Small Fixes Instead of Big Changes Coming to a Subway Near You

When your apartment looks dowdy, do you change the entire space, or make small fixes? (Assuming you're on a budget like the rest of us, that is.)
If you said “small fixes,” then bingo! You’re taking the same approach as New York City Transit with the subway stations.
Instead of overhauling each New York subway station whole hog; “station renewal” is now the name of the game.
What’s the difference? Instead of completing revamping a station, smaller changes will be made: individual items that need to be upgraded or fixed will be taken care of (stairs, lighting, signage), while everything else will be left alone. (Um, shouldn’t they have been doing that already??)
Work is slated to begin in the first targeted stations next year.
It costs approximately $60 million to completely renovate one station, as opposed to $15 million for a partial fix. The budget that has been allocated for this program should allow 130 subway stations to be spruced up, in addition to overhauling 25 others. (For the same price, about 14 stations could be completely overhauled.)
In the 1980s, the MTA had the lofty goal of completely revamping all 468 stations in 35 years. Thirty years have passed--and not quite half of them have been done.
One teensy weensy problem exists, however: The plan hasn’t been approved by state leaders yet—because—wait for it--no one seems to know just where the money is actually coming from.

Can't Find the Subway? A New Phone App Will Find it For You

Forget that unwieldy, old-fashioned street map--a new phone app can help you find the nearest New York City subway station just by glancing around you.
Wayfinder NYC gives walking directions to subway and PATH stations that are calculated by GPS. The directions are superimposed over the phone’s camera.
The program won big last night (Thursday, Feb. 4) for having the best new use of city data online.
Wayfinder, which works on Android mobile phones, was designed in response to the city’s “NYC BigApps” competition, which gave programmers 170 sets of city data and the mandate to find new ways to use them online. Data provided included everything from restaurant inspection results to taxi info to library catalogues and traffic updates.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg presented the awards last night to Victor Sima and Steven Lao at the IAC building in Chelsea. More than 110 applications were submitted in this inaugural competition.
The point of the challenge? To give a nod to New York’s high-tech and media industries--and also to give New Yorkers much-needed improved services in certain areas. It was also designed to make New York City government more accessible to New Yorkers. The competition was part of Mayor Bloomberg’s initiative to make city government more transparent to the public.
Mayor Bloomberg, of course, made his sizeable fortune in information technology himself, so although the designers won about $7500 in prizes, who knows what’s next?

What Lurks Beneath? Open the Manhole Cover and Find Out

Of all the urban legends about New York, one of the greatest and most prevalent has to be what prowls under the city streets. Well, now is your chance to find out, sort of. The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel tours are running this weekend, as well as on Saturday, January 30, and many folk will get the chance to hop on board. Or, rather, to descend under the yawning bowels of the city and see what lurks beneath.
The tours are part of openhousenewyork, an organization that take visitors behind the scenes to see some of the inner working of the design and architecture of the city. In October, for instance, free tours that showcase some of New York’s startling design innovations are offered. (ohny.org for information).
This time around, the organization, along with the Brooklyn Historical Railway Association, offers a guided tour of the world’s oldest subway system. It was constructed, amazingly, using only basic hand tools—in just seven months. Bob Diamond, who rediscovered the tunnels in 1980, leads the tours. He will set off twice each day though the half-mile space. (Tours fill up very quickly.) It works sort of like a secret society--meeting times and so forth are given to you after you've purchased your tickets; go to the website for info.
All sorts of caveats exist, apart from the obvious (no high heels, duh.)
The tunnel entrance is a manhole cover in the middle of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. (How Secret Agent!)
Even if you don’t go, isn't it kind of cool to know that such a thing exists?