The Bloomberg administration is working on a plan to extend the No. 7 subway line from 34th Street and 11th Avenue to Secaucus, New Jersey, according to a front-page article in today's edition of The New York Times by Charles V. Bagli and Nicholas Confessore.
The line is currently being extended from 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue to 34th Street and 11th Avenue and digging the tunnel for that extension was completed in July, the article said.
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey recently killed a plan for a new commuter rail tunnel to a site in Manhattan "near Pennsylvania Station" after the estimated cost soared to at least $11 billion and the new city proposal would cost about $5.3 billion, half as much as the plan killed by Gov. Christie, "according to a closely guarded, four-page memorandum circulated by the city's Hudson Yards Development Corporation," the article said.
"Extending the 7 line to New Jersey could address many of the region's transportation capacity issues at a fraction of the original tunnel's cost, but the idea is still in its earliest stages," said Andrew Brent, a spokesman for the deputy mayor for economic development, Robert K. Steel, the article said.
Mr. Christie had not yet received a formal briefing on the idea, but his office said it was curious to hear more: his spokesman, Michael Drewniak said "we've been open to ideas for solving the trans-Hudson dilemma, ideas that are affordable and fair amongst the interested jurisdictions."
"Aside from relieving congestion on the rails," the article continued, "the proposal also would benefit New York's real estate industry, because it would include an $800 million subway station at 10th Avenue and 42nd Street, an area with limited public transportation and a number of new residential towers. The station was part of the Bloomberg administration's plan for the No. 7 extension, but was cut to trim costs. And the project would almost certainly serve as a boon for the planned $15 billion Hudson Yards residential and office development, to be built on platforms over the West Side railyards. That project has been stymied by the recession and an absence of demand for new residential and commercial space."
"The federal Transportation Department," the article said, "had pledged $3 billion, as had the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey was responsible for the rest. The federal transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, described Mr. Christie's decision as "a devastating blow to thousands of workers, millions of commuters and the state's economic future."
City officials had initially hoped that they could recapture the $3 billion pledged by the federal government, but that no longer seems possible, and the project will most likely have to compete with others around the country for the money, the article said, adding that a spokesman for Mr. LaHood declined to comment on the proposal on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said that the proposal had recently been circulated to the governor-elect's transition team but that there had been no high-level discussions so far.
"At a reception in Manhattan on Monday night, Stephen M. Ross, chief executive of Related Companies and the developer for the Hudson Yards project, spoke to Mr. LaHood enthusiastically about the idea of running the No. 7 to New Jersey," the article said.
Many of the comments posted about the article were critical of the proposal. Oxfdblue from Staten Island wrote "How about finishing the Second Avenue line... all of it...and more. Down to Hanover Square then across the water to stops on Governor's Island, in Red Hook and then an express to Staten Island.
Patrick from New York wrote that the plan "probably doesn't make much economic sense either for New York taxpayers," adding "that NYC doesn't have a direct rail link from midtown to La Guardia and JFK alone makes it a laughing stock among cities worldwide."
The line is currently being extended from 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue to 34th Street and 11th Avenue and digging the tunnel for that extension was completed in July, the article said.
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey recently killed a plan for a new commuter rail tunnel to a site in Manhattan "near Pennsylvania Station" after the estimated cost soared to at least $11 billion and the new city proposal would cost about $5.3 billion, half as much as the plan killed by Gov. Christie, "according to a closely guarded, four-page memorandum circulated by the city's Hudson Yards Development Corporation," the article said.
"Extending the 7 line to New Jersey could address many of the region's transportation capacity issues at a fraction of the original tunnel's cost, but the idea is still in its earliest stages," said Andrew Brent, a spokesman for the deputy mayor for economic development, Robert K. Steel, the article said.
Mr. Christie had not yet received a formal briefing on the idea, but his office said it was curious to hear more: his spokesman, Michael Drewniak said "we've been open to ideas for solving the trans-Hudson dilemma, ideas that are affordable and fair amongst the interested jurisdictions."
"Aside from relieving congestion on the rails," the article continued, "the proposal also would benefit New York's real estate industry, because it would include an $800 million subway station at 10th Avenue and 42nd Street, an area with limited public transportation and a number of new residential towers. The station was part of the Bloomberg administration's plan for the No. 7 extension, but was cut to trim costs. And the project would almost certainly serve as a boon for the planned $15 billion Hudson Yards residential and office development, to be built on platforms over the West Side railyards. That project has been stymied by the recession and an absence of demand for new residential and commercial space."
"The federal Transportation Department," the article said, "had pledged $3 billion, as had the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey was responsible for the rest. The federal transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, described Mr. Christie's decision as "a devastating blow to thousands of workers, millions of commuters and the state's economic future."
City officials had initially hoped that they could recapture the $3 billion pledged by the federal government, but that no longer seems possible, and the project will most likely have to compete with others around the country for the money, the article said, adding that a spokesman for Mr. LaHood declined to comment on the proposal on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said that the proposal had recently been circulated to the governor-elect's transition team but that there had been no high-level discussions so far.
"At a reception in Manhattan on Monday night, Stephen M. Ross, chief executive of Related Companies and the developer for the Hudson Yards project, spoke to Mr. LaHood enthusiastically about the idea of running the No. 7 to New Jersey," the article said.
Many of the comments posted about the article were critical of the proposal. Oxfdblue from Staten Island wrote "How about finishing the Second Avenue line... all of it...and more. Down to Hanover Square then across the water to stops on Governor's Island, in Red Hook and then an express to Staten Island.
Patrick from New York wrote that the plan "probably doesn't make much economic sense either for New York taxpayers," adding "that NYC doesn't have a direct rail link from midtown to La Guardia and JFK alone makes it a laughing stock among cities worldwide."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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