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After Delays, Fulton Street Transit Hub Takes Shape


fulton street transit center
Photo by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
By this summer there were clear signs of progress at the downtown transit hub, although completion is not expected until 2014.

After years of political wrangling and delays, components of the Fulton Street Transit Center are finally coming together.

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reopened the southbound platform of the Cortland Street station, which has been closed since 2005. Recently the authority celebrated the openingof a new entrance at 135 Williams St., which offers improved access to the A, C, 2 and 3 platforms. The entrance is decorated with a refurbished mural from a now defunct midtown hotel, and is one of three entrances that will offer similar improvements.

"We have reached yet another significant milestone as we move forward to complete what will become a landmark transportation facility," MTA Chairman and CEO Jay Walder said at the event. "Once complete, this complex will provide our customers with a more seamless experience at this major downtown hub."

The openings come as the above-ground dome begins to take shape, as does the Dey Street Passageway, which will connect the Fulton Street Transit Center with R train service and the World Trade Center Transit Hub, which provides PATH train service to New Jersey.

By the time the complex is complete, it will link 12 subway lines and is expected to serve 300,000 riders a day.

Years in the Making

The original concept for the project dates back to the 1990s. The transit center idea came out of the Lower Manhattan Access study, which aimed to improve transportation in Lower Manhattan, according to Bill Wheeler, director of MTA planning. One of the main report's proposals called for reconstruction of the Fulton Street Complex to make it easier for passengers to transfer between various trains and navigate the complex. The project, though, gained momentum after the 9/11 attacks as part of the general push to rebuild and improve lower Manhattan.

"Anyone who knows the transit system as they do knows that the complex is a mess and is a real pain for anyone who tries to negotiate from one line to another, especially if you're unfamiliar with it," said Jeffery Zupan, senior fellow for transportation at the Regional Plan Association. "It occurred to the MTA that they could put some money into this to help make the complex better and help Lower Manhattan. It didn't come out of nowhere, but it wasn't on top of the list."

Once completed, the transit center will connect the Fulton Street complex, with its 2, 3 ,4 and 5 train services- to the Cortland Street station that serves the R, the Broadway-Nassau Station with the A and C trains, and the Chambers Street-World Trade Center station, which serves the E and PATH trains. The station will also feature a glass station house with 23,000 square feet of retail space at Fulton Street and Broadway.

The centerpiece of the complex will be a large egg-shaped structure on top of the glass station house – usually referred to as the oculus -- that will act as a sunroof and reflect sunlight down to platform level.

The Right Answer?

While the existing subways stations needed work, Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, contends that the Fulton Street Transit Center designed after 9/11 will not address the transportation problems in the area, namely the lack of direct connections to residential areas outside of the city. In her view, the entire project was the result of a rush to rebuild the downtown area after the 9/11 attacks.

"There was kind of this big focus that we have to rush to concentrate on the World Trade Center site, and maybe they should have done more to help the region," said Gelinas. "It may have been better for them to spend on actual rail connections."

According to Gelinas, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver played a big role into making the Fulton Street Transit Center a reality, the transit center being in his district. The speaker's office declined to respond.

"A lot of the rebuilding has been driven by local politics. Sheldon Silver really pushed this as one of the projects he's really been instrumental for," said Gelinas. "He made it clear in the months after 9/11 he wanted this transit center in lower Manhattan and to get funding for other projects, they [the MTA] supported this."

Designs and Delays

Groundbreaking on the transit center took place in June 2005, with completion originally slated for 2007. Cost overruns, though, started to become a problem in 2006, mainly due to the expense of relocating businesses on the site and acquiring property. In 2008, the MTA indicated that it might have to abandon the dome structure, which was the centerpiece of the project, and that there might not be any visible above ground structure. By this time, the project was slated to be done in 2010, and was $111 million over its original $799 million budget.

After reviewing and revising plans in, the MTA announced in 2009 the new completion date as June 2014, and the revised cost as $1.4 billion. Despite the federal government's refusal to pay for any cost overruns, the MTA received $423 million in stimulus funds to help continue the construction of the project. To keep costs from rising further, it was decided to narrow the Dey Street Passage from 40 feet to 29 feet. After going back and forth on the design of the Fulton Street station, the MTA is constructing the dome as originally planned, but with additional 23,000 square feet of retail space; to increase potential revenue for the project.

Some delays were attributed to engineering challenges in the area, including the reconstruction of the nearby Corbin Building, which will be 124 years old when construction is complete. Meanwhile the World Trade Center transportation center has also had its share of problems. The cost for the building – with its birdlike design by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava – could reach $3.8 billion and may not open until 2015.

According to the MTA, the Fulton Street project will cost roughly $1.4 billion, with 97 percent of that covered by federal funds. And now, according to Donovan, the transit center is being opened in sequence, with expected completion in June of 2014.

Zupan cites the complexity of the Fulton Street project as a key factor in the delays there, but he said the woes will be a distant memory once the general public sees the completed center.

"It's clear they've had problems moving forward, they had to redesign it to reduce cost. With many of these infrastructure projects they're very complex ... and it's very difficult to assess these things in advance," said Zupan. "When the project is done, it's going to last for 100 years, and it'll long be forgotten that the project is over budget and it took as long as it took."

Council Approves Fines for Taxi Refusal


Photo (cc)

The City Council wants to slam the brakes on the taxi industry's bad apples.

To ensure taxi drivers do not discriminate against passengers' destination -- or race -- the council approved legislation Wednesday that would drastically increase fines for drivers who refuse certain passengers. The bill, which was approved unanimously, is part of a larger effort by the Bloomberg administration to ensure residents of the outer boroughs receive taxi service like those in Manhattan.

"You wait around, your arm out and a taxi finally drives up," Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. "You try to get in the car, and the driver won't let you. You say, 'Queens,' and the next thing you know the cabbie just drives off."

The council's proposal, Quinn said, would deter this practice.

The city's taxi drivers, however, criticized the measure, arguing it exaggerates the prevalence of driver refusal and distracts from the real issue discouraging drivers from outer borough trips: the economy.

"They seem more interested in punishing drivers than actually addressing the issue," said Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents yellow cab drivers.

The proposal is the latest battle between the City Council, the Bloomberg administration and the taxi industry within the last month -- disputes that have gone from fare hikes to a new class of cab.

No Right to Refuse

The legislation, which the mayor is expected to sign, would also affect drivers who overcharge passengers and who illegally ask riders where they are going before entering the vehicle. Asking the destination before entry, said council officials, is often seen as a way to avoid outer borough rides.

Under the legislation, a first offense would increase from $350 to $500. If a driver receives a second offense within 24 months, the maximum fine would double -- from $500 to $1,000. If a driver receives a third violation in a 36-month period, he or she could lose their license.

According to the City Council, the 311 system receives about 300 overcharging complaints a year. For refusals, council officials said 311 receives between 200 and 300 complaints a month.

Desai said the refusal figures are exaggerated.

"They've overstated the problem," she said. "Refusal summonses are actually fairly low when you consider the hours people work and the trips they complete."

The alliance has released its own proposal to spur rides in the outer boroughs. Desai said the Taxi and Limousine Commission needs to first approve a fare hike, which would make trips to Brooklyn or Queens more economical for drivers.

The alliance submitted a fare proposal to the commission last week. It includes a 50-cent increase for mileage cost, from $2 to $2.50, and a 10-cent increase in the waiting time fare -- from 40 cents to 50 cents. For the night surcharge, which runs from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, the alliance proposes a 50 cent increase, bringing it up to $1. The drivers are also asking for the first time for a morning rush hour $1 surcharge.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission has two months to consider the proposal, Desai said. If they decide to move forward with it, it would then have a hearing and eventually go to the commission for a vote.

To further increase service in the outer boroughs, Desai said the city should create pick-up stands around commercial or nightlife areas.

Back in January, the administration proposed allowing livery cabs to pick up street hails in the outer boroughs as a way to increase service. The practice is currently illegal -- livery service must be prearranged.

After the yellow cab industry and some City Council members expressed opposition, the administration went back to the drawing board.

Currently, said Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky anything is on the table. He is meeting with stakeholders to consider proposals -- from creating a new class or outer borough medallion to upping regulation of livery cabs.

"Our bottom line goal is to get decent taxi service in all five boroughs," Yassky said. "We're working daily with elected [officials] both in the City Council and the State Legislature to hash through the details of the plan that gets us the service we want."

South Jamaica Rezoning

In addition to the taxi legislation, the council also approved its largest rezoning, covering South Jamaica. The rezoning would preserve the area's low-density character, officials said, but also allow for larger building heights on main thoroughfares.

Taxi Choice Not the People's Choice


Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Photo courtesy of the City of New York
Th city has selected the NIssan NV200, a minivan not currently available in the U.., as the Taxi of Tomorrow.

When Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the Taxi of Tomorrow project in 2007, New Yorkers rejoiced at its the potential to create a custom-built fleet of taxis designed specifically for their city and their needs. In 2010 when the finalists were unveiled, the realization of a mode of transportation designed to accommodate all New Yorkers seemed even closer. But now, four months into 2011, the vehicle overwhelmingly supported by New York residents has been rejected, leaving the city with a feeling that the project may not have focused on their needs at all.

Yesterday, Bloomberg announced the city had selected the Nissan NV200 as the winner, choosing a car that some have described as "bulky and ugly." Apparently, according to the New York Times, an analysis commissioned by the city decided that Karsan's model proved to be the riskiest of the three finalists, because the Turkish company is "a new manufacturer, with a new manufacturing paradigm, not familiar with the U.S. regulatory framework, with no current sales, service or support infrastructure."

 

Therefore, eliminating the car from the competition was not based on the merits of the design or its concurrence with the project guidelines, but because of its lack of pedigree.

According to Jan Nuham, the executive director of Karsan, the company had never been informed of the analysis or of the city's specific. In fact, the city's analysis failed to mention that Karsan that has been manufacturing cars in Turkey for over 40 years and has built cars for Hyundai, Peugeot and Renault, all respected foreign models. In the past few years, a number of automakers -- Hyundai, for one -- that had been unknown names in the U.S. have become a reliable commodity -- something that the report seems to ignore.

(My father works for Karsan but the views here are entirely my own.)

Popular Appeal

What it comes down to is that the decision from City Hall shows a decidedly business emphasis and complete lack of regard for public opinion. From the outset of the project, information on the taxi competition was hard for the average New York resident to come by. In fact, when the finalists were announced in November, many people did not even know that there was a competition.

When the public was finally asked for its input, one model seemed to stand out among the rest. In a poll on the Taxi of Tomorrow website , about two-third of those responding preferred the Karsan taxi. The Daily News ran its own survey that showed dominant support for the Karsan model and in yet another poll, this one commissioned by the Taxi and Limousine Company, 66 percent of New Yorkers either liked or loved the Karsan model, supporting the 61 inches of leg room (the most of any finalist), four seat designed and clear sky roof for optimal viewing of the cities famous skyscrapers.

"The people of New York City have spoken, and they've found the taxi designs from both Ford and Nissan lacking," Zach Bowman of Autoblog wrote in February. "Around 66 percent of respondents either liked or loved the design of the Karsan V1, and that was enough to seal the vehicle's fate as the people's choice for the Taxi of Tomorrow."

Furthermore, as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz laid out in a press conference Sunday boosting Karsan's bid, the Karsan model brought the promise of new jobs for the city. If it was awarded the contract, Karsan had pledged to manufacture its vehicles at the Brooklyn South Marine Terminal in Sunset Park, creating up to 800 new jobs for residents. Contrarily, the Nissan model will reportedly be built in Mexico, while the Ford model would be built miles from the Karsan plant in Turkey.

Markowitz as well as representatives of labor unions and additional city officials from throughout Brooklyn, lauded Karsan's proposal to manufacture in Brooklyn as being an important step toward creating well-paying, middle-class jobs for New York residents. As recently as November, Brooklyn had the second highest unemployment rate in the state of New York, just behind the Bronx, at 10.8 percent . The plant would begin to alleviate some of that pressure and start the process of rebuilding Brooklyn’s economy.

Accessibility

Also appearing at the press conference on Sunday were members of the disabled community, which has steadfastly supported the Karsan model. Currently, fewer than 300 of the city’s 13,000 taxis can accommodate a passenger using a wheelchair. The Taxi of Tomorrow Project was supposed to require 100 percent accessibility, but when the finalists were unveiled in November, only the Karsan model fully complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It featured retractable ramps on either side of the vehicle, making curbside loading and unloading possible for all passengers in wheelchairs without the assistance of a cab driver. Once inside the vehicle, there were lock-ins to keep wheelchairs in place and 47 inches of headroom to comfortably fit even the largest model wheelchairs. The Karsan vehicle would have made it possible for a passenger in a wheelchair to hail any of the 13,000 cabs in the city and enjoy the benefits of public transportation, just like every other New York City resident.

Yet, somehow, despite vast public support, the promise of jobs for New Yorkers and the commitment to make Taxis accessible to every New Yorker, whether they use a walker, wheelchair or push a stroller, City Hall turned a deaf ear. In its announcement the administration did not address either jobs or handicap access, though it did say the Nissan "received high scores" in the categories selected as high priorities by 26,000 people surveyed.

It did not take long for some other city leaders to express their displeasure. Brooklynites Markowitz and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio have written to City Comptroller John Liu asking that he look into a possible conflict of interest that may have tipped the competition against Karsan. They charge that the consultant the city hired to analyze the Taxi of Tomorrow finalists had prior relationships with both Nissan and Ford.

For now, though, Nissan has the city's endorsement. In rejecting Karsan, the Bloomberg administration squandered an opportunity for New York to be a beacon of individuality and accessibility, as well as the chance to create momentum for an economy that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. But New York's loss may be some other city's gain. In a statement issued shortly after Bloomberg announced New York's decision, Karsan's Executive Director Jan Nahum said, "We fervently believe that there is a strong market and an acute need for a true Taxi of Tomorrow, and we look forward to working with other forward-looking cities around the globe to make the Karsan vision a reality." So you may see that slightly futuristic car with the curved glass top soon -- just not in New York City.

Eric Samulski is a writer/filmmaker and life-long New York City resident. He is the son of Karsan USA's project manager, but the statements expressed above are his own.



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