Testimony of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA
at the New York City Transit Committee Meeting
on the Opening of the Second Avenue Subway
Board Room, MTA Headquarters, 2 Broadway, New York, NY
January 23, 2017
Good morning. My name is Angela Bellisio and I am the Planning Manager at the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
On behalf of the PCAC would like to congratulate you on the opening of the Second Avenue Subway. The new stations are spacious, bright, and modern and the art that you’ve chosen celebrates the uniqueness and diversity of the MTA’s ridership. It gives all New Yorkers something to be proud of, something to own. For example, when we went to visit the day after the opening, I was stopped by a doctor in scrubs who wanted me to take her picture next to the Vik Munez mosaic that looks just like her.
We are thrilled about the station openings and see this as an opportunity to measure the impact that the Q extension is having on the ridership of the 6 Line. We urge all of you to be diligent in your monitoring of the service as the Second Avenue line attracts ridership and, ideally, achieves its goal of reducing crowding on the Lexington line.
With the opening of Phase One, you’ve set the bar very high. Now that you’ve demonstrated the MTA’s ability to do great things, we hope that the State of New York will allocate the additional funding required to accelerate the full design build in Phase Two.
Download here: 012317 PCAC Second Avenue Subway Opening