Fulton Street Transit Center

Recent Milestones: The MTA is exploring cost-cutting changes to the transit center’s design and contract schedule in response to estimates that the original plan could grow to be $400 million over budget. Design changes could include reducing the size of the dome or replacing the scheme with a street-level plaza.

Work on the $888 million Fulton Street Transit Center began in February 2005 and is scheduled to be completed by the spring of 2010. Designed by the architecture firm Grimshaw, the Fulton Street Transit Center’s main entrance along the east side of Broadway between Fulton and John Streets will offer access to 12 subway lines and feature a dome that reaches over 100 feet above the sidewalk to provide natural light to the lower levels of the station.

The 350-foot-long concourse, whose entry will be at John and Dey Streets, will link the Fulton Street Transit Center, WTC Transportation Hub/PATH Trains, and the redeveloped WTC site. From the Cortlandt Street station, a 150-foot-long passageway is also planned that will permit free transfers to the E train. Additionally, the MTA plans a new entrance to the 2/3 trains from the ground floor of 135 William Street. When completed, the transit center’s redesign will provide 29 entrances, 10 new escalators and 12 new elevators that will provide clearer transfers and signage for more than 300,000 daily riders, as well as 24,000 square feet of restaurants and shops in the transit center.

To build this structure, the MTA purchased, abated and deconstructed all property on this block of Broadway (less the 115-year-old Corbin Building, which will be restored and incorporated into the new center). Deconstruction of these buildings began in February of 2007 and concluded in August, allowing utility upgrades and foundation work to commence. This will be completed in early 2008, allowing construction of the main structure to begin. Site activity also includes underground improvements to subway platforms and pedestrian tunnels. The MTA completed a new entry for the northbound 4/5 trains at Broadway and Maiden Lane in January 2007, and the new southbound entry at Broadway and Cortlandt Street in August 2007. Additionally, the MTA completed its restoration of the 2/3 Fulton Street station’s mezzanine level. The Dey Street pedestrian concourse is also well underway, and should be completed by August 2008, and work on Church Street is on schedule for completion by March of 2008.

Fulton Street Reconstruction

The Fulton Street Reconstruction project to replace water main and underground utilities began in July 2007 and is well underway, with full road closures between Broadway and Nassau, and from William to Gold Streets. The project is scheduled to be completed by June of 2009.

Cortlandt Street R/W Station Renovation

The Cortlandt Street R/W subway station is temporarily closed so that NYC Transit can construct a 150-foot underpass to connect the new MTA Fulton Street transit center’s Dey Street Concourse with the PATH station and WTC. Work involves underpinning of the subway track and platform and widening of northbound and southbound platforms above the new underpass. Trains will bypass the station during the renovation, so passengers who use the station are encouraged to use the nearby Rector Street, City Hall, WTC, Fulton Street or Broadway-Nassau Street stops. The station is scheduled to reopen in 2012 in coordination with the WTC Site.

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Parking Facility

Recent Milestones: The LMDC announced plans to redevelop the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel parking facility.

In September of 2007, LMDC Chairman Avi Schick announced a proposal to convert part of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel parking facility into a garage for commuter buses. Detailed plans are still in the development stage.

New South Ferry Subway Station Improvements

The $400 million project is fully funded and will modernize the original 1905 station. The new full-train (10-car), ADA-accessible platform will connect to the R/W Whitehall Street subway station and feature three street exits. $15 million of related public space improvements include a bicycle path linking the Hudson and East River Greenways and a pedestrian-friendly plaza that leads to the Staten Island Ferry and Battery Park. According to the MTA, construction on the South Ferry subway station and surrounding public spaces will conclude in November of 2008.

JFK Rail Link

In February President Bush included a $2 billion allocation in his 2008 executive budget for a direct rail link from Lower Manhattan to JFK Airport, and in June the funding passed the House Ways and Means Committee. The proposal would convert $2 billion in unused federal tax credits that were part of the $21 billion Federal aid package to New York after 9/11 into funds to be used for the rail link. However, funding approval must still pass the full Senate and House and be signed by the President. This $2 billion in federal funding combined with $560 million (including $60 million in planning funds) already committed by the Port Authority, $400 million from the MTA (as part of its five-year capital program), and $100 million from the MTA’s $2.9 billion Transportation Bond Act, accounts for roughly half of the estimated project cost.

The rail link will provide a roughly 35-minute, one-seat ride between Lower Manhattan and JFK Airport and a 40% faster commute to Lower Manhattan for Long Island commuters. The link would be an expansion of the AirTrain connecting JFK to Jamaica, where it will continue on to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and go through an East River subway tunnel (that would be built) on its way to Lower Manhattan. Long Island Railroad (LIRR) commuters could also transfer to the line at Jamaica on their way to Lower Manhattan. A May 2004 study led by LMDC projected that the proposed link would serve 4,000 to 6,000 airport travelers and 100,000 LIRR commuters a day. Environmental review began in April 2005 and is still ongoing.

New Battery Park City Ferry Terminal

Work continues on the $69.1 million five-slip ferry terminal near the World Financial Center with concourses linking the ferry terminal with the new WTC PATH Transportation Hub and the Fulton Street Transit Center. The terminal will have 22,000 square feet of public space, a heated waiting area and public bathrooms. The 200-foot long barge will double the pre-existing capacity, enabling additional ferry routes to service the terminal, such as the Haverstraw-Yonkers line.