The Reactivation Of The Abandoned Lirr Rockaway Beach Branch As A One Seat Ride From Jfk Airport To Midtown Manhattan

Transportation Paradigms for the City of New York in the 21st Century, Electric Urban Mass Transportation Technology, Modern streetcar lines for The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan

A Brookings Institution Press and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy publication Since the demise of urban renewal in the early 1970s, the politics of large-scale public investment in and around major American cities has received little scholarly attention. In Mega-Projects, Alan Altshuler and David Luberoff analyze the unprecedented wave of large-scale (mega-) public investments that occurred in American cities during the 1950s and 1960s; the social upheavals they triggered, which derailed large numbers of projects during the late 1960s and early 1970s; and the political impulses that have shaped a new generation of urban mega-projects in the decades since. They also appraise the most important consequences of policy shifts over this half-century and draw out common themes from the rich variety of programmatic and project developments that they chronicle. The authors integrate narratives of national as well as state and local policymaking, and of mobilization by (mainly local) project advocates, with a profound examination of how well leading theories of urban politics explain the observed realities. The specific cases they analyze include a wide mix of transportation and downtown revitalization projects, drawn from numerous regions—most notably Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Portland, and Seattle. While their original research focuses on highway, airport, and rail transit programs and projects, they draw as well on the work of others to analyze the politics of public investment in urban renewal, downtown retailing, convention centers, and professional sports facilities. In comparing their findings with leading theories of urban and American politics, Altshuler and Luberoff arrive at some surprising findings about which perform best and also reveal some important gaps in the literature as a whole. In a concluding chapter, they examine the potential effects of new fiscal pressures, business mobilization to relax environmental constraints, and security concerns in the wake of September 11. And they make clear their own views about how best to achieve a balance between developmental, environmental, and democratic values in public investment decisionmaking. Integrating fifty years of urban development history with leading theories of urban and American politics, Mega-Projects provides significant new insights into urban and intergovernmental politics.

A fascinating journey into the past—and under the ground—that offers “an insightful look at the what-might-have-beens of urban mass transit” (The New York Times). From the day it broke ground by City Hall in 1900, it took about four and half years to build New York’s first subway line to West 145th Street in Harlem. Things rarely went that quickly ever again. The Routes Not Taken explores the often-dramatic stories behind unbuilt or unfinished subway lines. The city’s efforts to expand its underground labyrinth were often met with unexpected obstacles—financial shortfalls, clashing political agendas, battles with community groups, and more. After discovering a copy of the 1929 subway expansion map, Joseph B. Raskin began his own investigation into the city’s underbelly. Here he provides an extensively researched history of the Big Apple’s unfinished business. The Routes Not Taken sheds light on: *the efforts to expand the Hudson Tubes into a full-fledged subway *the Flushing line, and why it never made it past Flushing *a platform under Brooklyn’s Nevins Street station unused for more than a century *the 2nd Avenue line—long the symbol of dashed dreams—deferred countless times since the original plans were presented in 1929 Raskin reveals the personalities involved, explaining why Fiorello H. La Guardia couldn’t grasp the importance of subway lines and why Robert Moses found them old and boring. By focusing on unbuilt lines, he illustrates how the existing system is actually a Herculean feat of countless compromises. Filled with illustrations, this is an enduring contribution to the history of transportation and the history of New York City.

The first subway line in New York City opened on October 27, 1904. To celebrate the centennial of this event, the Johns Hopkins University Press presents a new edition of Gene Sansone's acclaimed book, Evolution of New York City Subways. Produced under the auspices of New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority, this comprehensive account of the rapid transit system's design and engineering history offers an extensive array of photographs, engineering plans, and technical data for nearly every subway car in the New York City system from the days of steam and cable to the present. The product of years of meticulous research in various city archives, this book is organized by type of car, from the 1903–04 wood and steel Composite cars to the R142 cars put into service in 2000. For each car type, Sansone provides a brief narrative history of its design, construction, and service record, followed by detailed schematic drawings and accompanying tables that provide complete technical data, from the average cost per car and passenger capacity to seat and structure material, axle load, and car weight. Sansone also includes a helpful subway glossary from A Car (the end car in a multiple car coupled unit) to Zone (a section of the train to the conductor's left or right side). Subway and train enthusiasts, students of New York City history, and specialists in the history of technology will appreciate this updated and authoritative reference work about one of the twentieth century's greatest urban achievements.

In the past two decades, the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region has prospered into one of the world's leading economies. But the benefits of this economic resurgence have been uneven, leaving many behind and resulting in problems that could curtail the region's future prosperity. The Regional Plan Association's Fourth Regional Plan is an ambitious assessment that reviews the most persistent problems and provides a guide to correcting them. Topics discussed include a crisis of housing affordability, overburdened and deteriorating infrastructure, vulnerability to climate change, and a pervasive distrust in government. The plan offers solutions including how to bring nearly two million jobs to the region by 2040, while promoting shared prosperity, well-being and sustainability across the region. The Fourth Regional Plan continues the Regional Plan Association's tradition of providing concrete ideas for improving the tri-state region. Highlights include radically restructuring the MTA and Port Authority to support creation of a modernized and expanded subway and regional rail network; significantly increasing the availability of housing; and expanding the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to fund climate change initiatives. This highly visual, comprehensive plan will help elected officials, policymakers, and advocates guide any region to a more equitable, sustainable, healthy, and prosperous future.

A fascinating micro-history of NYC’s subway system from LaGuardia’s public works achievements in 1940 to the creation of the MTA in 1968. In 1940, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia realized an ambitious plan to modernize the city’s public transit. He eliminated streetcars, demolished old elevated lines, and unified the subway systems. From then on, the IRT, BMT, and IND became one system under public control. And by 1968, that system had transformed again, into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. From LaGuardia to Lindsay, mayors were desperate to appease voters, elected officials, transit management, and labor leaders. Meanwhile, the tumult of a changing America manifested in labor disputes, economic pressures, and civil rights protests. Though great efforts were made to keep prices down, the sacred nickel fare barrier was eventually broken. By 1968, a ride cost twenty cents. Featuring many photos never before published, From a Nickel to a Token deftly captures four decades and five boroughs of grit, chaos, egos, and emotions in the unending saga of New York’s subway system.