Good morning. I’m Lisa Daglian, Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
We’re in historic Harlem, in the historic Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Office Building, where you’ll take action on a project a century in the making that will not only make history, but improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. It’s an excellent reason to extend Harlem Week a little longer.
The Second Avenue Subway has been an unkept promise for too long, especially for East Harlemites. Originally proposed over a hundred years ago, we finally saw light at the end of the tunnel in 2017 – but only to 96th Street. This contract will allow the next phase to move forward, keeping promises made when the Second Avenue el was demolished. And it won’t be the Second Avenue Subway construction we might have seen when shovels first went into the ground in the 1970s. Thanks to Governor Hochul’s persistence (and money!) utility relocation and other essential preliminary work is already underway. The new contract that you will approve today is for tunneling and structural shells, but that’s a dry synopsis. Improved technology and equipment will allow for more advanced tunnel boring and construction. Labor agreements will mean a hundred million dollars in savings. Using and adapting existing platforms and previously created spaces means savings in both time and money. Using station spaces wisely will also help keep costs down – ensuring that there is parity among all the stations along the line, of course.
The contract includes 20% local hire, which will benefit hundreds of Harlem residents – much as the construction of this building did.
I recall coming to an MTA Board meeting in the late 1990’s with then-Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields to deliver thousands of postcards from New Yorkers who wanted the Second Avenue Subway Now – then. A Second Avenue Subway sandwich was even crafted to support the effort. It’s thrilling to see this next phase come to life. I can’t wait to get onboard!