The local paper for the Upper East Side
WEEK OF APRIL WEAPONS OF MASS PERSUASION ◄ P. 14
20-26 2017
An empty newsstand at the 96th Street station on the Second Avenue subway. Photo: Michael Garofalo
NO NEWS ON SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY SUBWAYS Four months after the subway line opened, newsstands at the new stations remain vacant BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
It was a New Year’s Eve party a century in the making. One hundred years after the Second Avenue subway was first proposed, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other dignitaries rang in 2017 at an invitation-only soiree in the new station beneath 72nd Street, enjoying hors d’oeuvres and drinks as the Q train took its inaugural trip on the new line. Memorably, a pristine newsstand on the station’s mez-
City Council Member Ydonis Rodriguez (left) and DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg announce plans to close Broadway to vehicle traffic on Earth Day at a press conference in Times Square April 12. Photo: Michael Garofalo
zanine was repurposed into a bar, with bottles of beer from New York breweries lining the shelves in place of candy and magazines. The newsstands in the Second Avenue stations haven’t been put to use since. Nearly four months after the turnstiles started spinning in New York’s newest subway stations, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has yet to contract a vendor to operate four newsstands on the Second Avenue line. Black kiosks branded with the MTA’s Second Avenue subway logo sit shuttered and empty on station platforms as riders wait for trains to arrive. Anyone in need of a cold
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CAR-FREE ON BROADWAY FOR EARTH DAY ENVIRONMENT DOT will also convert one block of Broadway near Flatiron to fulltime “shared street” BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
Heading downtown on Saturday? Make sure your cabbie knows not to take Broadway. Or better yet, says the Department of Transportation, ditch the cab altogether and celebrate
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Earth Day with a stroll or a bike ride down America’s most famous street, which will be temporarily car-free. The DOT announced last week that Broadway will be closed to vehicles between Union Square and Times Square on April 22, leaving the street open to pedestrians and cyclists from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All cross streets will remain open except 33rd Street. Plazas along the mile-and-a-halflong stretch of Broadway will host various DOT-sponsored events and activities, including musical perfor-
mances, dance classes and walking tours. Citi Bike will offer free bike-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, April 21 – 7:24 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com
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