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Paid in full: East Harlem’s Second Ave Subway extension reaches full funding after feds split bill

Stand clear of the closing deals, please. A political who’s who gathered this past Saturday morning to proclaim full funding for the stalled Second Avenue subway phase two extension to East Harlem’s 125th Street. 

From former Rep. Charles Rangel to current U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, officials—both state and federal—signed the grant agreement to pay for the second phase of a project first proposed almost a century ago. 

“It was so crushing…when East Harlem found out that the Second Avenue subway was going to stop at 96th Street,” said Rangel. “But fortunately, East Harlem will have an opportunity now to participate in the work and dreams of New Yorkers and all Americans. Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler, and I were there chopping away, but it took my successor to be the tugboat to bring this great ship to this great neighborhood.”

Rangel is, of course, referring to Rep. Adriano Espaillat who, alongside Sen. Chuck Schumer, announced $3.4 million from the federal government for the $7.7 billion extension on October 24. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) temporarily seized several properties in East Harlem under eminent domain earlier this year to prepare for second-phase construction. It involves extending Q train service from 96th Street to 125th Street and then on 125th Street to Park Avenue. There will be two new stations at 106th Street and 116th Street, and one transfer to Metro North trains.

“We worked hard to ensure that we kept the money coming in for the MTA for the public transportation system in New York City, which is fueled financially by ridership,” said Espaillat. “In this neighborhood, the ridership has been pretty steady, because it’s essential workers. These are the men and women [who] went to work right in the middle of the pandemic as we got hammered by the pandemic, so they deserve this project. 

“And I know that the first phase is a great phase, but it went through some of the richest ZIP codes in the country.”

In 1919, shortly after ​​World War I, the Second Avenue subway project was called the Independent Subway System (IND). The IND was “crippled” by a lack of funding during the subsequent Great Depression era, according to information published by Milrose Consultants. Schumer and Espaillat said that funding remained a primary issue in why the project couldn’t get “under” ground. 

The line was approved by the transportation board in 1929, but the Depression continued to affect building costs. By 1939, it was abandoned. Ten years later, during the Korean War, the transportation board picked the project back up and actually managed to dedicate $112 million in funding to it from a state bond measure before construction was once again postponed. By 1957, the money was spent elsewhere, though. Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, the plans for the line routes changed multiple times, and arguments over where stations should be became “controversial.” The city began construction in 1972 on phase one plans, but stalled three years later and would not return to the project until 1995, said Milrose.

In the early 90s and 2000s, former Mayor Mario Cuomo pushed the project forward, but it was cut from the city’s budget. Funnily enough, his son, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, spearheaded the project in 2014 by securing funding for the updated line routes. Construction for phase one to extend the Q line was almost complete in 2016 and finally had its first trains run in 2017. It costs approximately $4.4 billion, reported AmNews. 

East Harlem remained a “transit desert,” with an abundance of public housing development residents struggling to commute to work, said Schumer. 

“It has been too hard for too long for residents here in East Harlem,” said Buttigieg. “It can take two hours a day round trip even within Manhattan. And because there’s not another option, the 4, 5, and 6 trains get so crowded. The kinds of transportation access you have or don’t have can decide the kind of job that you will have or not have, the kind of health care that you will have or not have, the kind of time with your family—and at the end of the day, time is all we’ve got—that you will have or you will not have.”

While the focus was East Harlem’s residents, Espaillat nicknamed the end-of-the-line “Uptown Grand Central,” pointing to the Metro North Station next door. He said that most of the needed funding came during the pandemic in 2020 and from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure law aimed at centering transit equity.

“This is truly a regional hub, I believe, for transportation in any community [where] most families use public transportation to get to work,” he said. “This is so important to East Harlem. This is going to connect East Harlem to the rest of the world. That’s how I see [it].”

While Gov. Kathy Hochul was thrilled about federal assistance, she was quick to point out the state’s role in splitting the tab.

“Thank you for the $3.4 billion,” she joked. “That’s almost as high as my $4 billion. but who was keeping track, so if you want to go a little higher, okay, you got a little competition going on here.”
Ariama C. Long and Tandy Lau are Report for America corps members who write about politics and public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep them writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

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