February 20, 2010

NE corner of 97th - looking SW
2/20/10

Slowly by surely the old Century Lumber building now disappears. It's being demolished to make room for one of the 96th Street station ancillary buildings.


12/6/09
Another shot of the same location, taken 8 weeks earlier.



93rd - looking NE

The portable office (on the left) arrived at the site about a week ago.

The temporary offices on the right, used by S3 Tunnel Constructors, have been at this location since work started back in early 2007.



91st, SE corner - looking NE

Workers in this image are setting up Jersey barriers before they start to remove part of the roadway using jackhammers.



87th, SE corner - looking N

Various new sections of gas main lay here waiting to be installed.



87th - looking S

The relocation of utility lines continues in the work zone between 82nd and 87th Streets.

These cables would appear to be high voltage ConEd power lines.



btw. 86th and 87th - looking NW



84th - looking S



82nd - looking S



71st, SE corner - looking W

The name plate on this 30" valve says that its rated for 740 PSIG [pounds per square inch] maximum operating pressure, or 665 PSIG at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, which would suggest that it will be used on ConEd's steam distribution network.

What's interesting that the name plate also says that this valve was manufactured in May 1993. So apparently ConEd had this valve in their spares inventory for more than a few years, or it was left over from some other project.



just north of 72nd - looking SW

Work continues on the shaft at this location.

In this shot you can clearly see the steel ring beams that support the outer walls.



Another shot of the same location.



btw. 72nd and 73rd - looking W

A pile of eight blasting mats are shown here. The mats are laid on top of the rock before blasting takes place.



73rd - looking S

The little red box in this image is used for the temporary storage of explosives. The door is open because the box is empty. I believe that NYFD Blasting Regulations do not allow for the storage of explosives at a work site overnight.



69th - looking NW

Work at the other shaft site is shown in this shot. Note the large piece of bedrock in the hole - just to the left of the center.

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btw. 92nd and 93rd

In this shot you can clearly see the external support beams that the MTA's contractors installed on the building at 1766/1678 Second Avenue. The beams were installed as part of a larger effort to stabilize the building at this location.

This building has been vacant since it was evacuated by emergency order of the Department of Buildings back in June 2009. (see the June 29-30, 2009 posting for further details.)



And a closer look at the external beams that have been installed.


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Here's a listing of the recent additions
to the right-hand column of The Launch Box

Monthly Project Report - Second Avenue Subway
MTA Capital Construction
2/22/10

Call for Images - Second Avenue Subway/63rd Street Station
MTA Arts for Transit
2/5/10

SAS, BRT to receive federal transportation money
2nd Ave. Sagas - 2/2/10

NYPD Operations Order 14
"Investigation of Individuals Engaged in
Suspicious Photography and Video Surveillance"
New York City Police Department - 4/3/09
Courtesy of StationStops.com

The Infrastructurist
America Under Construction

Notice of Roadway Closure on East 95th Street
btw. 1st and 2nd Avenues
thru 3/26/10

Second Avenue: Then & Now

In this posting you will see how Second Avenue, in and around the TBM launch box site, looked in the early 1970s compared to how it looks today.

The black & white survey photos (below) were taken as part of the design process for the Second Avenue subway in the early 1970s. The MTA had photos taken of every block on Second Avenue, from Greenwich Village to 125th Street in Harlem, to document the streetscape.

I found these photos in the archives of the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn last year and the museum graciously agreed to let me reproduce them here on this blog.

As you will see, quite a lot has changed in 40 years.

Please Note:
The black & white images shown below may not be reused in any
format without the written consent of the New York Transit Museum.
The caption above each of these images was provided
to me by the Transit Museum.


This first set of survey photos were taken by an unknown photographer in April 1971.


As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photo shows Second Avenue between 92nd and 91st Streets, looking south. Also shows buildings, automobiles, fenced vacant lot, woman walking dog, and signage. R132A S10_z006
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
4/4/1971


2/7/2010
btw. 91st and 92nd streets - looking south

The vacant lot on the right, in the survey photo shown above and below, was part of the 22-acre site that was once the old Jacob Ruppert Brewery. The brewery was closed in 1965 and demolished to make room for Ruppert Towers, Yorkville Towers, Knickerbocker Plaza, and Ruppert Park.

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As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photo shows Second Avenue between 93rd and 92nd Streets, looking south. Also shows buildings, automobiles, truck, fenced vacant lot, and signage. R132A S10_z005
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
4/4/1971


4/12/2009
92nd Street - looking south

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As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photo shows Second Avenue at 94th Street, looking south. Also shows buildings, automobiles, pedestrians, and signage. R132A S10_z004
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
4/4/1971


4/12/2009
btw. 94th & 95th - looking south

Apparently the traffic at this intersection, in 1971, was controlled by a single old style traffic signal on the NW corner or 94th and Second, as shown in the in the survey photo above.

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As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photo shows Second Avenue at 96th Street, looking south. Also shows buildings, automobiles, and signage. R132A S10_z002
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
4/4/1971


4/12/2009
btw. 96th & 97th streets - looking south

I was surprised to see, in the survey photo above, that parts of Second Avenue still had a cobblestone surface as late as 1971.

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As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photo shows Second Avenue at 97th Street, looking south. R132A S10_z001
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
4/4/1971


4/12/2009
97th Street - looking south

The Century Lumber building, on the right in both photos above, is in the process of being demolished to make room for an ancillary building #2 for the new 96th Street station.


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The second set of survey photos, shown below, were taken by New York City Transit photographer Lawrence M. Lebow in September, 1974.


As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photo shows Second Avenue at 91st Street, looking north. Also shows buildings, barricades around street maintenance excavation, and automobiles. R132A S9_z2062
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
9/1/1974


2/10/2010
91st Street - looking north

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As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photo shows Second Avenue at 92nd Street, looking north. Also shows buildings and automobiles. R132A S9_z063
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
9/1/1974


4/12/2009
92nd Street - looking north

Note the Gulf station on the NE corner of 93rd and Second, in the survey photo above.

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And this final survey photo, which was probably also taken in 1974.

As part of the documentation of the proposed Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan, survey photograph shows the east side of Second Avenue between 85th and 86th Streets. Also shows buildings, storefronts, signage, pedestrians, and automobiles. R132AS9_z014
Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
ca. 1970s


4/4/2009
btw. 86th and 85th streets - looking east

Schaller & Weber and the Heidelberg Restaurant, both long time neighborhood fixtures in Yorkville, are still thriving today.


References:

"Yorkville Project Is Approved For Housing, School and a Park"
By Seth S. King - The New York Times - 3/21/1968

Ruppert & Yorkville Towers
The Upper Eastside Book: Third Avenue
By Carter B. Horsley

The Craft of "Then and Now" Photography
by John Walker - 11/2006


Also see:
Second Avenue Subway Construction in the 1970s
The Launch Box - 9/21/2009