop

CIVITAS hosted a Visioning Workshop for the East River Esplanade (60th - 125th St.) on Saturday, September 29.

Speakers included: NYS Senator Liz Krueger, NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin, NYC Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Nick Molinari, Director of Planning, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and Jonathan Martin, BFJ Planning

Community members shared their visions for a reimagined Esplanade with each other in breakout groups led by BFJ Planning, land use consultants, and many volunteer designers. The theme of the discussion was how the Esplanade is used and what participants would like to improve. Participants chose which area of the Esplanade they wanted to focus on and were able to draw ideas on large maps of the Esplanade. Each group shared their ideas for a reimagined East River waterfront with all other participants. Stay tuned for next steps.

If you were unable to join us Saturday, share your visions, ideas or general comments online by clicking here.

Reimagining the Waterfront is a CIVITAS-sponsored initiative to improve the East River Esplanade between East 60th and 125th Streets. The Museum of the City of New York exhibition is open through October 28 and features the eight winning proposals from the 2011 design-ideas competition as well as historic images of the East River Esplanade and photographs of the site today.

All design submissions are linked here.

To make a donation to this project, please click here.

October 4 Gallery Tour:  Reimagining the Waterfront Exhibition 

Gallery Tour at the Museum of the City of New York with CIVITAS Executive Director Hunter Armstrong on October 4th at 3 p.m.

The tour is free with Museum admission. 
For more information, please call the MCNY at 917-492-3395 or click here.

Other Community Events

Immensity + Intimacy: Brooklyn Bridge Park 
The Van Alen Institute is hosting the first of its River City exhibition series, titled Immensity + Intimacy: Brooklyn Bridge Park, which explores the reborn landscape on New York City’s East River as a prototype for reimagining the urban waterfront. 
The exhibition is open until October 19th and includes a series of related public programs related to the future of the urban shore.

 For more information visit: www.rivercity.vanalen.org 

Volunteers Needed for It's My Park Day 
Saturday, October 20th 
Where: The East River Esplanade and 96th Street 
Time: 10 am - 2 pm 
What: Plant daffodils and snowdrops and paint railings. There will also be boat rides and snacks.

For more information, email uppergreenside@gmail.com or visitthisweekatthemarket.wordpress.com 
Sponsored by: Partnerships for Parks, a joint program of City Parks Foundaton and NYC Parks. 
To learn more about all of the projects happening citywide, visit www.itsmypark.org or call 311.