Upper East Side Dust Bowl?
Maloney calls on MTA to test air near Second Ave. Subway site
By Amy Kraft
Upper East Siders are holding their noses over noxious odors and plumes of dust coming from Second Avenue Subway construction near East 69th Street.
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Down Deep In the Hole
By Staff
The photographer Joseph M. Calisi recently took part in an MTA Tour of the 2nd Avenue Subway. He captured a number of behind-the-scene images for Our Town from the project affecting the life of so many Upper East Siders.
Construction has now reached the mid-point on the tunnel-boring portion of the project. This marks the conclusion of the first (southbound) tunnel bore and the beginning of the (northbound) tunnel.
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Turtle Bay Weekend Bus Service Back in Action
The other side of Manhattan isn’t so far for Turtle Bay residents anymore.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Jonathan Bing announced April 18 that the MTA, pending board approval, would restore weekend service to the M50 bus line that runs from Turtle Bay to the West Side.
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M50 Weekend Bus Service to be Restored
Sen. Krueger, Rep. Maloney & A.M. Bing
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Jonathan Bing announced today that the MTA, pending their board’s approval, will restore weekend service to the M50 bus line that runs from Turtle Bay to the West Side. Read more
Backbone of the Neighborhood
East Sixties Association celebrates 20th anniversary
By Sam Roudman
Judy and Barry Schneider don’t seem like a typical power couple. On a recent Saturday morning, the two, in matching Nautica sweatshirts, appeared more like archetypical retirees, out for a morning coffee and croissant a block from their Upper East Side condo. But bring up the work of the East Sixties Neighborhood Association (ESNA), and they respond with no small sense of pride and ownership.
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New Plans to Aid 2nd Ave. Businesses
MTA, Chamber unveil marketing strategy, signage and model block
A new marketing campaign by the MTA Capital Construction and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce will seek to aid struggling Second Avenue businesses affected by ongoing subway construction.
The initiative “Shop Second Avenue… It’s Worth It!” was announced Feb. 11 at the Mustang Grill on 85th Street and Second Avenue.
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Lappin issues SBS report card
New bus service a step up but needs improvement
If the Select Bus Service were a high school student it might be told to go back to its room and study some more.
Council Member Jessica Lappin issued her first report card Feb. 7 on how the SBS has performed since it launched in October, giving it an overall grade of B-. The bus service was created to cut down on travel time from uptown to downtown along First Avenue, providing specially designated bus lanes for riders to travel in. It’s also supposed to speed travel by allowing riders to pay their fares in advance at off-board payment machines.
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New Second Ave Subway Marketing Campaign
By Laura Shin
Suffering Second Avenue business owners may soon find relief in initiatives being put forward by the MTA and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.
“The MTA has worked to mitigate the impact of construction on businesses,” said Kevin Ortiz, spokesman for the MTA. “But as construction proceeds and expands further down Second Avenue, we have to do more. We are in the process of further upgrading the physical conditions around the construction site.”
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EXCAVATION OF WEST TUNNEL COMPLETE
The MTA completed the excavation of the west tunnel Feb. 7 for Phase I of the Second Avenue Subway. To achieve this, a tunnel-boring machine mined 7,612 feet. The 485-ton, 450-foot-long machine began mining May 2010 from 92nd Street, and will now be disassembled and pulled back to 92nd Street, where it will start its second run this spring to mine the east tunnel. The subway line will be completed December 2016.
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SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY BLASTING NOTICE
Controlled blasting to excavate two access points for the Second Avenue Subway at 69th and 72nd streets will begin during the week of Jan. 10.
The activity will be carried out between the MTA and SSK Constructors and under the direction of the FDNY. Blasting is permitted to take place between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
