Gov. Cuomo visits Second Ave. Subway as Phase 1 deadline approaches

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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New York Gov. Cuomo visits with MTA employees and contractors building the 86th St. Station for the Second Avenue Subway extension.
Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo

With January under three weeks away, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited contractors and construction workers building the 72nd and 86th Street Stations on the Second Avenue Subway project to view progress.

Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year and the governor is confident the deadline will be met.

During an appearance on The Cats Roundable, the governor said, “…there was a move early on, people thought we should probably move the deadline. And I said, ‘No, we’re going to stick to the deadline and we’re going to work like hell to make it,’ and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We have a few weeks, and if I had to bet, I would bet that we make it. We still have a lot of work to do. It’s a complex project…we’re going to work every day between now and December 31, I can tell you that, to make sure we hit the deadline.”

Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway project began in April 2007 and will extend the Q Line from its current terminal at 57 St – 7 Av to the new 96 St – 2 Av station, via an existing tunnel under Central Park and 63rd St. The extension will help to alleviate overcrowding on the 4 Subway Line 5 Subway Line 6 Subway Line between 103rd St and 63rd St, as well as provide easier travel between the upper EastSide, one of the most densely populated areas of the United States, and the west side of Manhattan; with service continuing on into Brooklyn via the existing Q Line line.

Melissa DeRosa, Gov. Cuomo’s Chief of Staff, said, “Gov. Cuomo visits the Second Avenue subway several times a week and holds weekly meetings with the MTA and its contractors. Today was another one of those visits. The governor believes the progress is encouraging and he’s cautiously optimistic about hitting the January 1 deadline.”

The project is New York City’s first major expansion of the subway system in more than 50 years. Phase 1 will have three new stations and includes the renovation of another station, but when fully completed, the line will stretch 8.5 miles and include 16 new stations.

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