Transportology
This section the covers the latest news you need to know about getting around New York City -- walking, taxis, subways, buses and (if you must,) driving.
For some basics, see:
NewYorkology Basics: Riding the subway
NewYorkology Basics: Taxi cabs
NewYorkology Basics: Walking
NewYorkology Basics: From the airport to Manhattan
Waldorf's lost train off-limits, other tunnels offer tours
Matt Lauer of the "Today" show this morning got rare access into one of New York's City's best hidden spaces -- the abandoned rail platfrm under the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
Most famously used by President Franklin Roosevelt to help hide the fact he was wheelchair-bound, the track allowed VIPs to enter Manhattan by train and take an elevator directly up to the luxury hotel without ever setting foot on the street.
In 2006, the Waldorf's general manager told NewYorkology that the hotel's entrance to the rail platform had been reconfigued and is no longer easy to access. He also debunked a few myths about who used the private entrance. Researchers at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum in Hyde Park also did some research on the matter for NewYorkology, making it clear that the abandoned rail car under the Waldorf isn't the polio-stricken president's famous Pullman car, the Ferdinand Magellan.
 So unless you're Matt Lauer, you're probably not ever getting access to the train cars under the Waldorf. But you can get access to a couple other abandoned rail stations in NYC. The oldest option is in Brooklyn, directly under Atlantic Avenue as it leads out to the East River. Tours of the 1844 tunnel are offered about once a month by the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association. But be warned that you do enter the tunnel by crawling through a manhole in the middle of the street at the intersection of Atlantic and Court.
 Your other option is to catch one of the rare tours the NY Transit Museum offers of the city's original subway station that opened in 1904 under City Hall in Lower Manhattan. The stunning station, with chandeliers, skylights and tiled, vaulted ceilings, is next open for tours on July 19.
Not quite as glamorous, but still cool, the old Knickerbocker Hotel on Times Square had its own stairs from the subway platform leading up to the hotel. See Forgotten NY for pictures. (In 2006, the Dubai royal family announced plans to convert the Knickerbocker back into a luxury hotel but the Post reported last week that instead they've decided to sell the landmark building which now houses offices and a Gap shop, streetview map.)
Also of note: Julia Solis' intriguing "New York Underground" recently came out in paperback.
Earlier: 1844 Atlantic Avenue railway tunnel reopens for tours
Waldorf-Astoria's private rail platform forever closed
NY's golden hotel era architects: Schultze & Weaver
May 8, 2008 10:26 AM Comments (0)
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Rockaways, Frying Pan to get Water Taxi on weekends
While the mayor made his big announcement today about new ferry commmuter service between the Rockaways and Manhattan, the more interesting news may lie in the New York Water Taxi's other plans for this summer, including weekend service to Rockaway Beach as well as the Frying Pan on the Hudson.
Service will also start to Red Hook's new Brooklyn Ikea starting June 18, but the Water Taxi has ditched all plans for Governors Island and the Mets Express this summer, a spokeswoman for the company told NewYorkology. (Governors Island will still be served by a free ferry from Lower Manhattan for the season, which starts May 31.)
Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City will officially reopen for the season on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, with Friday/Saturday/Sunday ferry service from E. 34th Street in Manhattan.
The NY Water Taxi is also ditching its weekday hop-on hop-off service which has been aimed at the tourist crowd. That service will remain on weekends (when ridership was higher and the boats won't be needed for the commuter routes.)
However, it will still run its evening sunset happy-hour cruises on most nights. And new this week, it's adding a TV and Movie cruise every Thursday. And once Olafur Eliasson's NYC Waterfalls art project starts flowing, the Water Taxi (along with Circle Line and NY Waterway) will start special waterfall cruises.
NY Water Taxi weekend service to the Rockaways -- at Riis Landing on National Park Service land -- is aiming to start weekend service in early summer. No pricing details are yet available (although the city-subsidised weekday commuter service on the same route will be $6 each way.)
Service to the Lightship "Frying Pan" would also start mid-summer, as a stop on the hop-on hop-off service. The "Frying Pan," which recently moved to Pier 66 from its longtime Pier 63 home on the Hudson River, hopes to reopen soon as a restaurant and bar -- the same facilities it offered in the old location, a spokeswoman told NewYorkology today.
Farther out on the horizon, the city is sinking $500,000 into a study on more routes, including LaGuardia Airport, Roosevelt Island, Coney Island, Riverdale, Camp St. Edward on Staten Island, W. 125th Street, Orchard Beach, Hunts Point, Sheepshead Bay, Bay Ridge, Astoria, and Manhattan's E. 20th , E. 75th, and E. 90th streets.
Earlier: Hotel packages start trickling in for NYC Waterfalls
'NYC Waterfalls' cruises priced at $10 and $20
Water Taxi starts Brooklyn-to-Governors Island route
Frying Pan moves to Pier 66; reopening date uncertain
Circle Line adds cruises, but LaGuardia ferry on hold
May 5, 2008 05:32 PM Comments (0)
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Sharpton: Protest to 'close this city down' Wednesday
To protest the acquittal of the three officers who shot Sean Bell as he was leaving his bachelor party in 2006, Rev. Al Sharpton has vowed to "close this city down" starting Wednesday at 3 p.m. with a series of civil disobedience actions.
 Sharpton has called for protesters to gather in at least six locations to pray (and presumably stop all traffic in the area.) NewYorkology created a map for the announced locations:
125th Street and Third Avenue
60th Street and Third Avenue
34th Street and Park Avenue
Varick and Houston streets, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel
One Police Plaza, near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge
House of the Lord Church, 415 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn
In rendering the verdict April 25, the judge said the witnesses were unreliable and "at times, the testimony just didn't make sense."
While the judge said the actions of the three indicted NYPD officers did not rise to the level of criminal, "questions of carelessness and incompetence must be left to other forums," he said.
The police officers could still face federal charges over their actions, and after that determination, the NYPD will be allowed to determine its discipline for the trio. The stated aim of the upcoming protest is to persuade federal officials to "enforce laws to make police brutality illegal and prosecute officers that violate such laws.
Of special note to travelers to NYC, one of those 50 bullets fired by police was so off course that it sailed into a nearby AirTrain station. On the video, you can see suitcase-toting travelers ducking for cover.
May 5, 2008 07:49 AM Comments (0)
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High Line to open in May for sketching classes
Can't wait for fall to set foot up on the High Line when it will start opening to the public as a park? Then sign up for a High Line sketching class in May.
 A section of the HIgh Line opened for (legal) tours during last year's Open House New York, but the sign-ups maxed out super fast. Currently, there are 34 spots available for the sketching spots.
The sketching classes will be taught by artist Ann DeVere. The price is $25 for High Line supporters or $50 otherwise -- and art supplies will be provided. Participants must be at least 18 years old. And apparently there's no prerequesite that your art skills have to be any good before you arrive.
The High Line -- an abandoned, elevated freight train tracks built in the 1920s and '30s -- is on schedule to open its first park section in fall from Gansevoort Street up to 20th Street. See construction pictures on the High Line's website.
Other upcoming (off-site) High Line events include a May 6 lecture with artist Spencer Finch who will discuss plans for the public art work he's creating for the High Line.
Picture credits: High Line above the Hudson Yards during the OHNY tours in October 2007. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
April 29, 2008 08:40 AM Comments (0)
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Pope arrives in NYC to visit U.N., Yankee Stadium, WTC
Pope Benedict XVI today starts a three-day trip to New York City with plans to address the United Nations, visit the World Trade Center site and a Jewish synagogue and celebrate mass at several locations including Yankee Stadium and Saint Patrick's Cathedral.
Extra security is in place and the traffic disruptions have begun.
Resources: St. Patricks gift shop with official pope in NY merchandise
Buses rerouted for the pope's visit (MTA)
Papal Visit Street Closures and Construction Embargo (NYC DOT)
Other coverage: Fiery Cab Outside St. Patrick's (Gothamist)
Tickets scarce for historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI (TicketNews.com)
First Papal Visit to an American Synagogue Is Set (Sun)
Security will halt John Paul-style stroll (Daily News)
Papal visit puts spotlight on Catholic sites in New York, D.C.
(USA Today)
The pope's schedule highlights in New York City:
Friday
9:45 a.m. - The pope arrives at JFK Airport and is welcomed by Cardinal Edward M. Egan, archbishop of New York and Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio, bishop of Brooklyn and others.
10 a.m. - The pope will address the United Nations and meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
5:22 p.m - The pope visits the Park East Synagogue, located at 163 East 67th St.
6 p.m. - Ecumenical prayer service at Saint Joseph Parish, located at 404 E. 87th St., before the pope returns to the papal residence on in NY on East 72nd Street (normally the home of Bishop Celestino Migliore) where Lidia Bastianich, of Felidia and Del Posto restaurants, will prepare the meal
Saturday
9 a.m. - The pope celebrates mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral with 3,000 deacons, priests and religious men and women from throughout the United States.
1:15 p.m. The pope departs Saint Patrick's and will travel by popemobile up 5th Avenue to 72nd Street. (This is your best chance to see the pope as its one of the only unticketed events.)
4:30 p.m. - The pope travels to Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers to bless youth with disabilities and rally with seminarians and young people.
Sunday
9:30 a.m. - The pope visits Ground Zero, blesses the ground with holy water and greets representatives of the Port Authority, fire and police workers, survivors and family members of those killed in the the Sept. 11 attacks.
2:30 p.m. - The pope celebrates mass at Yankee Stadium
8:30 p.m. - The pope departs JFK's Hangar 19 on Alitalia's "Shepherd One"
Resources:
St. Patricks gift shop's official pope in NY items
Buses rerouted for the pope's visit (MTA)
Papal Visit Street Closures and Construction Embargo (DOT)
Other coverage: Fiery Cab Outside St. Patrick's (Gothamist)
Tickets scarce for Pope Benedict XVI (TicketNews.com)
First Papal Visit to an American Synagogue Is Set (Sun)
Security will halt John Paul-style stroll (Daily News)
Papal visit puts spotlight on Catholic sites in New York, D.C.
(USA Today)
April 18, 2008 06:30 AM Comments (0)
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L, 7 rated cleanest subway cars, E and Q the shmutziest
 Overall, New York City subways are cleaner than they used to be, with the L and 7 trains the shiniest most often, according to the Subway Shmutz report issued by transit watchdog group Straphangers Campaign.
But the worst of the worst -- the E and Q -- were clean only 29 percent of the time. till, that's better than two years ago when the E was clean only 2 percent of the time.
The survey doesn't tally litter, but rather whether they were "basically dirt free" or had "light dirt."
Overall, 50 percent of all cars were rated "clean," compared with the 47 percent clean rating during the survey conducted in the winter of 2005.
Earlier: Multi-ride MetroCard fares rising as of March 2
Subway ridership climbed to 1.56 billion in 2007
1 train ranks No. 1 in NYC, cars cleaner systemwide
Subways more crowded and grimier than a year ago
March 25, 2008 04:15 PM Comments (0)
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Killing time in Grand Central's bad old days
Miss gritty New York?
 Head to Grand Central Terminal's New York Transit Museum annex, where they've mounted a small exhibit on the history of the Metro-North Railroad.
Wind toward the back of the room and gaze upon the badly damaged, seemingly world-weary clockface from the clock in Grand Central's main concourse. The museum card pulls no punches:Clock Face from Grand Central Terminal
Circa 1913
Self-Winding Clock Comany
New York Transit Museum Collection, Transfer from Metro-North Railroad, Department of Corporate Communications
Crime -- especially vandalism and drug peddling -- became more common in Grand Central as the Terminal physically deteriorated in the 1960s through the 1980s. Even with these cracks and holes -- possibly caused by a bullet -- this clock remained in the Terminal until was renovated in the 1980s. The free exhibition, "A Railroad Reborn: Metro-North at 25" will remain on view at the Transit Museum Annex through July 6.
Earlier: Art by track worker Marvin Franklin at Transit Museum
March 24, 2008 08:17 AM Comments (0)
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Upcoming tours: Navy Yard, train tunnel, watershed
There are several unusual, upcoming tours of note in New York City. Some are free, though reservations are highly encouraged for most. The list:
New York Marble Cemetery
March 23 - First open day of the season for the oldest public non-sectarian cemetery in New York City. (Open once a month through November.)
Atlantic Avenue Tunnel tour - Brooklyn Historic Railway Assoc.
March 30 - Climb down a manhole at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, (pictured,) into a forgotten train tunnel built in 1844.
Tunnels and Chambers - NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation
March 30 - Billed as “the big unveiling of the Endicott Batteries, a labyrinth of
concrete hidden among trees and bushes” at Fort Totten in Queens. Bring a flashlight.
Top tier of Fort Wadsworth's Battery Weed - National Park Service
March 30 - A rare tour of the to of Battery Weed, as well as the restored turn-of-the-century lighthouse.
The First Walk - The Municipal Art Society
April 6 - Retracing the steps of the very first Municipal Art Society walking tour of 1955, which was "such a novelty then that newspapers sent reporters and a photographer to cover it." Covers Madison Square, Gramercy Park, Stuyvesant Square and will end "as that first tour did -- at venerable Pete's Tavern on Irving Place." (Led by Francis Morrone, architectural historian and NewYorkology contributor.)
Grand Avenue Bus Depot - New York Transit Museum
April 13 - Behind-the-scenes tour of the 500,000 square foot Bus Depot and Central Maintenance Shop in Maspeth, in operation since Fall 2007.
Lantern tour of Fort Wadsworth - National Park Service
April 14 - 7 p.m. tour of the fortification at the foot of the Verrazano Bridge. Flashlights required.
Cheese Caves - Murray's Cheese
April 19, May 17, June 21 - Now offered on the third Saturday of every month, the much-loved cheese shop on Bleecker opens its subterranean cheese caves for $10 tours.
Fresh Kills Park Tours - NYC Urban Park Rangers
April 19 - First free bus tour of the season of Staten Island's retired landfill currently being turned into a park. Tours run through November.
Read the rest of this entry
March 19, 2008 11:09 AM Comments (0)
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Pre-fare hike unlimited MetroCards will expire by July
 If you stocked up on subway and bus MetroCards before the fares went up March 2, you'll have to use them or lose them by the end of June.
While the base fare remains at $2 per ride (with transfers,) the MTA raised the price of weekly and monthly passes as well as other unlimited-ride type cards. You'll need to activate the cards by the following dates in order to get the full benefits:
June 1 - 30-day MetroCards
June 24 - 7-day MetroCards
June 30 - 1-day Fun Pass
Pro-rated refunds are available if you "ask a station agent for a postage-paid envelope or drop off the MetroCard at the New York City Transit Customer Service Center at 3 Stone Street in Lower Manhattan," according to the New York Times.
March 11, 2008 07:44 AM Comments (0)
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Multi-ride MetroCard fares rising as of March 2
Starting Sunday, New York City subway and bus fares will rise for all multi-use MetroCards.
 However, the $2 per-ride base fare will remain the same.
The new plan, which basically reduces the discount that automatically kicks in when you put at least $10 on your MetroCard, will also sometimes result in residual cash remaining on the cards. Or if you want to avoid the extra contribution to the MTA, you can head to a bodega and buy the new "oddball" priced cards, according to the Daily News, such as $17.39 for a 10-ride-card.
Prices for the new subway cards as of March 2, 2008:
1-Day Fun Pass: $7.50
7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard: $25
14-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard: $47
30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard: $81
The Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard, which currently gives a 20 percent break on every $10, will drop to a 15 discount. That means the cost per ride rises to $1.74 from $1.67.
The tolls and fares are rising elsewhere as well.
On Saturday, fares rise on the Long Island RailRoad and MetroNorth trains.
On March 16, bridge and tunnel tolls rise for cash-paying drivers and EZPass users.
Earlier: Subway ridership climbed to 1.56 billion in 2007
Subway fare increase and congestion pricing advance
1 train ranks No. 1 in NYC, cars cleaner systemwide
February 27, 2008 07:17 AM Comments (0)
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