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He must've gotten zapped with an electrical charge if this is his idea of being in charge..... If you're willing to assume responsibility, you don't push half of the fiscal responsibility on the city... Who's making these rules here... What part of the game is this....

Hey, so I live in Ozone Park and I read the forum. I just want to give my personal opinion on the RBB from the perspective of someone who would be greatly impacted by its construction. Sorry for the skyscraper of text; I have a lot to say. I hope you can read through the mountain of text since it contains many arguments and a lot of information. First, I want to start off by saying that the demand from Ozone Park residents for the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach Branch is mainly there because of how much the MTA has neglected the A, J, and Z trains. To sum it up: The A train can be SUPER SLOW at times, and often stops in the middle of tunnels for no reason due to timers. The A also features a lovely fleet of ancient trains that smell and require more maintenance. We have some of the oldest trains in the system. Most other subway lines already have at least some New Technology Trains. The A is being treated as if it doesn't matter- which is why we avoid using it- because it can sometimes run very slow and features terrible trains. I can't imagine how unbearable it would be to take the A all the way from Rockaway to Manhattan. It's obvious why Rockaway Residents would want to go for the QBL route instead. The J train is also VERY SLOW. When I say slow- I mean walking speed slow. Even the A train looks like luxury compared to the J. Nobody here likes the J. The rumor in town says that the J stands for Junk and that the train has a brown bullet for that specific reason. The stations along the J (Especially in Manhattan) look like horror movie film sets- and the trains barely get any speed before having to stop again. Even in long sections with no stations- the J train seems to move at 10 miles per hour. The Z "express" service only runs during peak hours and most of us residents haven't even seen a Z train in our lives. They are very infrequent. If you use the J- Chances are you will be late to work or school unless you wake up ridiculously early. If you only look at the NY subway map- then a lot of the area around the RBB is not a subway desert. If you look at the reality though, two slow and ancient-looking train lines and another line that never runs do not make for quick access to the rest of New York City. Again- I cannot begin to fathom the struggle the Rockaway riders go through to get to Manhattan. Most of them drive or take the 52/53 to avoid taking the atrocious A. On good days it takes Ozone Park residents about an hour to get to Midtown on the A. That becomes an hour and a half for Rockaway residents and J train riders. If the A and J were brought up to 21st century standards- and the Z was resurrected- the demand for a RBB reactivation would be reduced- since we would have GOOD subway lines. The problem is that this will most likely never happen. The MTA is more likely to act on a proposal for the restoration of a train line than to speed up Fulton St. and Nassau St. Lines or give them CBTC. We will probably be the last lines to get the technology- in the same way that we are some of the last to get New Technology Trains. The Rockaway Beach Branch appears to us like the best solution- especially since politicians are debating it now. Some people say we should just leave the line abandoned and let it sit there until something happens- but that argument ignores the fact that the abandoned rail line is hurting the communities around the line. People commit crimes and do drugs near the abandoned tracks- and the tracks give the area a bad appearance. They are also breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other insects- which come flying out during the summer. There are times when you cannot walk near the tracks because of the wildlife that has developed there. Leaving the branch like this would only further dilapidate the state of some of the areas near the track. This isn’t just about a subway line- it is about fixing up a part of Queens that is in dire need of revitalization. Our politicians have decided to fix it now- and the four options are a park, subway, LIRR, or a hybrid of subway and a park. One of these will get built. Most people want the hybrid- because it includes the park and subway. Without further ado, here are my rebuttals to some of the arguments brought up against the reestablishment of the RBB as a subway: Note: I am arguing in favor of a subway since no one would use the LIRR because it would cost too much and go only to Penn Station or Grand Central Argument 1: “The Woodhaven and Cross Bay corridor doesn’t have enough riders to warrant a subway” Many people say that the Woodhaven/Cross Bay corridor isn't crowded- but it most definitely is. Most of this area is filled with apartment buildings. To the naked eye- it may look like most of the area is filled with homes- but the majority of these “homes” feature 3 or 4 apartments in them. These “houses” are apartments disguised as full-family homes. When you add the homes in the Rockaways to the apartments here- the population around the RBB is close to that of Anchorage, Alaska. The U.S. Census estimates that there are about 220,000 people living within walking distance of the RBB. This number may be distorted since many undocumented immigrants also live here- but don’t get counted in the census due to fear of being deported. People testify that the area isn’t crowded because the A and J trains become less full when they reach Ozone Park- but that can be explained by the simple fact that most people either think the A and J would be too long of a commute- think the lines are too long- or live along Woodhaven Blvd but nowhere near either line. On top of that- a lot of people here work in North Queens- which means that the A and J wouldn’t work since you would have to use the shoot-in-shoot-out method (going into Manhattan and then shooting back out). The RBB would go to both Manhattan AND North Queens- solving both issues. Since it would be faster and feature New Tech Trains (due to CBTC)- it would also be very attractive to the people living here. It would also provide a quick link the Queens Center Mall- which is arguably the corridor's most popular destination. People would take the train and get to the mall in 15 minutes! On top of the population- there are many businesses in this area- especially near streets like 101, Liberty, Jamaica, Metropolitan, and Yellowstone. The Woodhaven and Cross Bay corridor is not in Suffolk- it is in an urban area. People live here- and businesses thrive here. The RBB would only ADD to the value of these already thriving neighborhoods. People also seem to forget that it wouldn’t just be people in the Rockaways or Cross Bay who would use this line. People would take the line to access South Queens, Brooklyn, and JFK, and to go to the Rockaways in the summer. The line would also connect people to the various businesses along the corridor as well as the casino. The whole "but Forest Park takes up all the space" argument is not accurate either. Forest Park takes up only 1/8 of the entire Cross Bay/Woodhaven route- and that isn’t even including the Rockaways. The other 7/8 of the route is full of businesses and apartments. Arguing that the line isn’t worth it because 1/8 of the Cross Bay and Woodhaven section is parkland is like saying that the 7 train shouldn’t have been extended to Main St. because it has to pass through Flushing Meadows Park to get there (The park is only crowded when the Mets play or during Tennis matches). Just because a line needs to go through a park to reach very thriving neighborhoods does not mean that it should not be extended. Besides, a quick look on Google Earth reveals that most of Forest Park along the RBB has been converted into 8-story apartment buildings. This further proves that people live along the RBB. To those saying that Jamaica Bay is empty- well the rail line crossing Jamaica Bay has already been built- so it wouldn’t add costs to the construction of the line. The main costs would occur while connecting RBB to QBL in Rego Park. There is a reason why Cross Bay and Woodhaven Boulevard is one of the busiest through-fares in Queens. It's not a lucky coincidence. People use this corridor on a day-to-day basis. A train line running directly parallel to this boulevard WOULD be used. Argument 2: “It will make QBL even more crowded!” This is the part I find ironic. If you claim that the Rockaway Beach Branch will have no riders- then how can you say that it will cause overcrowding on the QBL? It is contradicting. Nevertheless- the concerns over this extra line causing overcrowding on QBL are warranted since a lot of people do in fact live along Cross Bay and Woodhaven Boulevard (I am one of the 180,000 - 200,000, not including the Rockaways). Here is the reality, though- there are many lines in this city that carry MORE people than QBL and branch out to MORE places than QBL. QBL carries 460,000 people per day on a weekday and ONLY branches out to Jamaica-179 and Jamaica Center (on the east side). Compare that to the 6th Av Line(B,D,F,M)- which carries 670,000 riders on a weekday and branches out to the Culver Line, the Brighton Beach Line, the Nassau St. Line, AND the 4th avenue Line- or the Broadway Line(N,Q,R,W)- which carries over 700,000 riders on a weekday and branches out to the QBL, Astoria Line, and 2nd Av Line. These stats come straight from the MTA. Are the 6th Av and Broadway lines crowded during rush hour? Yes- they are- but that is just the side effect of having a subway line in New York. Most subway lines will be crowded- and we will have to deal with that. CBTC- which would be completed on QBL by the time the RBB reactivates would help mitigate some of the overcrowding- and it would also increase speeds (making the commute for everyone, including those along the RBB, faster). The potential conversion of Woodhaven into an Express stop would further help reduce overcrowding- since most of the crowding comes from the platform- as opposed to the trains themselves. More overcrowding on the QBL would not be the issue here. If anything- the line would simply become as populated as some of the other lines in NYC. As other subway lines have proven- you can have a subway line branch out in more than 2 directions while carrying a lot of people. This is nothing new. QBL will be able to handle another branch once CBTC comes. A new branch might actually HELP increase train frequency- since the RBB would direct one train line to a new terminus- making trains turnover at Forest Hills more quickly. “The line won’t connect North Queens and South Queens properly because there can’t be a good connection to the A or J!” Yes, there can be. As someone who uses the Rockaway Blvd Station daily- it is literally 1-2 minutes from the abandoned Ozone Park station. Two things could be done: first- an “elevated walkway” could be built connecting Rockaway Blvd to the Ozone Park Station. Humanity has built a bridge that crosses Lake Pontchartrain- so we can definitely handle an elevated walkway from one station to the other. The second and cheaper option would be an out-of-system transfer- which would work since the stations are very close. The J train situation is similar. You can build an elevated walkway to a nearby station and connect it to the Jamaica Av station or have an out-of-system transfer that would require little effort. Planning and constructing transfers would not be a mindblowing task. It would actually be pretty simple. People in North Queens would now be able to get to Brooklyn without using the shoot-in-shoot-out method. “The line wouldn’t be used because it is too far from Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevard!” Outside of Howard Beach- the line is literally within walking distance of Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevard. I can attest as I have lived in Ozone Park for 11 years. Stations in Metropolitan Av would be especially close to Cross Bay and Woodhaven. And we shouldn’t act like Woodhaven and Crossbay Blvd are the only populated areas in this Queens area. The areas around Atlantic, 101, Jamaica, and Lefferts have a very high population concentration near the abandoned rail line- and those citizens would use the RBB. For Howard Beach residents (and maybe some parts of Ozone Park)- entrances for the RBB could be placed on Cross Bay Blvd- and below ground, there would be moving walkways like those in airports (that speed up)- allowing Howard Beach residents to more easily access the line. NYC has had to connect areas with long walkways before- like those that appeared when they shut down 18th st station on the Lexington Line- or the long pathway at Woodhaven Blvd. We have also seen moving walkways at stations like Court Sq. Again, none of this is new. A walkway would not only allow Howard Beach (and possibly Ozone Park) residents to access the line faster- but it would also allow people to cross Cross Bay Blvd without actually having to cross the road (if the walkway is placed before the payment zone). This would greatly benefit the community. “Other areas need subway lines more urgently” There are more densely populated areas in NY that could use subway lines- but they don't have an atrocious and abandoned rail line near them that needs repair. The fact that there are more densely populated areas also does not mean that the Woodhaven/Cross Bay corridor isn’t dense. Think about it - what would the MTA most likely do?- build a new line from scratch- or reestablish an abandoned line. The latter would be the most convincing plan. The RBB becoming real means removing the trees on the RBB- building a stable platform- and installing the track and stations. Building a line like an extension on the F takes the shutdown of streets, rerouting of buses, digging machines, and a lot more money. We should start with RBB to set a precedent- and then go for more ambitious projects. The MTA spent 2 billion on Fulton Center- so the prospect of spending that much money on a full-fledged line isn’t insane. When RBB is completed- people will feel more incentivized to start work on other subway lines. Also, again, the RBB debate is occurring NOW- we cannot wait until later- or the park will get built. It’s one, or the other, or both. If the subway doesn’t get built, the park will get built- and we will have to deal with a park that does not at all help the community. “LIRR wouldn’t have abandoned the line if it were popular” That was 70 years ago. It is almost 2020. The area has changed greatly- and a lot more people have moved into the area surrounding the RBB. We cannot use examples from long ago to argue against the reactivation of the RBB. “What train do you propose would run along the RBB?” That is a question that is up for debate. Here is my not-so-perfect-proposal - which I don’t mind anyone criticizing. I would run the E on the RBB, the F to Jamaica Center, the R to 179st- and the M to Forest Hills. The E would go to Far Rockaway- the A to Rockaway Park, and the C to Lefferts. The F would run to Jamaica Center to take place of E- which would go to RBB. This would mean that Jamaica would continue to be provided by Express trains. The reason why 179 would have a local train going there is that riders there would be able to transfer to an express train at Union Turnpike. The RBB would have more customers than the small section between 179 and Union Turnpike- so it would warrant an express more than 179st. The R would have a new terminus which would take loads off of Forest Hills-71av- allowing more trains on the local track. My proposal would result in the construction of 6 stations- Ozone Park, 101-Atlantic, Jamaica Av, Forest Park, Metropolitan-Yellowstone, and Rego Park. Each station serves either a commercial center, a populated area, or both. Tl:dr If the RBB got re-established as a subway line instead of or with a park- it would provide service to an area of Queens that greatly needs it (since the A and J are crumbling, and many people in South Queens work in North Queens). The demand is here, the space is there, the QBL will be able to handle it, and the transfers can be made. All we need is the funds to build the line. It can set a precedent for the construction of more lines in the future. This line would provide a vital thru-fare from North Queens to South Queens- and would give tons of people easier access to the rest of New York City. Thanks for reading.

I remember mentioning using adult-height faregates instead of turnstiles to help beat fare evasion. This is just more proof that they work as intended:

Trying to run the same game they did when Lotto was first introduced. That Lotto money was believed to be in addition to the state funding already in place. Too bad the idea wasn't chiseled into stone tablets at the time. All this chatter about congestion pricing and a lockbox for transit funding sounds good to many younger folks but as someone who has lived through several bond issues where the monies were diverted to other uses I'd like to see some ironclad agreements on the present financing plan. Railfans drooling over new equipment being delivered now and in the near future while signal and switch problems are a daily thing on the subways or the LIRR. My fellow retirees and some present RTO people think that Stevie Wonder could see the obvious disconnect taking place in transit's operations and planning. I recall talking to management in the subways when someone said that the new SOP was to " blind 'em with B.S and the public won't notice". IMO the governor, mayor and the better get their priorities straight today before any additional funding is added to the wish list. Reliable funding, right. Maybe the folks on the Left Coast have seen the light while many New Yorkers are still blinded. Just my opinion. Carry on.

Cuomo Plan is the new plan. Besides, the contractors themselves have blatantly said that the 15-month shutdown was more advantageous. It's almost as if customer time is worth more than actual safety.

So he wants full control of the MTA, including presumably the agency's finances, but still also wants NYC to pay for half of it, all without any say whatsoever? Yeah, that sounds like a worthwhile plan not destined for failure at all. I do wish Andy Boy would stop acting like he's mankind's New York's savior with his harebrained schemes that don't amount to anything. It does get quite tiring after a while, doesn't it? While he does not presently hold full control of the agency, he does have the ability to be the driving force behind the MTA with who he places as chairman. He's been in office for eight years now and watched as the city's transit network collapsed at the seams all the while maintaining the position that he cannot do anything since he does not control the MTA and feuding with DeBlasio over said ownership. He's punted the issue for nearly a decade, and now that he's realized he has a chance to be president (I don't know who told him that by the way), he wants to swoop in and save the day. Forgive me if I'm skeptical here.

You'd have to be a fool to deliberately put any of your belongings on the floor of an LIRR train..... I mean, I have seen some shit (well. literally.... and figuratively) on an LIRR car that would make the subway appear Mr. Clean pristine in comparison..... - The drunk chick doing her best balancing act in super heels (I call em) that ending up falling in SOMEONE ELSE's VOMIT..... Started crying after the fact; not because she was injured, but because no one would help her out/help her up..... - The one breaux (bro) that came out the bathroom with 2 of his other breaux.... ughk.... well let's just say from the waist down, a newspaper wasn't the only thing black, white, and red all over on that dude.... Needless to say, that ***ed up my whole day that day.... If you're gonna do some experimenting, do so in the privacy of your own.... Oh, forget it. - The chick that couldn't quite make it, and was like f*** it - squatted down, hiked up the skirt a little, big girl panties down, behold - the fountain of ooohhhhffffff (I had to switch cars, the stench was so bad)..... Not that it matters, but facially speaking, she could catch one - As alluded to above, the guy that #2'd on the walkway to look cool in front of his friends (I guess).... A fight actually broke out between another passenger & the friend of the dude that did the do (doo) on that train that day..... While I think shitting in public is obviously downright nasty, I don't care that much to want to fight somebody over it out of GP, if none of it touches me or my personal belonings.... An LIRR train is not my personal possession... Sorry, not sorry. - The chick that was shaving her cooc.... um, nether region, spread eagle, no phucks given (least I didn't notice a stench, but that's not the point).... Odd thing was, after she was done, she smiled at every single dude that she passed by as she got off the train (at NHP).... - Numerous couples expressing their lust, interpersonally (I think I mentioned one instance of it on here - and that was during the workweek, on my way to work that day)... Karma karma karma karma karma..... Sutra? - IDK who was really with who, or how it started, but from what it looked like, two separate sets of breaux's were spitting back & forth at each other (and I'm not talking about reciting rap lyrics either).... This led to a chick's broken nose (not sure how she fell, but she faceplanted somehow tryna break up the... spat ) & cheap beer being flung throughout the middle of that particular subway car.... Not that this matters either, but it's always the skunky, cheap stuff ! - Don't know how many times I've been on an LIRR train ever since I started working out here on "the island" where someone threw up, mid-ride..... I hate the smell of my own damn vomit - imagine someone else's..... - Couple semen stains, used condoms, used tampons, drug paraphernalia (needles), insulin vials, dried up blood.... Yep, seen ALL of that..... - The food of choice that's often left behind for whatever reason, are pizza's.... The individual slices sometimes still in the boxes, sometimes on the floor... On the seat, under the seat, on the floor, on the overhead rack, back over by the c/r's area, whatever..... ---------------------- I say all of that to say, nobody can't tell me anything about how clean the LIRR supposedly is & how it's cleaner than the filthy NYC subway, this that & the third..... This report does not surprise me in the absolute slightest & IMO, it's giving the LIRR more justice than it deserves in the cleanliness department....

View File Rapid Transit Extension To Northeast Bronx, N.Y. New York City Transit Authority October 1977 With CUNY, you can get books sent from one CUNY library to your local CUNY. I picked this up at Hunter, and once home on January 10, I scanned all 291 pages, including maps, which took five hours. I then took several hours to turn the jpgs to pdfs, and then turned them, very slowly into a few files. I then compressed them and combined them, which took a while. This document is for the NYCTA's planned extension of the Second Avenue Subway. The three options considered are having it serve Dyre Avenue and Pelham north of Hunts Point, Dyre Avenue and the Penn Central (Hell Gate Line) right-of-way, and Dyre Avenue and White Plains Road north of 180th Street. I haven't found this anywhere online. I hope this is an interesting and enlightening read. Submitter Union Tpke Submitted 01/11/2019 Category Manuals  

Though that was literally the pattern for every question. From the jump, all I'm saying was answer the questions. No one could do that except maybe Byford and that's because his team was getting uneccesarry flak. And when it comes to the racking, the continuously forgot to mention that the systems it was implemented are all new builds. And, two of the three most presented examples aren't even open yet regardless. Even my dad, who used to do asbestos removal, was shocked at how they danced around every question regarding the silica. That whole set of "answers" gave me even less faith.

LMFAO when the board asked for how long would the new plan last for when compared to the old one (75-100 years expectancy). "...It'll last decades...." Sure, how many, two? This is a basic question that should have not been hard to answer if they are so "confident" about their plan. What a joke.

So the solution to the political problem of having one person "manage" the 's vision and operations is to give the one person legislatively authorized to "manage" the 's vision and operations legislative authorization to manage the 's vision and operations. Only in NY...

All those laaaawwn guy-landers and their cawwfeee LOL

It isn't (anything to go by).... The increase in the amount of homeless in the subway system & suburbanites that try to/want to make public transportation into their personal little boys/girls club (so to speak) are two completely different issues.... I'm not exactly justifying it, but homeless people are festering the subways for refuge.... Suburbanites in general OTOH want the amenities that the city offers & gives them, on their terms (while talking cash shit about "the city" at the same time).... Too good to live in the city, but have zero qualms about the benefits they get from it..... The proverbial having their cake & eating it too.... While I don't disagree with the subway being a melting pot of sorts, I'd say the railroads are festered with a separate set of "garbage" - some of which are part of that same melting pot we can describe the subway as being.....

Not at all contesting that. I'm just saying the way to solve the homeless issue is not barring homeless from the system. It's fixing the homeless problem -- more housing, more shelters, more outreach.

I've heard that "double" service into Manhattan idea being mentioned quite frequently but the other part of the equation isn't mentioned as much. Talking about the orphaning of today's Atlantic Branch. Look at the money recently spent to renovate the Flatbush Avenue terminal and the renaming of it to Atlantic Terminal. The structure work between Bedford Avenue and Ralph Avenue as well as the ongoing renovation of the Nostrand Avenue station. With this ESA gimmick monopolizing the LIRR/ convo the spotlight dims on the other projects somewhat. Those trains that now terminate in Brooklyn are being re-routed into Manhattan. What about the ridership that presently utilizes those trains you ask ? They'll now have the luxury of detraining at Jamaica and transferring to a Brooklyn bound train, located not cross platform but in a newly constructed platform area (not) nearby. I guess those re-routes will have plenty of seating heading to Manhattan when their core ridership leaves at Sutphin. Likewise those direct trains from PJ, Babylon, and Ronkonkoma to Atlantic terminal will be history so their riders will have to make that new trek at Sutphin too. BTW those diesels that terminate at Jamaica, Hunterspoint, and LIC aren't welcome at Penn or GC either. Oh, before I forget, those double-decker passenger cars can't fit in the 63rd St tunnel into Manhattan toward Grand Central. Meanwhile the has a third track proposal in Nassau County on the board, a completed Second Track project in Suffolk on the Ronkonkoma Branch, discussions about additional MNRR service in the Bronx along with Amtrak. All of these ideas, the Prince talking about " blowing up" the , as my man Marvin Gaye said " What's Going On" ? Not to mention SAS. For once I have to agree with the Prince. Don't blame LIRR, MNRR, NYCT, blame the itself for this ongoing, convoluted disjointed regional planning concerning downstate transportation. I think we need someone with vision, and clout, in charge. Just my diatribe/ opinion. Carry on.

@MrQuesada Thank you for posting that. For space's sake, I'm not gonna quote directly, but will instead go through the broad points independently. A lot of your argument hinges on the RBB's ridership potential. I think it has it. Not as much as an investment in the 3rd Ave corridor in the Bronx would, or one on Utica in Brooklyn (they are statistically denser corridors -- I can provide a *very* detailed Census analysis if you like), but it would get riders, and I think your point about opportunity costs is completely valid. I don't think that's the issue as much as the fact that it's an avoidable investment. You talk about this in your post, actually -- the current services to your area are, well, shit. I think before we get all caught up in building new lines, we need to address the fact that there are some low-cost changes to service that could be made that would dramatically improve them. Top on my list is sending the to Lefferts Boulevard during the off peak. As I'm sure you know, service there is lacking during off hours -- trains every 15-20 minutes, and that is if there isn't the proverbial sick customer in Washington Heights. is local, yes, but it affects a doubling of service frequency on the 's branches. During the peak, I say leave the alone -- is frequent enough, and that's when expresses are most useful. On the end, service also needs to be restructured. Skip stop is a crime that harms residents of Woodhaven and Ozone Park to the benefit of Jamaica riders -- who really don't use the anyway. My thoughts: We can today run 24 trains an hour over the Williamsburg Bridge (that's an issue in and of itself, but one that can really only be solved with redesigned signals/reconfigured tracks), so I suggest we split it 8, 8 and 8 (or 10, 8 and 6) -- 8 to the , 8 to the , 8 to the (or 10 8 6 ). This imaginary would run express from Broadway Junction to Marcy, then local to Jamaica, while the would operate full local from Marcy to Bway Jct, and would turn at Crescent. If you're confident in your ability to keep things fluid, you could have your express s and local s merge west of Bway Jct rather than east of the station, and then you could run supplemental trains from Bway Jct to the east to serve the deluge of folks that transfer at the Junction. If this is successful, then you can really go to town -- build out a 3rd track from Bway Jct to Crescent or Woodhaven, and run expresses thus. This, of course, would be coupled with an effort to run the frequently during the off-peak. Now, I don't believe that the potential to fix service patterns is the entire counterargument here. Queens Boulevard is extremely crowded You cite other trunks that have higher ridership figures, but keep in mind that they are, by and large, core segments, which receive riders from both directions, basically doubling their relevant capacity. Queens Boulevard does not have that luxury; its flow is highly polarized in that everyone wants to go to Manhattan in the AM, and everyone wants to get east in the PM. This isn't to say we have a Gordian knot here -- the local tracks are well under capacity, something that some smart service restructuring/good terminal operation could solve -- but it is worth being cognizant of the fact that whether it be in the short term or the long, you are inducing demand towards a corridor which already has its hands full. The caveat to all this is intra-Queens ridership. This, to me, is an open question. If someone can come with data showing that there is indeed a large market for intra-Queens ridership that could be directed to this corridor, the whole discussion gets recast. All of my talk about the is predicated on the fact that I believe the RBB's ridership would use it as a matter of convenience -- it would be going to the same places take them today, just via QB rather than Fulton or Jamaica. If, however, the bulk of corridor ridership would be commuting to, say, Queens Center Mall, then the expense becomes infinitely more justifiable. You're serving a now-unservable market, are increasing intra-boro connectivity, and you're doing that without affecting too much harm on QB, as the traffic wouldn't cross the peak load points headed into Manhattan.

Here it is, The SIM33C. All of the SIM2 people are going to have to take alternatives. The SIM2 saved people's journey to Manhattan by up to an hour. RIP.

Well, for what it's worth (much like Wobblyhorse here), Hillary took an..... .

I was the second speaker–after Gale Brewer. I am not convinced that the shutdown will be stopped, but the right questions were asked. I am on the W at Whitehall so I will comment further when I am home.

With all of the changes on Staten Island, the signage does matter.

Please tell me you aren't serious. You'd actually allow the elitism of some suburbanites to trump a greater good for the city? And you really think the solution to the homeless issue on the subway is more discrimination?

To both @RR503 and @MrQuesada (really fascinated by your responses): We've gone back and forth about this many times in the past, but I've mainly moved on from making proposals. I will however, share my thoughts on the overall matter at hand given I find this discussion interesting. I do agree the is slow at times, but detiming 8 Av and Fulton will solve this issue. Yes, it does increase risk of derailments, but to play it safe, the useless timers should be disposed of, and the only ones that should be kept are the ones absolutely necessary. I also agree with sending the to Lefferts, but I would divert the current RPK trips to serve the latter instead so that both the Rockaways and the Lefferts branch will get a compromise. As for the , it can be infrequent off-peak, and the skip-stop service ultimately doesn't save much time, nor does the express run between Myrtle-Marcy. The also experiences bottlenecks at Cypress Hills, Myrtle Av, and finally the Williamsburg Bridge, which is already expressed to have limits on TPH. Having said that, I feel the best way to improve the is obviously to somehow eliminate the bottleneck at Myrtle with the , and also to run peak express service (in this case ) to Broadway Junction and points beyond. I've mainly toyed with the idea of rerouting the line to Jamaica Av, but since that will likely cause NIMBY opposition, I've come up with an alternative. I would have the run local from Jamaica to Manhattan, convert Crescent St and Alabama Av into express stops (by constructing the middle express track over the current island platform, then building another one on top the the latter), and then have that same express track mentioned earlier run all the way from Broadway Junction to 121 St (having Woodhaven as an express stop, as well as the latter two) As for the RBB, it's not necessarily useful for traveling to Manhattan, but rather intra-borough travel. The Q52/Q53 have a lot of strain and overcrowding problems, and they can only go so far. While many try to argue that the subways and buses are different, I beg to differ because it was mentioned earlier that people from the Rockaways use both the buses and the , so they obviously have identical catchment areas. And just because the and are present there doesn't mean that they have adequate options. Not everyone is going to Manhattan during the AM rush, and if you're trying to go to points north of Liberty Junction, you're basically screwed over unless you take the overcrowded buses. One major market other than Queens Center Mall is LIC, which is place that neither the nor serve. This is why the RBB is mainly useful for intra-borough travel, rather than multi-borough travel. It's obvious that no one will sit on a local train to Manhattan. I do agree QBL is overcrowded, but what's already causing that problem in the first place is the fact that many are using local buses to get to it. If the RBB was constructed, it will greatly relieve the buses in nearby areas and would make commuting less stressful. As for which service that should run on the RBB, I've always seen the to be the best fit. It doesn't make things complicated given that the only affected stations would be 67 Av and Forest Hills-71 Av, but that would be negligible given we have the (or any other service, your pick, if the was routed to Astoria). Sending the would only make things more complicated because it would mean that a plethora of stations would get affected, including the busy Jamaica Center. This is basically my overall take on the matter, and I fully agree with the argument presented!

There are quite a few things that I would have preferred with the 33C, with the first being that it go non-stop into Manhattan after Slosson Avenue. There's absolutely no need to have it compete with the 3C, that's overkill, and especially since part of that area is already served by the 1C. All this looks rosy at first, but I feel like the north shore will get hit soon, especially if the south shore communities push for off-peak service in Prince's Bay and Tottenville. What they did to the SIM2 was terrible. This is no redesign, it's a redistribution. Despite the imperfections of the route, it's unbelievable how fast the MTA gave up on that service, unlike X27 and X28 weekend service.

Folks.....ya'll gotta realize that the R179s aren't the ONLY TRAINS that have had issues when they were brand new..... R142s had similar problems when they were being delivered...it took them years(almost 10 years to be precise) to work out the problems, and now they are the most reliable NTTs in the IRT. R62As(or R62s, I forgot which ones) also had problems when they were brand new. Same for the R46s and some of the other subway cars in the fleet. Everything has their own issues when they are brand new out of the game......the R142s did, the R143s did, and the R160s did, and a bunch of other subway car fleets did. The R179s are not exempt from that.