NY Wiki: February 2004 Archives

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February 29, 2004

Equinox Fitness Clubs

Equinox Fitness Clubs:
Roslyn @ Northern Blvd
Woodbury @ Jericho Tpke

With discounts for AmEx members.

February 28, 2004

Jamaica blight

Jamaica, Queens:
Given that the area is already a major hub for the Long Island Rail Road and has
extensive subway and bus service as well, the community, near the geographic
center of Queens, would seem to be a likely spot to practice an urban version of
what planners call transit-related smart growth.

"With necessary and significant private, public or mixed investment in site
acquisition and maintaining new and modernized infrastructure, downtown
Jamaica could be successfully revived," according to a study issued last year by
City University's Institute for Urban Systems, whose principal authors were
Robert Paaswell, Harry Schwartz and Linda Stone Davidoff.

Because of its connection to the airport, the economic engine of Jamaica's
resurgence was expected to be airlines and air travel related businesses,
although real estate specialists caution that development should not be limited to
transportation-related projects. But because the attack of Sept. 11 roiled the
airline industry, that part of the plan is likely to be delayed.

Nevertheless, a lot of people pass through the area. Approximately 100,000
commuters use the Long Island Rail Road terminal in Jamaica each workday,
according to the local development group, with 16,000 more using the Sutphin
Boulevard subway station and another 37,000 using Jamaica Center terminal at
Parsons Avenue. In addition, about 40 bus lines serve Jamaica, carrying
customers from eastern and southern Queens and Nassau County.

LIRR tracks, JFK AirTrain meet at Jamaica, Quenns .

Jamaica Seeks to Build on AirTrain
By JOHN HOLUSHA
2004 February 29

THE AirTrain is running between Jamaica, Queens, and Kennedy International
Airport, taking passengers from a railroad-subway connection to the passenger
terminals in about 12 minutes. Various routes have been suggested for a rail link
between Lower Manhattan and Jamaica that would enable travelers to go from
meetings downtown to their flights without facing the often traffic-choked
highways leading to the airport.

Given that the area is already a major hub for the Long Island Rail Road and has
extensive subway and bus service as well, the community, near the geographic
center of Queens, would seem to be a likely spot to practice an urban version of
what planners call transit-related smart growth.

"With necessary and significant private, public or mixed investment in site
acquisition and maintaining new and modernized infrastructure, downtown
Jamaica could be successfully revived," according to a study issued last year by
City University's Institute for Urban Systems, whose principal authors were
Robert Paaswell, Harry Schwartz and Linda Stone Davidoff.

Still, some real estate executives say the AirTrain may give a short-term boost
to retail businesses. "With the coming of the J.F.K. AirTrain, we should see more
retail activity and things like hotels and tablecloth restaurants," said Adelle Klein,
a senior managing director at Sholom & Zuckerbrot, a commercial and industrial
brokerage active in the area. "And the 14-screen theater that opened not long
ago has added more evening business."

Richard Maltz, chairman of Greiner-Maltz, a brokerage active in Queens,
Brooklyn and Long Island, added: "Jamaica is booming from a retail standpoint.
There are stores all along Jamaica Avenue and 40 to 45 feet in on the side
streets."

In the meantime, a major rezoning plan is moving forward that would establish a
special zone around the AirTrain terminal that would encourage the development
of hotels, office buildings and residences. While the allowable size of buildings in
the special zone would be increased, the size of structures in adjoining
neighborhoods would be restricted to preserve local character. The zoning
proposal, which covers a 415-block area in and around Jamaica, is part of a
citywide rezoning process.

Plans have been made by a local group, the Greater Jamaica Development
Corporation, working with LCOR, a national developer, to build a 13-story
building with approximately 400,000 square feet of office of space. The plan �
which awaits a signed tenant before moving forward � is seen as the first step in
what the planners envision as a 5-million-square-foot mixed-use airport village
on the 10 blocks closest to the AirTrain terminal.

This would be analogous to the "transit villages" that have been springing up
near commuter rail stations in New Jersey and in Westchester and Fairfield
Counties.

The emergence of these transit villages reflects the "smart growth" ideas that
have largely focused on the suburbs as a means of slowing endless sprawl by
directing growth back into older municipalities with existing utilities,
communications and mass transit. In New Jersey the advent of Midtown Direct
train service has been credited with reviving fading downtown areas in northern
part of the state by attracting people who want quick, carless access to New York
and retailers catering to them.

Envisioning Jamaica a Regional Center

Tied to Mass Transit Eventually, the thinking in Jamaica goes, the airline industry
will sort itself out, an anchor tenant will be found for Tower 1 of the JFK
Corporate Square development � the official name for the village � and other
projects will move forward.

Already, the first market rate housing in 40 years is under construction in the
downtown Jamaica area. And parking decks have been built and remodeled to
provide badly needed off-street parking.

"The Regional Plan Association designated Jamaica as a regional center tied to
Manhattan by mass transit," said F. Carlisle Towery, a former R.P.A. official who
has been president of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, a local
economic development group, since 1972.

The R.P.A. is a private planning group whose recommendations have often come
to pass, if at a glacial pace. In New Jersey, its suggestion to connect two
neighboring rail lines now known as the Montclair Connection was first advanced
in the 1930's, but did not actually go into operation until 2002.

Transit-related developments are becoming increasingly feasible because people
are forsaking a punishing daily automotive commute in favor of rail
transportation, said Robert Yaro, president of Regional Plan. "Total rail transport
in the region," he said, "is up one-third in the past decade, which is why you are
seeing signs of life in places like Jamaica and New Brunswick," the city in central
New Jersey.

He said the increased ridership was at least partly a result of the $35 billion that
has been invested in rail transport in the region since 1970. He said most of the
investment had been in the rails and rolling stock, but included the renovation of
Grand Central Terminal. "In 1990 it was a slum," he said.

Transit-related developments have three major virtues, Mr. Yaro said. They
recycle land that has been abandoned or underutilized. They lure people out of
cars and onto the rails for their daily commutes. And they give local residents,
often people with limited transportation options, a shot at jobs that are created.

Jamaica was once an independent municipality and is one of the oldest in the
region, having been established in 1650. The name derives not from the island in
the Caribbean but rather from the Carnarsie Indian word for beaver, "jamecos."

Even in ancient times the area was a transportation hub, with Indians from
western areas traveling along a trail that is roughly the route of Jamaica Avenue
today to trade with eastern tribes. By colonial times, the path had been widened
to accommodate horse-drawn carts, and by 1834 the Brooklyn and Jamaica
Railroad company completed a line to the trading post in downtown Jamaica.

Elevated passenger trains began operation in 1918 and, according to the CUNY
study, "triggered enormous commercial and residential growth." It said, "By 1925
the section of Jamaica Avenue between 160th and 168th Street had the highest
assessed valuation in the county."

But after World War II, single family homes were developed in vast numbers on
Long Island, attracting families out of apartments, and shoppers found it easier
to drive their cars to the growing suburban malls than contest the tight
preautomobile streets of Jamaica to do their shopping.

As a result, the major department stores in Jamaica gradually moved away or
went out of business and poorer families and newer immigrants replaced the
departed suburbanites.

"Within one generation, Jamaica's downtown went from a thriving, bustling hub of
banking, government, retail and commerce serving three counties to a neglected
and distressed shopping district serving a much smaller trading area," Mr.
Towery wrote.

Those numbers are likely to rise as an estimated 12.4 million passengers and
airport workers a year arrive in Jamaica to get to their flights and jobs. Any
direct connection to Lower Manhattan, which some people are calling the "super
shuttle," would add still more.

The trick, development officials say, is to prevent Jamaica from becoming simply
a transit hub, where commuters rush through on their way to jobs in Manhattan
or to the airport.

Some planners and real estate executives say a hotel near the AirTrain terminal
should be a priority. "Without a hotel, there is nowhere for people to meet," said
Ms. Klein of Sholom & Zuckerbrot.

There have been proposals for a 10-story, 250-room hotel over the AirTrain
terminal, which could provide lodging and meeting space for people arriving at
the airport. But with the heightened security concerns after Sept. 11, the project
is not likely to go forward soon.

Mr. Towery said air travelers are not the only beneficiaries of improved
transportation. He said improvements in subway service in decades past were
responsible for the decision to build a Social Security Regional Center in
downtown Jamaica and for City University officials to build York College nearby.
Both wanted to be in a location easily reached by mass transit.

And those subway trains run both ways, he added. "Businesses in Manhattan can
access the labor living here," he said.

It cost the Port Authority about $1.9 billion to build the AirTrain and the terminal
building, and Professor Paaswell said the money was well spent. "Transit, in 99.9
percent of the cases, is a good investment, with an economic payoff," he said.

Unfortunately, he added, improved transit "is a necessary but not a sufficient
condition for growth." He said it might take further public investment to convince
private developers that underused former industrial sites close to the Long Island
Rail Road are bargain-priced and ready for development.

He said York College, which is a four-year college in the City University system,
will probably be an important factor in training local residents for more skilled,
higher-paying jobs at the airport and at places like the Food and Drug
Administration building, which houses offices and laboratories and is located on
the college's campus. "The area needs a wider range of jobs, including white
collar jobs," Professor Paaswell said. "You want to have career ladder jobs, and
York College is a part of that."

Developing an office complex in Jamaica will be a stretch, since the area has not
attracted office users in the past, said Mr. Maltz, the broker. He noted that many
of the larger developments in the area have been government related, like the
Queens County civil and family courts and the F.D.A. and Social Security
buildings.

Seeking airline and airport-related tenants is seen as a good idea, but, he added,
"Unfortunately, the airline industry is not flourishing now and they have placed
expansion plans on hold."

Development officials had hoped to sign up Jet Blue, a low-fare carrier that is
growing rapidly, but Mr. Maltz said this did not appear likely. "Jet Blue subleased
some Con Ed space on Jamaica Avenue that is much less expensive than a new
building," he said.

Dealing With Autos Nonprofit Group

Offers Parking Because many people still prefer to travel by car, the Jamaica
development group, though a not-for-profit operation, has gotten into the parking
business, acquiring some formerly city-owned garages and lots and building a
410-space garage convenient to the 180 units of market-rate housing under
construction.

Under Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, "the city wanted to get out of the municipal
parking business, so we took over two city garages and renovated them and
took two city lots and improved them," Mr. Towery said. He said the group pays
taxes to the city out of income from the garages and tries to keep rates low to
attract shoppers to the area. "Some of the parking around the courts is very
expensive, so it is mostly used by lawyers," he said.

The problem, he said, is that Jamaica developed around the elevated train and
has streets that are crowded beyond capacity. His group has estimated that there
is currently a deficit of 500 parking spaces in the downtown area and that
proposed developments would require the construction of garages to
accommodate 2,000 more cars at an estimated cost of $32 million.

But part of smart growth is reducing automobile use and traffic on streets. If
Jamaica is to develop in a smart fashion, the report says, "a significant portion of
residents will have to be weaned away from 50 years of automobile
dependency."

With the possible exception of the parking garages, Mr. Towery said most of what
his development group has done or is proposing could be labeled as smart
growth. He said the airport village would recycle urban land that already has a
transportation infrastructure in place.

New York State's passage of a brownfields remediation law last year will help
with the land recycling by providing guidelines for cleanups of sites that currently
have dirty uses, such a junkyards. A older law in New Jersey has permitted the
development of shopping centers and golf courses on what were once municipal
dumps.

Because of the contamination, Mr. Towery said, well located land parcels can be
acquired cheaply for redevelopment. "We salivate at grunge," he said. "Other
people see blight, but we see sites."

Posted by dc at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2004

Orchard Park: smart growth at Elwood ?

Consider Orchard Park Carefully

About the time that the first furry buds break on the apple trees at Mediavilla
Orchards, the owners of that property will be making an application to the town
to develop a 35-acre parcel of land they own adjacent to their farm. That
application could result in the single largest development the town has ever seen.

Mark Mediavilla is spearheading the effort that he hopes will result in Orchard
Park, a �smart growth� development that includes some 360 rental apartments,
190,000 square feet of retail space and an additional 15,000 square feet of
professional office space. As he conceives it, Orchard Park would contain
everything a resident would want � within walking distance � just like the
desirable downtowns that evolved in Northport, Port Jefferson, Riverhead and
Patchogue. The difference is that Orchard Park would be a �planned�
development.

On the surface, Mediavilla�s proposal can be frightening in its scope. 190,000
square feet of retail space is the size of a large shopping mall. Add in rental
apartments, a movie theater, a Main Street and parking, and the Mediavillas are
biting off an ambitious mouthful.

On the other hand, the project clearly answers much of what is wrong with Long
Island. By building exclusively rental apartments, Mediavilla�s Orchard Park
would answer planning experts� desperate calls for just such housing. By
combining retail and residential uses, it would decrease its residents� reliance on
cars, benefiting the environment. And by virtue of its size, the region as a whole
� especially the school district � would benefit from tax revenues as well as
increased economic activity.

Of course, the best plans have been known to backfire. Look at the Half Hollow
Hills community where development of The Greens at Half Hollow was purposely
limited to senior citizens in order to minimize the impact of the school district.

What happened? The development was so popular among seniors, hundreds sold
their houses in order to move in. And who bought their single-family homes in
Dix Hills and Melville? Young families with children did. The result is an influx of
children into the school district � the very kind the community had tried to avoid.

To be sure, the Orchard Park project has its pluses and its minuses, and it must
be carefully considered from every possible angle. It will have to go through all
of the required environmental review processes, during which there will be plenty
of opportunity for anyone and everyone who will be affected to have their say
and voice their opinions.

For its part, the community should welcome the opportunity to have that input
and be a part of what could be the future of development on Long Island.

Half Hollow Hills Newspaper
2004 Feb 27

--------------------

ELWOOD
Orchard Park Back On Front Burner

�Smart Growth� concept would see creation of a new downtown in Huntington

By Peter Sloggatt
petersloggatt@longislandernews.com

One of the largest planned development communities in the nation could land on
a 35-acre parcel of land where Elwood, Dix Hills and Huntington meet. Mark
Mediavilla, whose family owns the land on the north side of Jericho Turnpike at
Warner Road, expects to resubmit plans to the town for Orchard Park, a mixed
use development that would see the former sand mine reborn as a community of
apartments, retail stores and office space.

The plans are not unfamiliar, having been scaled down from a previous proposal
floated by Mediavilla. Based on �smart growth� principles, the proposal calls for
the construction of 360 apartment units, 190,000 square feet of retail space,
additional office space, a movie theater and several parking structures.

Armed with a slick video presentation, Mediavilla has taken his plans on the road,
meeting with civic groups as well as planning department officials in a second
attempt to sell the concept. The plans are scaled down from what was previously
before the town, with less retail and commercial space, and more open space,
according to Mediavilla. In addition, parking garages have been eliminated and
replaced with structures, which because of how the land is banked, will be like
ground level parking for the apartment complexes at the north end of the site,
but �second story� parking when viewed from the commercially developed Main
Street.

As currently proposed, Orchard Park would be centered around a 1,000-foot-long
Main Street containing a mix of restaurants and retail shops. In all, about 150
stores are planned with 15,000 square feet of professional office space on the
second floor. The rear of the property farthest from Jericho Turnpike would be
developed as apartments in �manor house-like� structures.

Civic groups have expressed concern over the project�s size and scope, but in his
presentation, Mediavilla points to the creation of tax revenues for the county,
town and Elwood school district, as well as the creation of needed rental housing.
He adds that as presently zoned, the property could be developed for nearly 80
single family homes, which would likewise have impacts on the school district,
traffic, sewage and the like, but with fewer economic benefits.

Another concern to local residents is the other half of Mediavilla�s land holdings,
which are currently agricultural. Some residents are concerned that if Mediavilla�s
plans go forward, a similar project could be proposed for the remainder of the
property.

Mediavilla claims his family is not interested in developing the orchards and
farmland, and even if they were, agricultural tax credits currently in place
require eight years notice before the land can be developed.

�It�s not just about making money,� said Mediavilla of the $100-million project.
Referring to the creation of a new downtown with a Main Street, he added, �It�s
about making something special. Something that hasn�t been done in 100 years.�
He added that he and his family love the land and Mediavillas would be living
next door to Orchard Park.

As to why the family doesn�t just sell the property, Mediavilla said, �I have a
farmer�s mentality when it comes to the land.�

Mediavilla expects to submit plans to the town within the next few weeks. He will
ask the town to create a special zoning classification � planned development
district � which would be exclusive to the property.

2004 February 27
Longislander News / Record.

Posted by dc at 10:53 PM | Comments (2)

February 24, 2004

Manhattan defined by streets

On the last day of January, there were 4,321 co-ops and condos listed for sale in Manhattan south of 116th Street on the West Side and 96th Street on the East, Mr. Miller said. That compared with 6,113 on the same day last year, a 29 percent drop. Just in the month through Jan. 31, he said, the number of listings contracted by nearly 11 percent.

Posted by dc at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2004

Huntington station zoning overlay

What�s The Hurry?

The stage was set for a contentious hearing at Huntington Town Hall where
members of the town board were to hear public input on a proposed change to
the town�s zoning code and another proposal to create a special zoning �overlay�
district for Huntington Station.

Both hearings were well attended by a somewhat predictable crowd. Among
those interested were members of the Huntington Station Revitalization
Committee and others interested in making things happen to improve the
Huntington Station area. The downtown region in the area of the Huntington
Railroad Station � at one time a thriving downtown � was bulldozed under the
federal urban renewal programs of the 1960s. The feds promised a better
Huntington Station, but never followed through on the deal and left the
community to deal with a neighborhood that had had its heart ripped out.

In many ways, that�s when it all began for Huntington Station, and the efforts of
the town board to correct those problems are just under way. They include the
creation of the overlay district to allow for redevelopment of critical areas.

However, the town board acted unwisely in holding the hearing alongside another
to consider a revision to the town code concerning the development of rental
apartments over commercial properties townwide. The code change is
necessary, according to town officials, to clarify some language in the existing
code. However, the change comes at a time when school districts are struggling
with growing student populations, as well as their constant money issues, and
from the sounds of their arguments, the school district advocates have reason to
be concerned that the town board�s actions could result in more kids going to
their schools.

On the other side of the coin were the affordable housing advocates who can be
counted on to support any initiative that will create more housing in the Town of
Huntington.

With so many sides arguing their points, it was difficult to keep track of who was
talking on what, and exactly what impact the town�s proposals would have.
Concerning the creation of apartments over retail and commercial spaces,
Councilwoman Susan Berland argued that the proposed change is not really a
change, but necessary to sew up the loopholes in the existing law. From the
public�s point of view, no change would not require enactment of a resolution,
period. So there must be something changing � right? Not according to the town.

Supervisor Frank Petrone � pressed for an answer on how many apartments the
town expects could be created as a result of the new law � that is not a change
� admittedly did not know.

If the town board feels these two pieces of legislation are necessary � whether
for public benefit townwide or specifically for Huntington Station, it did a poor job
of explaining its position. As to the many who questioned why do anything when
the town is in the beginning stages of rewriting its master plan, we can only
agree. Unless there�s an urgent need � and if there is the town needs to explain
it � the town board should sit tight on these proposals until planners explore it in
the new master plan. Otherwise, their successors could find themselves in the
same boat 40 years from now, trying to fix a botched revitalization effort.

2004 Feb 19
Long Islander Newspapers

Posted by dc at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2004

Fresh Direct

Fresh Direct online grocer. (use zip code 10011 to enter)

Posted by dc at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2004

Order home plans, but browse first

Catalogue of orderabe home plans.

Posted by dc at 02:10 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2004

Cinema: 'Secret Things' at the Quad in Greenwich Village

Directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau
In French, with English subtitles
Not rated, 115 minutes

At the moment there may be no director more eccentric working in France than
Jean-Claude Brisseau, a self-taught filmmaker and former public school teacher.
Mr. Brisseau's subjects have ranged from the life of children in France's
notoriously dysfunctional public-housing projects (''De Bruit et de Fureur,'' 1988)
to adolescents on the run (''Les Savates de Bon Dieu,'' 2000), both of which will
be shown, along with four other of his films, in a series at the Walter Reade
Theater in Lincoln Center beginning tomorrow.

Posted by dc at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2004

Eastern Long Island Newsday

Eastern Long Island Newsday.

Posted by dc at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2004

ewr waiting at night

Posted by dc at 01:13 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2004

Beechwood Homes

Beechwood Homes's Lake Grove (east Smithtown)

Other projects in Coram, Yaphank and Medford.

Posted by dc at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2004

YMCA, NY Sportsclub

YMCA Long Island: Huntington.

NY Sportsclub

Posted by dc at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)

February 02, 2004

Huntington town GIS

Posted by dc at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 01, 2004

East Side Access could boost Amtrak, too

The immediate problem, though, is on the Long Island end, at the Sunnyside
Yard in Queens, owned by Amtrak, and the adjacent Harold Interlocking, a
two-mile complex used for sorting trains. On the western end are two tracks
carrying trains to Penn Station and two more tracks carrying them back, as well
as two more that peel off toward Long Island City and Brooklyn.

On the east are additional tracks. Two of them go to the Hell Gate Bridge and
then into the Bronx, a route Amtrak takes to join the Metro-North tracks in New
Rochelle on its way to New Haven and Boston. Two other tracks go to the Long
Island Rail Road's Port Washington branch, and four go to Jamaica, Queens, and
the other branches of the railroad.

During the commuter rush, trains roar through Harold Interlocking at the rate of
42 an hour. But the transportation authority would like to increase that to 66. The
task is not much different from untangling the intersection of two busy, multilane
streets, except that the trains are up to a quarter-mile long and some lumber
through at 15 miles an hour, making maneuvering difficult.

The transportation authority is considering digging one or more tunnels so that
trains coming out of Penn Station can turn left to head for Hell Gate and New
England without having to cross over at grade level in front of oncoming
westbound trains. That would give Amtrak an incentive to consent to allowing the
work to be done on its property, authority officials say. Whatever the changes in
layout, they will be for the long term, according to rail executives. "It's got to last
100 years,'' said James Dermody, president of the Long Island Rail Road, who
pointed out that the current configuration of Harold was in place for the opening
of the first Penn Station, in 1908.

A reconfigured Harold Interlocking could be a major boon for Amtrak, which
often sees its trains lose valuable time as they pass through Harold on their way
to Hell Gate and New Rochelle. Timeliness is crucial there because Metro-North,
which owns the tracks from New Rochelle to New Haven, is so busy that it has
assigned Amtrak "slots" at specific times, and Amtrak has been known to miss
the window.

2004 February 01
Amtrak Is the Latest Roadblock in Plan to Link L.I.R.R. to Grand Central Terminal
By MATTHEW WALD, NYT

The East Side access project, a plan to bring Long Island Rail Road trains to
Grand Central Terminal that has moved in fits and starts for 40 years, has hit a
snag: Amtrak's financial straits.

Since the 1960's, the plan has been to run Long Island Rail Road trains from an
existing complex of switches in Queens, shared with Amtrak, over about a mile
of new track to an underused tunnel beneath the East River. That tunnel emerges
in Manhattan at East 63rd Street, and from there, the trains would go through a
new tunnel and join the tracks under Park Avenue that carry Metro-North trains
to Grand Central. The new link would move perhaps 90,000 passengers a day on
about 150 trains. It would relieve crowding at Pennsylvania Station and lure to
the rails Long Island residents who work in east Midtown.

An agreement between Amtrak and the Long Island is needed because of the
tangled history of the area's railroads. Amtrak's Northeast corridor was largely
assembled by the old Pennsylvania Railroad. About a century ago, that railroad
bought the Long Island Rail Road to get access to Manhattan. Now their
ownership is separate again, with the Long Island owned by the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority and the Northeast corridor going to Amtrak. Ownership
of the tracks in Queens is shared.

Amtrak insists that the project is not for its customers, and should therefore not
cost it any money. Amtrak lives on subsidies from Congress, and the railroad
says it lacks the resources to bring its aging infrastructure into a state of good
repair.

It also fears delays for its trains on its major route, the Boston-New
York-Washington corridor.

The East Side access project also faces substantial engineering problems, mostly
in digging from the East River to Park Avenue. The project would be the largest
ever undertaken by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The plan was
conceived in the 60's, when the 63rd Street tunnel was built. In the early 1990's,
plans were drawn up to finish the job by 1998, with about a mile of additional
tunnel on either side of the existing tunnel under the river, at a cost of about $3
billion. Now the completion date is 2012 and the price is $6.3 billion.

But there is also peril, in the form of extra costs. Amtrak says that the soil at
Sunnyside and Harold is filled with toxic substances that have leaked or been
dumped. Amtrak, near broke, is refusing to let work proceed until the
transportation authority agrees to protect Amtrak against all liability and costs
arising from stirring up poison dirt.

In addition, New Jersey Transit uses the yard to store trains. That, too, could be
disrupted, Amtrak warned. It has sent the transportation authority a series of
blunt letters, signed by David L. Gunn, now president of Amtrak, who was
president of the New York Transit Authority, a component of the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, from 1984 until 1990.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority insists that the dispute is not serious.
Referring to contaminated soil, William M. Wheeler, the director of planning at the
Long Island, said, "Amtrak hasn't shown us anything to indicate that.'' But
Amtrak has avoided the word "share.'' "I must have an agreement that will not
produce any additional financial burdens on Amtrak,'' Mr. Gunn wrote to Peter S.
Kalikow, chairman of the transportation authority, on Dec. 4. In an earlier letter
he complained that the authority was proceeding "without directly addressing
Amtrak's concerns.''

Both sides say discussions are continuing, with no agreement so far.

Posted by dc at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)

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