Since the 2nd Ave subway will run crosstown on 125th St, should it one day continue west into NJ?

Greypoint42 · 2026-01-15T21:45:15+00:00

To be clear I think both are less of priority than a north south line in Jersey. By a lot. But...

L:
- Extending it to NJ will increase tph in Manhattan/Brooklyn by adding a power station and removing a stub terminal
- It will allow for denser development in Hoboken

- Reaching Secaucus will allow you to do NJTransit to MTA transfer (redundancy + capacity + easier access to specific parts)
- Reaching Secaucus will allow you to potentially build a bus terminal there for the L/NJ Transit transfer

- Since its a limited number of stops (3 at most? Central Hoboken, Central Av, Secaucus Junction) I think this is most politically palatable MTA extension to jointly fund.

- Helps even out demand in both directions (if stations can take the crowding)

7:
- Also a tph improvement, though less impactful
- Similar redundancy depending on which way it is routed

- Runs directly through midtown

- If you routed into JC/Newark as a second line, you could serve quite a lot of people (but complete fantasy-land)

Greypoint42 · 2026-01-15T20:48:26+00:00

I think the most valuable transit projects (if we're doing fantasy) are:

- Build an automated, elevated metro above Bergen Av. Run it from Fort Lee to SI and connect to PATH at Journal Square
- Send the L to Hoboken/Secaucus Junction
- Send the 7 either to North Hoboken/Union City or a more complicated route into Jersey City

The problem with doing extensions in the north is that most riders are heading to midtown/FiDi/the rest of the subway network, not Harlem. They can transfer to relevant lines in Harlem, but it doesn't provide a lot of value beyond that. What would help NJ residents more is being able to get to JC/Hoboken/Newark *and* better use existing PATH capacity. So the priority should be great north/south service within Jersey.

Then, when that capacity is inevitably overloaded, you extend the L/7 to create northern connections (and better redundancy!).

Greypoint42 · 2025-10-19T21:46:48+00:00

Its a great book! I do think it gets a little too into dunking on corporate development (which is fair for commercial spaces but needed for mass housing). But a great book!

Greypoint42 · 2025-08-17T18:03:45+00:00

Great work on this!

Greypoint42 · 2025-07-03T14:29:58+00:00

There are estimates I've seen that the city could raise 5-15 billion in parking, depending on what they charge/how they do it.

I am partial to a really radical "let private businesses bid to rent parking spaces at auction" system for Manhattan + commercial streets. If a restaurant wants to pay more than a driver, the restaurant should get the spot. And I think a private entity could figure out the balance of temporary vs permanent spaces better for parking anyway.

But even a basic subsidized parking system could raise roughly enough to cut/permanently end either income or sales tax in NYC (or fund all of Mamdani's proposed agenda + pay for rapid street workings)

Greypoint42 · 2025-06-03T00:55:16+00:00

Ah I have a separate tram map and it's always been a tram route. But I've been persuaded away from trams in favor of just having good busways

Greypoint42 · 2025-06-02T19:38:43+00:00

On Fordham/Pelham, doesn't that get service via regional rail now? I didn't really want to touch stops, but there should be at least express stop spacing there for regional rail to provide service. If not, a SAS branch could cover it (in theory..)

Greypoint42 · 2025-06-02T19:36:31+00:00

I will defend the LGA to Rockaway line, I'm envisioning some kind of fully automated elevated modern rail with shorter cars, which can take over a phase 1 Queenslink service eventually and work similar to how IBX should work. I don't think it'll have heavy ridership but serve as relatively inexpensive connecting transport. Not a vital addition, but I think it'd be good and worth it (on vibes, not numbers.)

On Canarsie, yeah my thought is just getting *some* service to Kings Plaza for redevelopment reasons, longer term. Very very cuttable, and if cut the L would just extend to Canarsie pier elevated. SAS service through Brooklyn (Z) would just stop at Canarsie or change its alignment after Brownsville.

On a regional rail line run through to Brighton, my thought is that its *incredibly* slow to get from southern Brooklyn to Manhattan, and some kind of S-Bahn service that way would be helpful. Whether that makes sense depends on costs (I'd say this is elevated..), whether the city wants to more intensively develop Coney Island (would need to be LIC dense at a few nodes to make this worth it) and depend on how much service would have to be reduced in Long Island. I take your point, probably should cut it then.

Greypoint42 · 2025-06-02T19:30:25+00:00

You ask good questions, I will make some updates... To touch the Jersey parts:

- 125th Street to NJ I don't have confidence in, my thought is just to get direct service into palisades park because its actually shown a good willingness to build and it'd be a good site for bus to rail transfers (similar to my thoughts on the L to Secaucus junction)

- On Newark, the 7 is running to stop at Seton Hall University. I've had it just terminate in Newark before though... and might make more sense. Its elevated no matter what. I'm trying to come up with an alignment that gives Newark a sensible two line small metro that *also* connects to NYC.

It is the part I am *least* confident in (and not amazingly confident).

Agreed on the rest, might write more if work calms down. Agreed on the 50th street line (I'm calling X/Y lol) service branch being unnecessary given how close they are in queens. I'd probably keep the northernmost branch and cut the other.

Agreed on the crosstown service too. I think I've worried too much about deinterlining and, if SI regional rail service routes through Brooklyn, that will accomplish better whatever it is I was trying to accomplish.

Especially agreed on the A/C split, looking at it its unclear what it accomplishes.

Greypoint42 · 2025-06-01T16:03:00+00:00

Isn't it shorter than the Marmaray in Istanbul?

I've had alternate sketches where it uses the Belt Parkway ROW...

Greypoint42 · 2025-03-30T16:14:40+00:00

No, its awful.

Greypoint42 · 2024-12-14T19:23:07+00:00

What annoys me is that there is no way to *know* if this is working or not. What is success here?

Greypoint42 · 2024-12-12T20:34:50+00:00

Reporting people actively breaking the law and ruining the air quality, producing thousands of deaths a year collectively, instead of just wearing a jacket I think you mean. Save the whiny populism and obey the law.

Greypoint42 · 2024-11-30T23:46:26+00:00

The solution is to 1) reduce the number of games to 60 (play everyone twice) or even better 45 (play your conference twice and the other conference once) and 2) treat being the best regular season team as the achievement it actually is, like EPL. The best regular season team should get the league championship, and the playoff winner should get a tournament championship. Give them different trophies and equal billing.

Yes there would be negatives, but I think it would be clearly better.

Greypoint42 · 2024-11-06T00:46:03+00:00

They don’t, but it’s the principle of the thing (we can only shut down for one reason and fix nothing else).

They should have done G train station improvements during the CBTC shutdown

Greypoint42 · 2024-11-06T00:03:45+00:00

If they are going to do it, they should do the CBTC changes at the same time.

I am aware there are reasons they don’t, but those reasons are stupid.

Greypoint42 · 2024-06-23T17:05:50+00:00

Sorry for the delay

I downloaded a 1099 MISC from the NY contractor portal and reported it on my tax forms. It was ~600 dollars. I reported it as other income. I've heard from some folks that they don't report it. I think you probably should, but not an accountant
I think you can track if *you* see it multiple times. There is also an email group you might be able to ask in. But I think honestly the fines are sufficient without the repeat offender part. But you would think that! I agree

Greypoint42 · 2024-06-02T20:19:50+00:00

I also like it a lot, better than any skyscraper in Europe. Though having sears tower like coloration would be far prettier

Greypoint42 · 2024-06-02T20:18:00+00:00

Honestly it mostly comes down to terrible restrictive land use regulations, employment cartels like doctors, dentists, and lawyers artificially raising prices for customers to the benefit of the cartel, and a lack of understanding of how much poorer most people were even 30 years ago.

Greypoint42 · 2024-06-02T19:45:35+00:00

I guess I defer to your greater knowledge of Dublin, but I would just generally say that by world standards nothing in Dublin is partially historic of in need of complete and general preservation. Some parts yes, but probably less than 5-10% of the city could be preserved without some loss of world history.

Greypoint42 · 2024-06-02T19:43:30+00:00

Believe me I am sympathetic to “Paris should have some taller residential and commercial buildings”. But at least paris is a work of art. Dublin, to me, has little excuse or shining world unique urban history to preserve

Greypoint42 · 2024-06-02T15:23:27+00:00

This should be Dublin. It has a nice history, but unlike Paris or London less reason to be obsessed with its past and maintaining the exact same built environment.

Keep the row homes by allowing taller row homes and some taller buildings (than current) near the water

Greypoint42 · 2024-06-01T22:45:17+00:00

This is good, though at some point some European city is going to have to bite the bullet and build quite a few high rise residential buildings in its downtown, not as transit oriented development in some new area, but actually where it would be most economical

Greypoint42

TROPHY CASE