Fiscal Year 2010 Surface Transportation Project Requests
To offer more opportunity for public scrutiny of project requests, I have posted information on the requests that I have submitted to the Fiscal Year 2010 Surface Transportation Act on behalf of the 14th Congressional District of New York:
FDR Four Freedoms Park $7,600,000
Construct perimeter pedestrian/bicycle/accessible walkways within the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park project for access to the shoreline around the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in the East River of New York City. These granite-paved walkways and crushed stone areas will replace existing poorly graded, non-accessible, gravel/dirt paths and will connect to the northern existing perimeter pathways that encircle the rest of the island.
Second Avenue Subway $821,074,651
The MTA is constructing Phase 1 of a new 8.5 mile subway on Manhattan’s East Side from East Harlem to the Financial District. Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway project is a 2.3 mile minimum operable segment from 96th to 63rd Streets, connecting with the existing Broadway Line at the 63rd Street station. The project will include construction of three new stations at 96th, 86th, and 72nd Streets and modification of the existing 63rd Street station. This phase of the Second Avenue Subway is projected to carry 213,000 riders on the average weekday in 2030.
The requested funds will be used for construction of the cavern for the 72nd Street Station, connection to the tunnels leading to the existing station at 63rd Street/Lexington Avenue, and the modifications to the 63rd Street/Lexington Avenue Station. Funds will also support construction of the cavern for the 86th Street Station.
Astoria Boulevard South Airport Access and Pedestrian Plaza $3,200,000
This Astoria Boulevard South Airport Access and Pedestrian Plaza project will redesign and expand an underutilized park (Columbus Park) at Astoria Boulevard South and 31st Street, Queens. The site is located at a subway to bus transfer point for commuters/passengers traveling
to La Guardia airport in a part of the city that lacks open space. This project would enhance and expand the park to make a larger, more accessible public plaza while improving the safety and ease of transfer to La Guardia via bus (M60). The project will also include physical bus priority measures to improve the M60 connection to the airport.
Design and Construction of Jackson Avenue $6,000,000
Roadway reconstruction on Jackson Avenue between Vernon Boulevard and 21st Street and on 11th Street between Jackson Avenue and 46th Avenue. This project would provide an opportunity to transform an important gateway into Queens, for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles. The Pulaski Bridge connects Brooklyn and Queens over Newtown Creek and the Long Island Expressway approach to the Midtown Tunnel. The bridge touches down on the Queens side into the intersection of Jackson Avenue and 11th Street, which is currently without crosswalks on its south side and with long crosswalks on the other sides. With increasing residential and commercial development, reconstruction of this intersection will create an attractive destination with a streetscape that supports its changing land use patterns. It would also support inter-Borough bicycling and walking.
Madison Square Pedestrian Improvements $5,000,000
As Broadway crosses the street grid of Manhattan it creates enormous challenges and opportunities. The operational improvements of 2008 at Madison Square reflect the transformation of a daunting double-width roadway configuration of Broadway and Fifth Avenue as these streets made their southbound approach to 23rd Street. This location features one of the City’s most photographed sites: The Flatiron Building. It boasts one of New York’s most beautiful parks along its east side: Madison Square Park. Yet the road has effectively bisected the neighborhoods and left little room in which to enjoy its beauty. Previous safety improvements lined the sidewalks with pedestrian fences and channelized Fifth Avenue into a one-lane chute south onto Fifth Avenue in an attempt to reduce the number of injuries, yet Broadway still fanned out into four lanes inconsistent with its two-lane profile to the north and south.
1st and 2nd Avenue Bus Rapid Transit $16,400,000
This project will improve the speed and reliability of the busiest bus route in New York City. The Federal Transit Administration has reviewed this project through the Small Starts funding process and has given it a rating of Medium-High in terms of project justification, indicating that they consider the project to be highly cost effective in providing improved mobility.
Hunter’s Point South $5,600,000
The new streets and public walkways will provide routes to the new Hunter’s Point South development and waterfront park, the existing Water Taxi landing, and the existing Queens West development and Gantry Plaza State Park. They will also provide a route from these locations to the primary retail corridor of the neighborhood, Vernon Boulevard, and the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue stop on the New York City Transit 7 line.
Hunter’s Point South is a 30-acre site located along the East River and Newtown Creek waterfronts in the Hunter’s Point neighborhood of Long Island City, Queens. The site is generally located between 50th Avenue, 2nd Street, Newtown Creek, and the East River. The site will be transformed from a largely underutilized waterfront area into a new enlivened and affordable residential neighborhood. Although the centerpiece of the project is housing, the vision is to create a vibrant, sustainable, mixed income neighborhood and waterfront park.
Moynihan Station $465,000,000
This project will turn the historic Farley Post office into a new train hall for intercity and commuter travelers in NYC. The project is comprised of a new signature train hall and significant transportation improvements designed to increase capacity at an already-overcrowded Penn Station, which include the specific segments for which funding is requested. Roughly $387,000,000 in federal, state and local funding has already been committed for the project and would be spent on the train hall.
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