Archinect - News

Port Authority workers call on leadership to halt LaGuardia AirTrain project following Cuomo's departure from office

2021-08-13T14:05:00-04:00

Within hours following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation from office after a slew of sexual harassment accusations, Port Authority workers issued a letter to executive director Rick Cotton calling for the termination of the former governor’s controversial LaGuardia AirTrain proposal.

An excerpt from the letter, according to the New York Daily News, reads: “For too long, Gov. Cuomo and his staff have repeatedly pushed the agency to make non-transparent, politically motivated decisions, including decisions that squander the trust and money of our bondholders, customers, and the general public.” The letter also calls for the Port Authority Inspector General to examine whether Cuomo tried to unfairly influence the federally-mandated environmental impact statement process to approve the plan despite other alternatives and the protests of transit experts.

Just last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the estimated $2.1 billion project, which would see th...

2,500-bed hospital conversion at NYC’s Javits Center opens

2020-04-03T18:59:00-04:00

This week, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that work on the plan to convert the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan into a 2,500-bed temporary hospital has been completed.

The temporary hospital facility is one of four sites currently under construction across the region, facilities that will make up the first phase of an effort launched by the Governor to increase the number of hospital beds across the downstate area. The conversions are being handled by a federal response team led by the Army Corps of Engineers. Additional project partners include: The state of New York, the city of New York, the New York National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the General Services Administration, the Defense Department, and members of the United States armed forces, according to the the US Department of Defense website.

In the case of the Javits Center, the expansi...

Gov. Cuomo's renovation plan for NYC’S Penn Station takes shape

2020-01-09T09:00:00-05:00

Empire Station

New York State officials led by Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a plan this week to expand rail capacity at Penn Station in New York City by as much as 40% through the addition of a new bay of passenger rail concourses just south of the existing station.

More specifically, the so-called Empire Station Complex plan would bring four new train concourses (and eight lengths of track) to an adjacent site currently packed with existing buildings, lending the chronically under-sized Penn Station complex an opportunity to grow and absorb an anticipated jump in rail traffic set to take shape over the next few decades. The plan would take over the entirely of the block situated between 30th and 31st streets and between 7th and 8th avenues immediately south of the station, enabling capacity at the station to grow by an estimated 175,000 passengers per day when fully completed. The station currently funnels over 650,000 commuters through its low-ceilinged and circuitous passages ...

Cuomo suggests a plan to allow private sponsorships of NYC subway stations

2017-07-27T18:18:00-04:00

During the speech, Cuomo suggested that one way to get more funding for the ailing transit system would be to offer companies the opportunity to sponsor subway stations for an annual fee. That money could go toward “enhanced maintenance, additional security, and aesthetic features.”

The practice of letting corporations put their stamp on the subway has precedents— in 2009, the MTA sold the naming rights for Atlantic Ave–Pacific St station in Brooklyn to Barclays, which according to NY Times, gets MTA $200,000 per year for the next two decades.

However, many crucial aspects of Cuomo's proposal, like maintenance of stations, are still unclear. MTA chair Joe Lhota said that the details of the plan are still being worked out.

It’s easy to see a corporation fighting to put its name on Union Square or a similarly well-trafficked station; but will stations deep in the outer boroughs then go ignored? Similar issues play out in city parks, where those with deep-pocketed donors—the High Line, Central Park, etc.—are well-maintained, while those without … well, not so much.

During that same speech, the governor also announced that the new Tappan Zee Bridge—renamed the Mario Cuomo Bridge will have its grand opening (presumably with a flashy light show) on August 25.

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Amid MTA's disastrous Summer, Cuomo moves forward with expensive plan to turn NY's bridges into a light show

2017-07-20T14:58:00-04:00

The project, part of a broader plan called “New York Crossings,” would outfit the MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels — and the Port Authority’s George Washington Bridge — with pulsating, multicolored LED lights that can be choreographed with each other, with the Empire State Building and with One World Trade.

MTA's crumbling infrastructure has been making headlines since April and the situation does not appear to be getting any better for NYC transiters; three-quarters of the city's subway lines are plagued by chronic delays and frustrated riders continue to overcrowd the system.

While the parties involved point fingers and place blame every which way they can, New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has faced growing pressure to fix the system.

Among the list of complaints being lodged against the Chief of State, are critiques of his plan to turn the region's bridges into a choreographed light show in concert with the city's skyscrapers. The cost of the lighting scheme has not been revealed though an early internal estimate put the price tag at $350 mill. In addition, where funding will come from remains unclear—a spokesman for Cuomo stated that "this is definitively NOT being paid for by the MTA," though a meeting back in January had suggested otherwise. Regardless of who picks up the tab, c...

Governor Cuomo Announces New Penn Station Private-Public Partnership RFP

2016-01-06T17:34:00-05:00

Governor Cuomo unveiled the sixth signature proposal of his 2016 agenda: transform Penn Station and the historic James A. Farley Post Office into a world-class transportation hub. The project, known as the Empire Station Complex.... is anticipated to cost $3 billion – will be expedited by a public-private partnership in order to break ground this year and complete substantial construction within the next three years.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced another piece of his proposal to revitalize New York's transportation infrastructure at Madison Square Garden this afternoon. Looking towards a private-public enterprise to develop the site, the proposal is budgeted at $3 billion and take three years to build.

While the details are unclear, the proposal calls for utilizing the Farley Post Office site in concert with the current Penn Station and Madison Square Garden site. The two blocks will be connected below 8th Avenue via a subterranean connection. Expanding north, the plan will shut down 33rd street adjacent to Penn Station/MSG and create a pedestrian focused entry along 33rd as well as 7th and 8th Avenues.