Penn Station mini-hell will be on track
NEW YORKERS were introduced to a new, sleek public transportation possibility along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront Monday. The Friends of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector displayed a life-sized prototype of the light rail streetcar that may run along a 16-mile route at a press conference at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, an area that would directly benefit from the suggested route. “On the heels of Mayor de Blasio’s reelection, we really call on the City of New York and the mayor to take action and move this project forward,” said YaTing Liu, executive director of Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, an umbrella group for developers supporting the plan known as the BQX project. In February 2016, de Blasio announced his support of the $2.5 billion taxpayer-supported streetcar running from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to Astoria, Queens. But critics say the route covers areas where there is low bus ridership, and ground isn’t expected to be broken until 2020. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who attended the press conference, pointed out the proposed route would connect the Red Hook area to DUMBO and other spots where there are currently few public transportation offerings. Last December, the Daily News detailed how the proposed route stops near seven major luxury developments, including two directed by Brooklyn builder Jed Walentas of Two Trees Management Co. Walentas and other developers donated thousands to de Blasio before he backed the plan, records show. The mayor has denied those political contributions did anything to sway his mind. He has pointed out that the route also passes several public housing projects, including Red Hook, Farragut, Taylor-Wythe, Queensbridge, Ravenswood and Astoria houses. AMTRAK WILL hit the tracks at Penn Station once again, bringing changes to Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit services as it makes repairs beginning in January.
It won’t be as dramatic as this year’s “Summer of Hell” — when Amtrak repaired a swath of tracks at Penn Station during rush hour in July and August. But the federal rail agency will need to fully reconstruct three tracks the LIRR uses — tracks 15, 18 and 19 — one at a time.
LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski said Monday that the agency is not ready to say how service will change.
“It will be much more than we experienced this fall, it will not be as much as we experienced last summer,” Nowakowski said.
Amtrak will close the tracks at different times from Jan. 5 through May 28, affecting service on trains from Washington and Pennsylvania. Most of the work will take place on weekends.