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(7) line extension to 34 Street-Hudson Yards station opening day saga continues...

Union Tpke

By Union Tpke,
in New York City Subway

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S78 via Hylan

S78 via Hylan

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While trying to be the first at the station is a stupid idea, what exactly makes you say that railfans should not try to be at the grand opening of a station? That is a pretty significant event, and these people want to be on hand to document transit history in the making.

Agreed. I wanted to be there for the opening, but I have to work, so I'll just visit the station on my day off.
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TheNewYorkElevated

TheNewYorkElevated

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Alright, today's the big day. We're gonna see a ton of railfans in presence. Here are a few things you need to know that are gonna happen if you are attending.

 

1. MTA officials will be present.

2. News media. There gonna be tons of them filming this. It's no surprise they've done this before. So expect to see new vans and reporters.

3. Police presence. There's gonna a lot of cops at the opening.

 

Safety Tips

Be kind to passengers. Non-railfans are gonna attend this too.

Don't fight for the RFW if it's an R62A. Share it.

Have fun. :)

 

Thanks, and be safe.

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Wallyhorse

Wallyhorse

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42 St lower level was cut through in order to extend the (7). Not to mention that all tracks leading to the lower level had already been out of commission for quite a while (1999) before they started work on the extension.

Yeah, but what they could have done (and should consider doing in the future if possible) is build a cross-connection that would allow (7) trains to when needed go over to and from the 8th Avenue line (and Concourse line) to reach Concourse Yard using a rebuild of the lower level tracks that also in an emergency would allow the (E) to continue downtown if for whatever reason the downtown platform at 42nd street has to be closed but with the track allows (E) trains to proceed to 34th and join the line there (obviously bypassing 42nd street in such scenarios).

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Union Tpke

Union Tpke

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Today, the extension of the 7 subway line to the new Hudson Yards station at 34th St. and 11th Ave. on the Far West Side of Manhattan will open. It is the first subway extension completed in New York in over 25 years. More important, it is the key to one of the most significant economic development efforts in New York history.

 
Rather than stopping to congratulate ourselves, though, with true New York restlessness we should move ahead now and build a second station at 42nd St. and 10th Ave., using the unique model of collaboration between the city and the MTA that has proven to be so successful thus far.
 
The extension of the 7 line was the critical element in the Bloomberg Administration’s comprehensive plan to turn the Hudson Yards District, the formerly forlorn area that extends from 30th to 43rd Streets west of 9th Ave., into a vibrant extension of Midtown.
 
That this area offered enormous potential was not a great revelation. It is a few blocks from Penn Station and Times Square. Yet, in the ten years before the plan was approved, there were four buildings built in the area. During that period, tax revenues generated to the city out of the area actually went down. In the 20 blocks west of 10th Ave, in Midtown Manhattan, there were a total of 11 residences!
 
As a result, in 2003 the Bloomberg Administration proposed rezoning the entire area from a manufacturing district to a mixed-use community that could accommodate 24 million square feet of office space (about 40% of the space in downtown Boston), 3.5 million square feet of hotel and retail space, more than 40 acres of parkland, and 14,000 units of housing, more than a quarter of which would be affordable. This potential would be unlocked by an investment of $3 billion to extend the 7 line and to build parks and other infrastructure that would make the area accessible and attractive to residents, workers, employers, shoppers and visitors.
 
When the plan was proposed, the city was in the midst of a financial crisis. Moreover, because of then-Speaker Sheldon Silver’s clear intention to block any project that might compete with his long professed desire to extend the Second Ave. Subway into his district, there was not going to be any money in the MTA’s capital budget for an extension of the 7 line.
 
The challenge, then, was to find the money to pay for the subway extension and related amenities. The city developed a novel plan: It would issue bonds but ask bondholders to accept repayment only out of incremental tax and other revenues generated from the district over and above the amount the city collected in the year before the project began.
 
While the city agreed to pay the amount of any difference between new tax
 
revenue and the $153 million in annual interest payments, that was the extent of its obligation. The bondholders accepted the risk that there wouldn’t be enough development and tax revenues to pay them back. In a way, it was the ultimate expression of faith in the future of New York.
 
A casualty of the financing plan was a second subway station at 42nd St. and 10th Ave. Without a track record, we just couldn’t raise the money to pay for the cost of the second station and the parks that would serve the northern section of the District.
 
Since the rezoning was approved by the City Council in a near-unanimous vote ten years ago, 58 buildings have been built or started construction, compared to just four the previous ten years. Dozens more are in advanced planning stages, most in contemplation of the subway extension. On or adjacent to the railyards, within about six months Related Companies will have nearly nine million square feet of space under construction, including three office towers, a large retail complex, two residential buildings, a hotel, and 14 acres of open space. Culture Shed, New York’s next great cultural institution (ed: Doctoroff is the founding chairman of the board) will rise at the intersection of the High Line and Hudson Yards.
 
While the city has provided $353 million in interest support payments to date, given the pace of new construction, future payments are likely to be minimal. Rather, Hudson Yards will generate a huge profit to the city.
 
Based on our calculations, if we just take into account the buildings that have been completed, are in construction now, or are in the advanced stages of planning, over the next 30 years Hudson Yards will throw off $30 billion on that investment of $353 million!
 
Now that it is clear that the financing structure has become so successful, the city should expand it by borrowing an additional $1 billion and using the proceeds to pay for the 10th Ave. station, which could be completed in about five years, and the additional parks. The total cost is but a small fraction of the profits that the city already is expected to generate from the original Hudson Yards financing structure.
 
According to MTA estimates, the new station would serve about 100,000 trips per day (ranking it 20th busiest out of 468 stations in the system). It would also disperse some of the demand from other stations nearby, especially Times Square, helping to reduce congestion. Most important, it would provide subway service to the currently underserved areas around it, including northern Hudson Yards and parts of Hell’s Kitchen. The new station would encourage commercial development around it and, with some targeted rezoning to permit greater density and residential development, taxes from new development would likely help to pay much of the cost.
 
It’s fair to say that to be a more progressive city, we have to be a prosperous one. If there is one thing we have learned about expanding our subway system over the past 100 years, and especially with the recent example of Hudson Yards, it is that if we build transportation infrastructure and plan thoughtfully around it, new buildings will be built and the economy will expand — which generates additional tax revenue, which, in turn, enables us to afford priorities such as affordable housing, education and enhanced public safety.
 
A new station at 42nd St. and 10th Ave. is just the kind of investment that will help to keep us prosperous for generations to come.
 
Doctoroff is the founder and CEO of Sidewalk Labs, a company that invests in technology products and platforms to improve life in cities around the world. He was New York City’s deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding from 2002 to 2008.
 
Meola, a development consultant, held senior positions at the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Hudson Yards Development Corporation from 2002 to 2010.

Why would the 7 want to go to Concourse Yard?

 

The existing track connections is a straight shot to Coney Island.

 

Also, the tracks are not exactly at the same grade. you seriously want to add a flat, 90 degree crossing to the Subway?

maybe he means 207th?

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R3216068E

R3216068E

Posted
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No, theres still some R62As with RFW like 2046 is one that still has the manhattan bound RFW.

Plus all the R62As that went to the (6) have all been converted to full width cabs.

Yup just caught it the other day tried to railfan on it but people were already hogging the RFW and I also think with full-width cabs they will be easier to operate
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MysteriousBtrain

MysteriousBtrain

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yeah Tmr I'm going for the first ever <7> to 34th st :D

Im kinda glad i didn't go today from what I saw

I'll probably catch the first <7> out of 34th Street and get there a bit early for some videos and hear the announcements they made for 34th Street (shhh keep the announcers a secret I wanna be surprised)
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R188 7857

R188 7857

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Posted

So was the first train today to the station an R188?

 

R188 7877-7887. Crowded, rush hour style. When coming back, I got on that same train. Looking around, they literally cleaned the hell out of that train. There weren't the usual foot marks on the door, or on the walls. The floor was unusually clean, same with the chairs. The exterior looked pretty clean as well. That train also came straight out of the yard (I assume) because it came into Main Street empty. 

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