Monday, September 28, 2009

2nd Ave subway construction setback


From the NY Post:

Construction on the Second Avenue Subway is really making all the local stops.

The $4.5 billion MTA mega-project has suffered yet another setback, this time due to shaky apartment buildings.

MTA crews can't carry out permits for blasting underground rock near the two unstable structures near East 92nd Street until both are shored up, the MTA and city Department of Buildings said yesterday. Both had to be evacuated in June.

While the delay won't push back the subway's overall July 2017 completion date -- which was recently changed from 2015 and originally slated for 2012 -- workers since July have resorted to digging with machinery instead of using faster blasting methods, officials said.

One of the buildings -- 1772 Second Ave. -- has already been stabilized, the MTA said. Tenants returned there several weeks ago.

MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin called the building conditions "pre-existing."

The buildings were evacuated in a frenzied rush in June.

Tenants scrambled back from vacations and work to grab personal items before they moved in with friends or checked into hotels.

City documents show that the two buildings had structural issues for years. By 2006, one was leaning north by 10 inches, and another had a crumbling facade, records show.


So the long-standing problems were known about, yet new problems were not anticipated by either DOB or MTA? Shouldn't the conditions of these buildings have been addressed before the construction proceeded?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Common sense makes too much sense for the MTA and DOB.

Anonymous said...

Wow, What a Surprise!

Anonymous said...

We'll see the Loch Ness monster before we see completion of the 2nd Avenue Subway. This one was under construction in the 70's too.

Two questions, does anyone know why the 3rd avenue El was taken down?

Does this version of the 2nd avenue line retrace what was already dug in the 70s?

Lino said...

"Two questions, does anyone know why the 3rd avenue El was taken down?"

Yeah, it was blight and obsolete in that it was not structurally capable of handling the non-composite (wood/steel) cars.

There were also real estate interests that saw the potential for Third ave. as more than hock shops and grim bars.

The third ave el was the last one operating in Manhattan. It ceased operation in May 1955 and demolition began early the following year. A section remained in service in the Bronx until 1973.

I used to walk under it on the way to the Botanical Gardens with my Grandmother. I loved the old wrecks that ran on it..but it really made the street underneath noisy and dark.

"Does this version of the 2nd avenue line retrace what was already dug in the 70s?"

Oh come on..

---------------------------------

Our group has investments restaurants along second ave..right at two critical excavation points.
The buildings are not slated for demolition but the narrowing of the sidewalks (to 5-6ft) will probably kill them.

Storage Containers said...

Thanks for the article and i think that Construction on the Second Avenue Subway is really good. The new construction will be better and i hope that people accept the new construction as they accepted the old one.

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Portable Storage said...

I think that the second avenue subway construction must be looked by the local government and special measure should be taken to stop the problems which are been faced during the construction of this subway.

Thanks,
Portable Storage,
www.moveablecubicle.com