Well over budget and long delayed, London’s Elizabeth Line, shown here in a tour I took with Andy Byford in November, costs just one-third per kilometer than future phases of the Second Ave. Subway. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Albany oversight hearings are staid and rote affairs. Every now and then, a panel of state legislators call in the technocrats in charge of state agencies to talk about the topics on the minds of those legislators. Unfortunately, those topics often run to the banal when it comes to transit and the MTA. Why is this bus stop in my district on one corner but not the other? Wh ..read more

The light-rail version of the Interborough Express, shown here connecting to the L train at Wilson Ave. When Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her support last month for a truncated version of the RPA’s 25-year-old Triboro RX proposal, I was surprised. If it survives a gubernatorial election this year, your garden-variety NIMBY opposition and a lengthy review and planning process, the renamed Interborough Express — a 14-mile circumferential route that will connect Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights using an existing freight rail corridor — will become a welcome addition to the city’s transit-scape. But th ..read more

MTA transit fares will not increase for the the foreseeable future., the governor announced earlier this week. (Photo: MTA / Jessie Mislavsky) In a boon for riders, the MTA is ending 2021 much as it began the year: by delaying a planned fare hike for at least six months and putting off planned service hikes indefinitely. The news, first announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul and later clarified by MTA Acting Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, will come as welcome news as subway riders continue to return to the system and came about due to various federal COVID relief bills. Hochul first announced the pause o ..read more

The OMNY card will replace the Metrocard, though the fewer people who have one, the better. (Via the MTA) During the pandemic, the way I’ve paid for transit trips in New York City has undergone a seismic change. I haven’t used a Metrocard since the second half of 2020 when the MTA completed the OMNY rollout in the subway and on buses near me in Brooklyn. I don’t suffer the frustration of “please swipe again” and instead tap in on every ride using my phone. Since I’m not commuting regularly, I no longer need a monthly Metrocard, and since I’m paying for each ride individually, I’m happy to use ..read more

The Laguardia AirTrain, a pet project of Andrew Cuomo’s, is now on life support as the Port Authority begins a new review. The much-maligned Laguardia AirTrain may be on its last legs as the Port Authority has paused work on the project following an order by Governor Kathy Hochul to re-examine the plan. The decision doesn’t quite kill former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s crowning symbolism of his top-down, ‘me-first-and-only’ approach to transit planning, but facing lawsuits and criticism on all sides, the days are clearly numbered for the Willets Point-based backwards airtrain, as they should be. T ..read more

Kathy Hochul took the subway from midtown to Harlem earlier this month because it was the quickest way to go, her comms team said. (Photo via Bryan Lesswing) With Andrew Cuomo out of the picture and his infrastructure legacy receding with him, our attention turns to Kathy Hochul. The new governor hails from Buffalo and is the first Upstater to live in the Executive Mansion since the 1920s. This may be a blessing for the NYC region as Hochul doesn’t come with a long history of, say, MTA animosity or the auto-centric policies of some suburban politicians. After years of heavy-handed, ego-driven ..read more

Gov. Andrew Cuomo celebrated the opening of the Second Ave. Subway during a flashy New Years Eve party as 2016 turned in 2017. In a little over 24 hours, Andrew Cuomo’s reign over New York State will officially be over. Call it whatever kind of reign you want – a reign of terror, a reign of narcissism, a reign of exhaustion – but whatever name it gets, it’s over. At 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, August 24, #CuomosMTA becomes #HochulsMTA, and all of the problems Andrew Cuomo, through the sheer force of his aggressive control over the state, swept away will become Kathy Hochul’s. An MTA struggling to e ..read more

Janno Lieber now leads the MTA as its interim CEO and Chair. Uncertainty and political paralysis has gripped the MTA since early June, and making heads or tails of the situation hasn’t been easy. The story unfolded when an Andrew Cuomo ploy late in the legislative session to split the MTA CEO and Chair role into two faltered late in in the face of a New York State Senate unwilling to do the governor’s Eleventh Hour bidding. In its aftermath, Janno Lieber is now the interim MTA CEO and Chair as Pat Foye moved to the New York State Economic Development Corporation. Sarah Feinberg, who had been s ..read more

Andrew Cuomo leads the scrum atop East Side Access’ 182-foot escalators. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Gov. Andrew Cuomo surveys the down escalator underneath 45th St. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Looking down the escalators. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Going up. The 182-foot escalators will be the longest in the MTA’s system. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Inside East Side Access, the passageways are reminiscent of the TWA Flight Center. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Major construction on East Side Access has been completed, but finishes and system testing are yet to be done. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Lookin ..read more

This sign will become a collector’s item as the overnight subway shutdown will end on May 17, Gov. Cuomo announced Monday. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak) Just over a year to the date since Gov. Andrew Cuomo barred passengers from late-night subways, the man in charge of the MTA announced the return of 24/7 subway service. The trains, which kept running all night every night for the last year, will see the return of passengers between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on May 17th when outdoor dining curfews and pandemic-related capacity limits wind down. It’s welcome news for essential workers who saw their late ..read more