And I have to add.There are so many available right away to make things easier for commuters, but they don't do it.The line doesn't even go into the city.Why would it be worth it
I remember those days we would walk from tompkinsville to St George and still manage to make the ferry on time before it sets off to Manhattan and vice versa and didn't have to pay a fare.
I for one think that both branches should be revived but also a Western section added to create a proper Staten Island Circle Line that could and should run 24/7/365 and probably be automated with platform screen doors...
The Utica Avenue line should be revived and built along with a revival of Floyd Bennett Field as a secondary/regional airport like LaGuardia to cater to regional flights to take some pressure off JFK across the harbour, and then connect the two with more automated skytrains!
They should convert it into a bike path / running path. IT WOULD BE AN AMAZING WALK WITH VIEWS TO LIC!!! would connect some KEY neighborhoods and reduce congestion and increase health and wealth. Currently its used occasionaly by freight trains
Hey could you possibly make a video or short covering a building on Third Avenue and East 99th Street, it’s a substation that served the 3rd Avenue Elevated. Specifically substation No.7. There is more information in this link ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2024/03/25/a-spooky-remnant-of-the-third-avenue-el-still-stands-on-east-99th-street/
I grew up in the Bronx, born in 1975. I used to spend summer days fishing at Van Cortland Park. I remember fishing off that when it had rails on it still in the early 90's. I walked along the tracks- not the trail- all the way to Yonkers as a kid. Great days ❤
Thanks for posting this. Years ago, when I was going to college in the Bronx, I often rode the "4" line into and back from Manhattan. Just before Yankee Stadium, I could see the remains of "something" (the Anderson/Jerome Avenue station) to the west, but wondered what it had been. The connecting lines to the Bronx IRT line were still visible between 161st and 167th Streets (but the rails had long since vanished). It was great to see your description of another part of "lost NYC subways".
Given the current decline and fall of New York City, I wonder if any of these extensions will EVER be built?!?! Thanks for documenting these plans, so that in the future, there will be a record of the hopes and dreams of an enhanced New York Subway system.
Since COVID, office occupancy rates in Manhattan have dropped considerably and may never be revived. Also, the MTA is stuck with high debt levels, maintenance backlogs, and unfunded pension and health care obligations to its employees. Thus they will be struggling to maintain their existing services for a very long time to come.
2:13 this is like in Boston where a planned I-625 was meant to be built but never happened. Once Zakim was built and the southbound exit 18 (old exit 26) was moved part of this 1960s bridge was used to exit. The other double deck exit remained abandoned still visible to drivers.
i used to work at a warehouse on Morgan Ave right by the Bushwick branch about 7 years ago , i've always wondered if it was an old unused passenger line.
Now wish the Woodside branch was preserved, cause it could've been used to reroute Port Washington trains and basically allow for high frequency service. Where PW trains could run into Manhattan on their own Trunk instead of sharing tracks into penn.
I won't be surprised if in the near future, Marble Hill becomes part of the Bronx. Side note: There are proposals that I have seen that involve a University Heights Line for the (5). It splits from Yankees Stadium and heads down under the section of the former Polo Grounds shuttle and west, then north to University Heights, then Marble Hill is the last stop. Would be very weird for announcements, since Marble Hill is part of Manhattan, unless if it is designated as part of the Bronx for the (5).
The first fact is exactly why we need to deinterline the 5 away from White Plains. It barely serves White Plains at all during rush hours, and Dyre Avenue ain't 100% pro-Lexington service. Just send the 3 there. The 2 can have a peak-direction express at White Plains from Wakefield to 3rd Avenue, while the 3 can be local only to Eastchester, removing the deterrent of the at-grade junction north of 180th Street.
No “we” do not need to do any such thing. 1) The #5 train gets a very healthy amount of ridership in the Bronx and Manhattan. 2) On weekends when the MTA has removed #5 service for track work - the 149th Street-Grand Concourse station becomes very over crowded with riders transferring between the #2 and the #4 trains. Imagining the kinds of crowds transferring during the rush hours and weekdays - that would be a nightmare. The #3 train performs a very important role on the Westside, allowing space for riders from the #1 to actually board the express trains. 4) The Lexington Avenue subway for decades has carried, and still does carry the most amount of subway riders to and from Manhattan - for any the subway lines, and some railroad lines. For what God-awful reason would any “arm-chair transit planner” want to mess with that?
You missed two if the most important elevated lines in what is now known as Sunset Park (South Brooklyn back then). Back then you had the 5th Ave elevated line that went from the Sands Street Terminal at Brooklyn Bridge to 65th Street Bay Ridge. You also had a spur that branched off of the 5th Ave line at 39th Street (39th Street Terminal Station then - Jackie Gleason bus depot now) and headed west to 3rd Avenue, then turned south to 65th Steet. Most of the existing Gowanus Expressway south of 39th Street was constructed using the former 3rd Avenue elevated stucture. Both the 5th Ave and 3rd Ave Els discontinued passenger service in the 1940’s because of the new 4th Ave subway. The former street level and below grade tracks used by the South Brooklyn and Long Island RR’s are now going to become the new “Interborough Express Transit Line”.
It will never be put in. Was wanted years ago, back in the 50's, neighbors protested. Now railroad removed track to put pipeline in to JFK. They were not allowed to put track back because of to much vibration from trains above.
