Upper Green Side

Last night Manhattan Community Board 8 held its November Second Avenue Subway Task Force meeting in front of a packed house of concerned citizens clamoring for details on the much-maligned, yet much-needed subway line.

SAS Ancillary Building Material Samples

The majority of the night’s presentation revolved around construction updates from project team members and a discussion of the architectural finishes for the ventilation ancillary buildings. People in attendance were most interested in the design of the ancillary buildings and they’re anticipated impact on the neighborhood. Since the last subway line was completed nearly a half-century ago, safety and fire codes have been updated to require proper and safe ventilation of any newly constructed subway. Sidewalk grates, long a familiar sight of NYC’s street-scape, are no longer up to code. Large self-sustaining ventilation shafts and towers must now be built along new routes.

97th Street Ancillary Building

One important issue that was NOT discussed was whether or not the MTA is considering a plan to accommodate NYC DOT’s roll-out of Bus Rapit Transit, also known as Select Bus Service (SBS) along 2nd Avenue, scheduled to be in operation at some point next year. From the presentation’s slides concerning the utility relocation and gas-line work for the new stations, it seems that most of the Avenue will continue to be under some form of construction well into the next few years. Based on the information presented, its not hard to see how Select Bus Service on 2nd Avenue could possibly be delayed. For one much-needed project to delay another would be a shame.

SBS plan for 1st & 2nd Aves

The MTA must work together with NYC DOT to ensure that reliable and efficient SBS operations can be seemlessly introduced along the Second Avenue corridor without undue delay. East Side residents need innovative and improved transit options sooner, rather than later.