Staten Island deserves to be isolated. They think they are better than everyone else. The way they treat the underprivileged in certain parts is as bad as deblasio as mayor. Let them take the free ferry.
28
I don't see any good reason why we cannot go back to building this subway tunnel. It's needed now more than ever.
On the other hand I would imagine that to many people who live on Staten Island, the Island's inaccessibility is one of its attractions.
31
There are parts of Hylan Blvd from which the city plotted out new streets and there was also a rush of investors that purchased plots near the proposed tunnel. The sidewalk cut curbs into several empty lots may still exist. The streets never materialized and I assume the investors lost their money. I recall this as part of some research I did many years ago as a reporter for the local paper there.
25
China has built thousands of miles of the most modern
subways in the last decade and New York City can't
build a subway to Staten Island ?
Tells you everything you need to know as to why the
American Century is long, long over.
208
There were so many "Blown" opportunities for the expansion of our NYC subways including:
1. The expansion of the Flatbush Avenue IRT to the Rockaways.
2. The rehabilitation of the abandoned freight cars railway from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Jamaica, Queens to have a true South to North subway connection through central Brooklyn to Queens.
3. The expansion of the 7 train and the E and F train lines to the boundaries of Queens and Nassau counties.
Staten Islanders were not the only neglected New Yorkers.
97
The article barely mentioned today's Staten Island train between St. George and Tottenville. That line was an integral part of the 1920s tunnel idea, and has a long history.
The original Staten Island Railroad (SIRR) opened in 1860 between Clifton and Tottenville. In 1871 a SIRR ferry exploded in Lower Manhattan, causing 68 deaths and the SIRR to enter receivership. In 1883 the Baltimore and Ohio RR (B&O) acquired controlling interest in the SIRR, constructed a bridge to New Jersey in 1889, and finally purchased it outright in 1899, including the Manhattan ferries. NYC government then bought the S.I. Ferry service in 1905, but the B&O retained the steam train service on the island, but then known as the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad (SIRT).
In the 1920’s the subway tunnel proposal motivated the SIRT to purchase electric trains with similar dimensions to the BMT subway, so that SIRT trains could be a through operation between S.I. and Manhattan via Brooklyn. In 1925 electric trains began running between St. George and Tottenville, unchanged from today’s basic service. Two additional, short electrified branches, to Arlington and South Beach, saw passenger service end in 1953.
The B&O sold SIRT to MTA in 1971, which in turn introduced the current R44 car fleet in 1973, replacing the 1925 rolling stock. With the exception of the MetroCard fare system introduced in 1997, and a recent consolidation of two stations into one, the line is unchanged today.
74
Interesting how many short-sighted ideas kept Staten Island so isolated (yes, I know that some like it that way). The problem of moving freight from New Jersey to NYC and Long Island is still with us. Just think how lovely the LIE would be with only half the trucks!
48
What about building another bridge, for trains only, connecting the Staten Island system to the rest of the city. Who knows, this time it might be built to connect with Manhattan, where people work, instead of the outer buroughs where people mostly sleep.
32
We should build it. We have contributed little recently to large inspirational projects that advance us as a people.
42
So what is wrong with the ferry that cannot be solved by adding more frequent service?
9
It’s about Staten Island geography and transit options on the Island. Many people live quite a distance from the ferry, which is located on the North Shore of Staten Island, meaning those on the South Shore have to travel a half hour or more just to reach the ferry. Then the ferry alone is a 25-minute ride. And if they work in Midtown, add another half hour for subway trip (assuming no MTA delays, which basically requires a miracle). They’re doing an hour and a half of travel before they even get to their desks to start the workday.
74
@NYC: The recently announced NYC Ferry service could add a landing on the South Shore although it would still take about an hour to get to midtown.
17