<a href="http://www.mta.info/nyct/index.html" target="_BLANK"><strong>New York City Transit</strong></a> is the life blood of New York City, moving more than <a href="http://www.mta.info/mta/ind-perform/per-nyct.htm" target="_BLANK"><strong>187.9 million</strong></a> passengers per month. However, the Lexington Avenue Subway Line is currently over 150% of capacity. As the City grows we must improve capacity and investigate transportation alternatives. We must find alternative transportation routes for residents of Roosevelt Island by modifying current subway service, trams, ferries, and even building additional subway stations.<br><br>While we are building any improvements, including the long overdue Second Avenue Subway, we must make sure that the <a href="http://www.mta.info/" target="_blank"><strong>Metropolitan Transportation Authority</strong></a> (<a href="http://www.mta.info/" target="_blank"><strong>MTA</strong></a>) is <strong>transparent</strong> by making its construction plans available to the people, <strong>open</strong> to review and suggestions from the community, and <strong>accountable</strong> should final decisions be made by the <a href="http://www.mta.info/" target="_blank"><strong>MTA</strong></a> without public comment.<br><br>While the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/mayor/" target="_BLANK"><strong>Mayor</strong></a>'s <a href="http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/congestionpricing/index.htm" target="_BLANK"><strong>Congestion Pricing</strong></a> plan may not have been enacted, it is important not to let a greener New York fall by the wayside. As your City Council member I will work with you to implement initiatives that preserve our environment, improve transportation and make New York City a clean, affordable, and accessible place to live.
"Any pedestrian who has tried to cross under the Queensboro Bridge on Second Avenue knows it is not safe, and while the new subway runs in both directions, residents of the Upper East Side who travel above ground via bicycle have no safe route downtown,"
It is unacceptable to have to wait a decade for Upper East Side's transportation improvements to materialize.
Underground, it took 10 years for the Second Avenue subway construction to be completed. Now we can't wait another 10 years for a safer design of Second Avenue at street level.
Any pedestrian who has tried to cross under the Queensboro Bridge on Second Avenue knows it is not safe, and while the new subway runs in both directions, residents of the Upper East Side who travel above ground via bicycle have no safe route downtown Community Board 8's Transportation Committee. But we can work with the city to change this, by demanding Second Avenue safety improvements at next tomorrow's public session of. Second Avenue needs a road diet, and the Department of Transportation is proposing just that, with the addition of five proposed crosswalks, two new pedestrian islands at 59th Street, and the continuation of the parking-protected bike lane from 68th Street to 60th Street.
"The Upper East Side is thrilled to finally have our very own NYC Ferry stop along the Soundview route," City Councilman Ben Kallos said in a statement. "NYC Ferry continues to connect New Yorkers to our waterfront while reducing the burden on our City's public transportation system while helping New Yorkers get from A to B quicker, easier and more enjoyably."
Transit options for Upper East Siders have dramatically improved since the beginning of 2017 with the opening of the Second Avenue Subway and now with the launch of the East 90th Street ferry. Neighborhood residents living closer to the East River were previously forced to bet on the city's often-unreliable bus service or walk all the way to the Lexington Avenue line for the subway.
The New York City Council is expected to vote next month on a series of bills that address the impact of ride-hailing services like Uber Technologies and Lyft Inc.
Ben Kallos, who represents the Upper East Side, said he was against the cap as well.
Ben Kallos, a City Council member from Manhattan, said that he planned to vote against the cap ... he was bothered by the idea that the cap would halt new licenses while studying the industry.
“The scientific method says we test our hypotheses before we act on them,” Mr. Kallos said. “I don’t support any legislation that creates a solution before we know it actually fixes a problem.”
For the fifth year in a row, I recognized and led residents as part of Bike to Work Day, May 16. This year I rode down to City Hall from my office on East 93 Street for a rally and press conference with activists. During the ride, I was joined by residents and bike activists from Bike New York who also made the harrowing trek through the Second Avenue bike gap all the way down to City Hall. Although New York City has made tremendous improvements adding infrastructure for cyclists like nearly doubling the number of bike lanes in my district over the last five years, we can still do more to make the streets safer for all of us. That is what Bike to Work Day is all about. Thank you to Bike New York, Streets Pac, Citi Bike and Transportation Alternatives for the support along the ride and for joining us. Watch the press conference.
The 27 City Council members who have announced their support for the project by way of a letter to the MTA board and its chairman, Joe Lhota, include Jimmy Van Bramer, Margaret Chin, Laurie Cumbo, Rafael Espinal, Ben Kallos, Brad Lander, Carlos Menchaca, and Jumaane Williams.
The lawmakers also demanded answers for why capital construction costs so much. At $4.5 billion for three new stations, the Second Avenue subway’s first phase was the most expensive subway project in the world, according to transit experts.
“In other parts of the globe, when subway systems are being built or expanded, they do not remotely come close to the challenges we are facing here in New York City,” Hakim said. “You see it when you go by an open utility construction pit and you look in at the maze, the spaghetti of utilities.”
Still, several council members felt that New York was falling behind other cities.
“What does Russia know that we don’t?” asked Manhattan Councilman Ben Kallos, who wondered why Moscow runs more trains per hour than the MTA.
Hakim pointed out that Moscow doesn’t run a 24-hour subway system. “Try to get the subway in Moscow at 2 o’clock in the morning; they’re closed,” she said.
UPPER EAST SIDE — Commuters will begin seeing new countdown clocks at more than a dozen bus stops in the neighborhood, as well as the area's final Citi Bike station, city officials said.
On Thursday, Councilman Ben Kallos and DOT Borough Commissioner Luis Sanchez announced 15 countdown clocks have been installed or will be at stops along the M15, M31, M57, M66 and M72 lines.
The clocks will appear at 70th, 72nd and 75th streets along First Avenue; on Second Avenue at 94th Street; on York Avenue at 72nd, 74th, 76th, 77th, 79th, 84th, 86th and 88th streets; on First Avenue at 57th Street; and on First Avenue at 67th and 72nd streets.
On Thursday, Councilman Ben Kallos and DOT Borough Commissioner Luis Sanchez announced 15 countdown clocks have been installed or will be at stops along the M15, M31, M57, M66 and M72 lines.
The clocks will appear at 70th, 72nd and 75th streets along First Avenue; on Second Avenue at 94th Street; on York Avenue at 72nd, 74th, 76th, 77th, 79th, 84th, 86th and 88th streets; on First Avenue at 57th Street; and on First Avenue at 67th and 72nd streets.
