first of all, with tourists alone, tons of people access the park form the south. your argument about 5th ave also makes no sense because CENTRAL PARK WEST is a two-way street

Posted by: 11215 at March 25, 2009 1:47 PM in response to Survey: More Two-Way Traffic Needed Around GAP

eek, i meant two-ways

Posted by: 11215 at March 25, 2009 1:44 PM in response to Survey: More Two-Way Traffic Needed Around GAP

Don't you think the "new" traffic will be spread between PPW and 8th Ave, as they will BOTH be one-way

Posted by: 11215 at March 25, 2009 1:43 PM in response to Survey: More Two-Way Traffic Needed Around GAP

doldrums you are making no sense. how will making ppw 2-way result in more traffic?

Posted by: 11215 at March 25, 2009 1:23 PM in response to Survey: More Two-Way Traffic Needed Around GAP

i'm gonna say it...

i think 500 4th avenue is better looking than this building

Posted by: 11215 at March 24, 2009 12:07 PM in response to The Argyle Unveiled

are you kidding me? the R is the WORST train.

while generally ok during the morning rush (although i waited 10+ minutes for one to show up this morning), service drops off pretty dramatically and way too early.

i can't count how many times i've waited at pacific st for 15 minutes while 4 express trains come through before an R rolls in, then announces that it's making express stops.

Posted by: 11215 at March 11, 2009 10:18 AM in response to Transit Overload for Brooklyn

gotta back 11217 up on this one. 7th ave was HOPPIN' on saturday.

as was De Kalb in FG. have to say though, walked down the park block of s. oxford having heard it was one of the prettiest blocks in nyc, and there is a hugly row of buildings on the west side of the street, halfway down the block.

Posted by: 11215 at March 9, 2009 12:00 PM in response to The Times Wraps Its Arms Around Fort Greene

i wouldn't necessarily want to live this close to the expressway either but it looks like it's on the other side of the street (no expressway in the backyard) and past the onramp, so that traffic wouldn't necessarily be driving past the front of the house

Posted by: 11215 at March 4, 2009 2:21 PM in response to House of the Day: 216 17th Street

read the article: all trains will still have drivers AND conductors

Posted by: 11215 at February 24, 2009 4:32 PM in response to Closing Bell: Robo Train Has Arrived

BrookLynn
Yes, there are plenty of people who would benefit from subway service, but not as many as there are on the east side of Manhattan, I guarantee you that. It doesn't really make sense to be talking about 2 family homes that are overcrowded when the entire east side of Manhattan is lined with 30+ story apartment towers.

I obviously fully agree that subway and bus service in Brooklyn (and everywhere else in this city) could be vastly improved. What I am SAYING is that putting in the Second Avenue Subway benefits MORE people than some line out to the middle of Canarsie would.

I am aware that it sucks to get from Brooklyn to Queens or the Bronx on transit, and I would love it if the outer boroughs were better connected to each other. There may be plenty of people doing those commutes everyday but I guarantee you there are more people commuting to midtown.

Bxgrl,
I am aware that old people, sick people, and children exist in outer boroughs as well. I imagine they, too, would find the walk from 1st Avenue to Lex to be long.
I would argue that YOUR argument is the short-sighted one, as you keep saying that the Second Avenue Subway would only serve one specific neighborhood. It serves anyone who works on the East Side, regardless of what borough they’re coming from. It serves people coming down from the Bronx. It serves the entire east side of Manhattan, which is a pretty broad (and intensely developed) area. If you’re not going to suggest a specific area, why don’t you suggest SOMETHING, anything at all, that you would like to see, and tell us why that’s more important than a subway line that will serve hundreds of thousands of people.

Petebklyn,
Every major street in New York City has a bus line running down it. The M15 is THE MOST CROWDED bus line in the nation, and it is ridiculously slow. Why does it matter who asked to develop so densely up there? They did, and now we have to respond to it. I think you should quit complaining.

And to the both of you, please spare us the BS about not waxing enthusiastic over the convenience of people on the UES or asking stupid questions like why are they paying all that money to live up there. Are you not aware of an area called East Harlem aka one of the poorest places in the city? The second avenue subway will serve the ENTIRE east side of Manhattan, not just rich people on York Ave.

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 3:58 PM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

Why not give the people YOU are talking about a bus and let them be happy with that?

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 2:32 PM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

The more important part of my argument was the second one, RE: the density, but if that's where you want to bring it (i'm assuming because you have no response to that part)

And yes, I do find it to be a long walk (I used to live on 89th and 1st and have also walked from there to 86th st literally hundreds of time). I would imagine that old people, children, and the disabled find it to be pretty long too.

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 2:27 PM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

First of all, the subway map is not geographically accurate or to scale. It is a very long walk to Lexington Avenue from First.

My point is that those wide swaths of Queens and SE Brooklyn don't "need" a subway as badly because there aren't as many people living there. Thousands of people (maybe tens of thousands!) live within a five minute walk from Second Avenue and 72nd street, whereas in most of the areas you refer to, the number is in the hundreds at best.

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 2:03 PM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

The Second Avenue line is in no way short sighted, because it serves a very real need...the need for the hundreds of thousands of people on the Upper East Side and East Harlem to get to jobs/entertainment/whatever further downtown.

Manhattan is a place with people too, ya know. It is inconvenient for people who live on First Avenue and 103rd street to walk all the way across to Lexington to the subway just to have to let several trains pass by because they are too crowded, and then have their train crawl through the tunnel because of delays.

Places in the outer boroughs that are under-served are under-served because, unfortunately, a high-enough demand for transit does not exist. They mostly don't have the density to support frequent subway service, and even if they do, it's no match for the kind of density (and therefore, riders) near Second Avenue.

You STILL haven't named a specific neighborhood (or area, even) that you'd like to see better service in, and that is why your argument holds no water. How are we supposed to compare "inconvenience" and "waste" when you are talking about GENERALLY improving service in a GENERAL area of the city (outer boroughs) when I am talking about a SPECIFIC improvement in a SPECIFIC area?

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 1:05 PM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

bxgrl, you still haven't provided an example of where in this city a transit improvement would serve more people. no, i have not been on the A during rush hour, have you been on the 4/5/6? There is no way it even BEGINS to compare. The 4/5/6 alone carry more people than the ENTIRE Washington Metro. Maybe one or two A trains per rush hour might be packed...every single 4/5/6 (and they come almost every minute) is full. And yes, those trains are packed up in the Bronx before they even get to 125th street. The second avenue subway will benefit those riders too, because their 4/5/6 trains will be less crowded and will have fewer delays, AND they will be able to transfer to the Second Avenue Subway as an alternative. What do you mean it's merely for convenience's sake? Just because it only runs in Manhattan? Like people in Manhattan don't need to get to their jobs as well?

And Pete, it's a word doc, unfortunately, but it lays it all out pretty well:

www.fta.dot.gov/documents/NY3AA.doc

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 12:37 PM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

look, obviously i would love for the outer boroughs to get more subways and better service overall, but the fact of the matter is we have to prioritize projects based on how many people they will serve.

tell me ONE place where you'd like to see service that you think would serve more people than the second avenue subway.

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 11:53 AM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

manhattan may be packed with subway lines, but the UES certainly is not. what the UES is packed with is more high-rises residential buildings than any other place in this COUNTRY. unlike most of low-rise Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

yes, the second avenue subway is phenomenally expensive, but it is going to serve SO many people that it will actually be one of the most cost-effective transit projects of our time.

Posted by: 11215 at February 10, 2009 11:26 AM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

errr, no link to the listing

Posted by: 11215 at February 9, 2009 12:45 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 90 8th Avenue, #2A

park dope

Posted by: 11215 at February 5, 2009 4:46 PM in response to Closing Bell: Best New Name for Park Slope

It's not exactly a new idea. all the tolled bridges and tunnels we have now are public streets

Posted by: 11215 at December 5, 2008 4:02 PM in response to Majority of Readers Opposed to Bridge Tolls

williamsburgguy, you completely missed g-man's point.

the point is that my taxes pay for BOTH the roads/bridges AND the subway

yet i still have to pay a fare to use the subway, while drivers on the bridges don't

Posted by: 11215 at December 5, 2008 12:03 PM in response to Majority of Readers Opposed to Bridge Tolls

fawn - the triborough and henry hudson bridges both charge tolls, as do a couple of bridges to the rockaways. not to mention the bridges connecting queens with the bronx.

Posted by: 11215 at December 4, 2008 2:55 PM in response to Adding Tolls to Brooklyn Bridges?

Kris, how many waiters, bartenders, shop clerks, janitors and secretaries do you know who drive into the city for work?

Posted by: 11215 at December 4, 2008 12:16 PM in response to Adding Tolls to Brooklyn Bridges?

zgori is right. IRT and BMD/IND trains have the same gauge. I've seen old 7 cars running on the B/D at W 4th st.

Posted by: 11215 at November 10, 2008 3:25 PM in response to New F Trains Leaving the Station