Delays on major subway upgrade
could signal more woes ahead
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
THE CITY
The coronavirus crisis and
computer glitches will
delay a key signal upgrade
along one of the busiest sections
of the subway system by up to six
months, MTA records show.
The new signal system stretching
from the Union Turnpike
station in Queens to the 50th
Street stop on the Eighth Avenue
line in Manhattan is among the
fi rst in what could be many of
major capital projects to run into
delays — or worse — because of
the pandemic.
“We have put in place robust
safety guidelines and oversight…
and been able to keep almost all of
our projects up and running during
the COVID-19 health crisis,”
the MTA said in a statement to
THE CITY. “Currently, we have
more than 500 projects reporting
each day and only a handful are
suspended today related to the
pandemic.”
PHOTO: BEN FRACTENBERG/THE CITY
A digital advertisement encourages safety measures for riders
trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Powers pushes bill to save composting sites
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
New York City politicians
are seeking legislation
that would create a
minimum threshold of recycling
and composting sites across fi ve
boroughs, allowing for proper
disposal of non-general waste.
East Side City Councilman
Keith Powers and Brooklyn City
Councilman Antonio Reynoso
introduced the “Community
Organics and Recycling Empowerment
(CORE)” Act. If passed,
this legislation would allow for
the recycling of organic and inorganic
recyclables not collected
at the curb at mandated, proper
disposal sites.
Intro 1942, sponsored by
Powers, would require three
drop-off composting sites in
each community district. Intro.
1943, sponsored by Reynoso,
The onset of the COVID-19
pandemic — combined with
reliability problems with the
new signal system’s software and
hardware — has delayed a needed
safety certifi cation, records show.
The computerized signal
system is expected to boost capacity
on the Queens Boulevard
stretch of the E, F, M and R lines
by allowing trains to run closer
together.
Employees charged with testing
would allow for the collection
of recyclable materials such as
electronics, which by State law
cannot be disposed of into our
general waste stream. If passed,
the legislation would preserve or
create 177 disposal sites across
the city, and these sites will
continue despite the city’s halt on
curbside composting.
“New Yorkers want to do
their part to make our city—and
world—a better place. Even before
this unprecedented crisis, we faced
the compounding crisis of climate
change,” said Council Member
Powers. “The Community Organics
and Recycling Empowerment
(CORE) Act allows for us to do our
part and keep taking action. Continuing
composting and recycling
across neighborhoods will ensure
waste is disposed of in a way that
is best for our environment, and
for each other.”
the system are stuck working from
home, said a spokesperson for
Siemens, the German industrial
giant that was one of two companies
awarded a combined $205
million contract for the signaling
project.
“We are working with the
MTA to minimize this delay,” the
spokesperson added.
The L and the No. 7 are the
only lines in the subway system
equipped with more modern
In light of recent cuts to composting
programs in New York
City, 175 community sites have
been shut down and curbside
e-waste collection has been
suspended, leaving the city’s residents
without a green mechanism
to dispose of this waste. By passing
these bills, proper disposal
signal technology, while the work
on the E, F, M and R lines is 67%
complete, according to the MTA.
The project’s initial phase was
supposed to be operational by
March 2021.
In addition, documents show,
several planned weekend track
outages for signal upgrades along
the F line in Brooklyn had to
be canceled because of the
pandemic.
Billions at Stake
While many MTA construction
projects have managed to proceed
with minimal interruption during
the crisis, the agency will likely
have to recast its record $51 billion
capital program.
The ambitious blueprint for
overhauling the transit system
calls for, among other major improvements,
making more than
60 stations fully accessible to
riders with disabilities and adding
1,900 new subway cars.
“Maintaining and upgrading
today’s system must be the MTA’s
top priority,” said Colin Wright of
TransitCenter, an advocacy group.
“That means keeping our tracks,
trains and stations in good shape
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
methods and organics collection
could be salvaged and also make
it easier for the city’s curbside
composting program to bounce
back in the future.
The legislation will be reviewed
at a future hearing of the Sanitation
Committee.
“The devastation of the
and upgrading the system for
people with disabilities.”
The largest capital program in
the MTA’s history is on hold while
the agency seeks a second, nearly
$4 billion injection of emergency
federal funding to stem a massive
coronavirus-driven shortfall in
fare and toll revenue.
Transit offi cials have acknowledged
the hold is affecting 20
subway accessibility projects
and Sandy-related repairs on
nights and weekends to the F
line’s East River tunnel.
The long-term impact on
big-ticket capital construction
projects remains unclear, though
transit offi cials have said signal
upgrades are essential to the
subway system’s future.
“They have to plug the holes in
their operating budget before they
can talk about the capital plan,”
said Rachael Fauss of Reinvent
Albany, a budget watchdog.
The MTA has held off on
awarding new construction contracts
until its fi nancial outlook
is clearer.
“Fighting for funding, that’s
priority No. 1 right now,” Wright
said.
This story was originally published
on May 19, 2020 by THE
CITY, an independent, nonprofi t
news organization dedicated to
hard-hitting reporting that serves
the people of New York.
COVID-19 pandemic underscores
that we must do all we can
now to avoid the larger crisis that
looms before us: climate change,”
said Council Member Reynoso.
“How we process the waste that
we produce here in NYC is an essential
complement of our City’s
plan to reach our Zero Waste
goals while supporting global
sustainability efforts. In order
for New York City to properly
process its waste, residents must
be given the ability to sustainably
dispose of their waste. The Community
Organics and Recycling
Empowerment Act (CORE),
introduced today by myself and
Council Member Keith Powers,
will allow New Yorkers to be
able to sustainably dispose of their
waste, despite the City’s pause on
the curbside organics collection
program, while achieving budget
savings.”
4 May 21, 2020 Schneps Media