As New Yorkers and others leave work early and head south to Jersey for the Memorial Day weekend, big delays and volume have been reported on the Garden State Parkway near Woodbridge and on the New Jersey Turnpike near Exit 8 and 8A, where the turnpike merges from five lanes down to three.

With gas prices at their lowest since March, AAA has estimated that 3.8 million people from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will travel this holiday weekend–an 8% increase over last year.

Gowanus Expressway/Flickr

The Gowanus Expressway cuts its way through Brooklyn. Some pretty impressive height for those shoes on the wire.

The Gap/Flickr

In an attempt to close the projected $800 million budget shortfall for 2010, the MTA approved some Long Island Railroad service cuts which will take affect today.  In addition to the peak-hour train cuts on several lines, daily service to the Belmont Park racetrack will be discontinued entirely, except during the Belmont Stakes on June 4th and 5th. Be sure to check the new May 17 – September 12, 2010 timetables for details on your station. Below is a listing of the affected lines from the MTA.

P.S. More service cuts will take effect in September, so stay tuned.

Babylon Branch

• The 7:40 AM train from Seaford to Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn will be canceled. To accommodate customers from this train, the 7:33 AM train from Babylon to Atlantic Terminal will depart four minutes earlier at 7:29 AM, and stops will be added at Wantagh, Bellmore, Merrick, Freeport, Baldwin and Rockville Centre.
• The 4:39 PM train from Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn to Babylon will be canceled. To accommodate customers, the 4:37 PM express train from Penn Station to Wantagh will have added stops at Jamaica, Lynbrook, Seaford, Massapequa and all stops to Babylon. Brooklyn customers can take the 4:34 PM train from Atlantic Terminal and change at Jamaica.
• The 4:57 PM train from Penn Station to Wantagh will be canceled. Customers can take the 5:03 PM train from Penn Station with added stops at Merrick, Bellmore and Wantagh.

Long Beach Branch

• The 5:40 PM train from Atlantic Terminal to Long Beach will be canceled. To accommodate customers, the 5:55 PM express train from Penn Station to Long Beach will have a Jamaica stop added. Brooklyn customers can connect with this train by taking the 5:49 PM departure from Atlantic Terminal and changing at Jamaica.

Oyster Bay Branch

• The 4:54 PM peak train from Long Island City to Oyster Bay will leave 10 minutes earlier at 4:44 PM and add a Hunterspoint Avenue stop at 4:59 PM.
• The weekend 1:35 AM train from Jamaica to Oyster Bay is canceled. Customers can take the earlier 11:45 PM train.
• The weekend 7:20 AM train from Oyster Bay to Jamaica is canceled. Customers can take a train an hour earlier at 6:20 AM or later at 8:20 AM.

Port Jefferson Branch

• The 5:11 PM train from Hunterspoint Avenue will be partially canceled. It will instead originate in Huntington at 6:15 PM. Customers can connect with this train by taking a new 4:59 PM departure from Hunterspoint Avenue, and the 5:06 PM train from Penn Station to Huntington, which will have added Jamaica and Mineola stops. The new 4:59 PM departure is available by re-scheduling the 4:54 PM peak train from Long Island City to Oyster Bay to leave 10 minutes earlier at 4:44 PM and adding a Hunterspoint Avenue stop at 4:59 PM.
• The 4:05 PM westbound train from Port Jefferson to Jamaica will now terminate in Huntington, where customers can connect with train service to western terminals.

Port Washington Branch

• The 4:43 PM train from Penn Station to Port Washington will be canceled. Customers can instead take the 4:22 PM train from Penn Station. Later options include the 4:46 PM train for those heading to Great Neck. Customers traveling to stations Manhasset, Plandome and Port Washington can take the 5:11 PM departure from Penn Station.

Belmont Racetrack

• The LIRR is no longer providing daily service to Belmont Park during racing season. Racing fans traveling to Belmont Park can take the LIRR to Queens Village Station and connect to the free shuttle bus provided by NYRA. Racing fans can also take the LIRR to Queens Village, then take the Q27 bus and transfer to the Q2 at Springfield Blvd. & Hempstead Ave. to Belmont; or take the E train to Parsons Blvd. and transfer to the Q110 bus to Belmont.
• Special LIRR train service will be provided to Belmont Park on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5 – the day of the Belmont Stakes.

Well, it’s taken a bit longer than planned, but AllWaysNY is back!

LarimdaME/Flickr

In response to The MTA’s plans for yet another round of fare hikes next July and in 2011, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will begin an audit of the MTA’s finances, according to The Post. The examination of the transit agency’s new budget proposal, which includes the fare increases, is slated to be completed in September and will determine whether more investigations are needed.

The MTA claims that it needs more revenue to counter a coming $900 million budget deficit resulting from “rising fuel costs and shrinking income from real-estate taxes,” as well as yearly debt repayment costs that run into the billions of dollars.

If this claim of being out of cash sounds familiar, it’s because the MTA has done it before. An audit by the state and city back in 2003 found that the MTA mischaracterized its finances (the MTA disputes this) to the tune of $600 million to try and make the case for a fare increase.

Early plans from 1957 for Pan Am’s flying saucer-shaped JFK Terminal 3 (now used by Delta) initially included a whopping nine gate positions.

From Beijing to Madrid, cutting-edge designs and innovations are transforming the ways we experience the world’s airports and air travel. How is New York’s airport system, which remains the busiest in the country, responding to pressing economic and design demands while serving a growing number of passengers? Is an overhaul of the city’s airports feasible?

David Plavin, consultant and former president, Airports Council International-North America, will discuss the challenges and creative potential for New York’s aviation system with leading airport experts including Richard Smyth, V.P., Jet Blue, who is in charge of the new JFK Jet Blue terminal that incorporates the landmark Eero Saarinen building; Charles Van Cook, P.E., V.P., PB World, who plans airports all over the world; William DeCota, Dir. of Aviation, Port Authority; and Jeff Zupan, Senior Fellow for Transportation, Regional Plan Association. Co-sponsored by the NY Building Congress, and the RPA.

New York Infrastructure: Are New York’s Airports Obsolete?
30 July 2008, 6:30 P.M.
Museum of the City of New York
1220 5th Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029
(212) 534-1672, ext. 3395
www.mcny.org

Reservations Required
$9 General admission
$5 Museum members, seniors, and students

LaGuardia Airport terminal redevelopment rendering, 1957.

Keep It Moving/Flickr

]]> http://allwaysny.com/2008/07/16/allwaysny-photomat-8/feed/ 0 http://allwaysny.com/2008/07/12/new-york-now-discussion-3/ http://allwaysny.com/2008/07/12/new-york-now-discussion-3/#comments Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:12:46 +0000 AllWaysNY http://allwaysny.com/blog/2008/07/12/new-york-now-discussion-3/

New York Civic President, Henry J. Stern, will lead a roundtable discussion about historic development battles that have shaped New York City’s transportation infrastructure and the architectural contours. A distinguished panel will discuss the memorable battles fought over the Westway proposal of the 1970s, which would have moved the Westside Highway underground, and the Huntington Hartford Museum, which was designed by the renowned modernist architect Edward Durrell Stone and is now being transformed into the Museum of Art and Design. He will be joined Adrian Benepe, Commissioner of Parks & Recreation, New York City; Holly Hotchner, Director of the Museum of Art and Design; Alexander Garvin, city planner and President & CEO, Alex Garvin & Associates; and Albert K. Butzel, attorney and former president of Friends of Hudson River Park.

Civic Talk: Battles Over Development
17 July 2008, 6:30 P.M.
Museum of the City of New York
1220 5th Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029
(212) 534-1672, ext. 3395
www.mcny.org

Reservations Required
$9 General admission
$5 Museum members, seniors, and students