Second Ave Subway
Steve Duncan, 2002

Subways seem a little cramped and crowded? New York, when you get right down to it, is a 21st century city with a 19th century subway system. It’s still the best and most efficient subway in the world, but it’s needed improvement for most of the past hundred years. This has been recognized since 1919, when a study on the rapid transit system by Engineer Daniel Turner first proposed a Second Avenue Subway.

Unfortunately, it didn’t happen then, and it’s kept on not happening. Between 1919 and 1930, plans, proposals, and studies were made; then with the depression in the 30s, the project was temporarily shelved. But the transportation problems were consistent and in the 1940s the plans were revived. By 1949, it was discussed as much by East-Siders as it is today. By 1950 a new plan was firmly set, which included east-west connections at 34th St. and service to Queens. The schedule was for completion in less than a decade: by 1958.

It still didn’t happen, despite an investment by the city of $500 million in bonds for the new subway. More studies and proposals were made, and plenty of plans, but no subway was actually created, as riders on the crowded Lexington Ave line could see.

Throughout the tangled history of the project, money was the primary limiting factor. Thus the passage in 1964 of the federal Urban Mass Transit Act was a hopeful note, because it gave the possibility of federal funding for urban transit construction projects. The city applied for $254 million in Federal funds, and was given an initial grant of $25 million (only 10% of what was really needed to begin the project.) Still, they thought that was enough to get started, and so official groundbreaking ceremonies were held on October 27, 1972, at East 103rd Street and Second Avenue, more than a half-century after the line had been proposed.

It’s now been thirty years since that groundbreaking ceremony, and rush hour on the 4/5/6 trains is still legendary for its overcrowding, unrelieved by any other north/south route on the upper east side. East-siders still have to walk further than almost any other Manhattan residents to get to a subway station. And despite the original work, which left an empty, dug-out underground space a few blocks long, the project languished for 30 years.

The re-opened project has seen further plans and studies, culminating in the decision in October of 2001 by the New York City Transit to undertake the construction of a full-length Second Avenue Subway, with the actual construction to begin at the end of 2004. This plan relies to a large degree on federal funding; the city and state simply cannot build the system without federal support. Is such federal funding justified? Absolutely. In fact, the government funds transportation throughout the country, from roads and highways down to urban rail networks. In 2001, for example, Denver (with one-eighth the residents of New York) got $60 million in federal appropriations for a new light-rail system. The same year, the Second Avenue received only $10 million in federal funding, which it had to share with transportation improvements planned for Queens. What it basically boils down to is that New York, with one-third of the entire nations mass transit riders, us still operating with a century-old subway system and has missed out on the federal funding for transportation improvements that other, more car-oriented cities have seen.

In 1998, as part of a six-year, multi-billion dollar transportation bill, congress authorized $353 million for transportation system improvements. Authorization is only the first step in getting money appropriated, though, and despite the authorization, little money was actually appropriated. In fact, from 1998 and 2000, New York received only $54 million for transit improvement, and only $8 million in 2000. All this money sounds good until you understand how little it is compared to what the project needs and deserves. The overall price tag for the Second Avenue alone, regardless of the other subway improvements, will be between $13 and $30 billion.

We’re now in the same position we were in the late 60s, when a line was completely planned out and the city first received (insufficient) federal funding for this project. Then, the project was stalled and halted by the budget problems of the 1970s. Once again, particularly in the wake of September 11th, the city is facing budget restraints and the federal government is failing to disburse the well-deserved and desperately-needed funding. This is an expensive project but it will serve New York well. But if it’s going to happen, we need significant federal funds—federal funds which are well-deserved in this subway-driven city.

Download this article in RTF format by clicking HERE