Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Amtrak tunnel takes developer by surprise

From Crains:

A Manhattan-based developer has reconfigured its planned 1,197-unit Hunters Point South apartment complex after learning an Amtrak tunnel and power lines ran under the city-owned project site, Crain's has learned. As part of the new design, developer TF Cornerstone will include a 600-seat school for the rapidly growing neighborhood on the Queens waterfront.

In 2013, the Bloomberg administration selected the developer and nonprofit partner Selfhelp to build an ODA Architects-designed residential project, including 700 affordable apartments, on part of the Queens peninsula dubbed Hunters Point South.

Nearly two and a half years later, though, blueprints have yet to be finalized. Amtrak and the New York Power Authority have been negotiating with TF Cornerstone since March 2015 to ensure construction doesn't damage the rail tunnel or the power lines.

It is not clear why the underground infrastructure took the developers by surprise, given that plans for the peninsula released in 2008 indicated whoever controlled the site would have to build around multiple easements.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute, the 'developer' isn't demanding that LIRR & Amtrak stop using the tunnels so they can build more high rises in this flood zone (which was under water during hurricanes sandy & irene)?

JQ LLC said...

Wait another minute, how does a existing transit tunnel be a surprise? It's not like it just materialized out of thin air.

This city has about 10 years of idiotic zoning permits to overcome.

Maybe this developer can set the tunnel on fire to proceed building. nudge nudge.

Anonymous said...

Good! Greed and haste screwed the developer!

Anonymous said...

Don't F-up the LIRR tunnels, dude. You'll never work in this town again.

Joe said...

I said this here 2 years ago. How do these assholes expect to drive piles without damaging the tunnel Only a few center section those tunnels sit on bedrock at peak depth under the river. Driving piles causes softening and liquification of dirt with water under or near it.

(sarc) said...

Don't worry!

This is just feigned surprise.

The Train Station is coming...

Anonymous said...

Eventually the weight of the towers will cause damage to the tunnel and guess who will have to pay for the repairs or a new tunnel?

Not the developer of course.

Anonymous said...

I bet that someone accepted a campaign donation with the assurances that this problem would be handled, bit off more than they could chew, and is now sitting here like deer in the headlights.

I tell you our pols would fail a test to work in the post office. They are as stupid as a post.

Anonymous said...

Eight years later and OOopps!! Didnt see that coming...

Anonymous said...

The developers should pay retroactively the same way General Electric paid retroactively for turning a 50 mile stretch of Hudson River into a pollution zone.

Joe said...

Excuse me the proper term is "Liquefaction" and it WILL catastrophically destroy that tunnel sitting on the fill & mud if they start pounding piles or shaking it up.
No engineer in his right state of mind would sign off on this, failure of that tunnel would kill 1000s of people in the trains and likely flood all of Penn station and cause monetary effects worse then 911 and the hurricane combined.
All the the older guys who worked at the former cement mixing company (500 feet north) where my uncle did BBQ & beer for company July 4th fireworks knew this ages ago.

learn about Liquefaction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1iUAAMZZU

Anonymous said...

You are all invited to a Janes Walk event in LIC ... funded by the library and a developer.

Only in Queens.

Only in Queens the locals would ask 'whats the big deal?'

Queens politicians are stupid as a post because they are elected by people stupid as a post