January 20, 2008

btw. 94th & 93rd, west side of 2nd Avenue - looking S
At long last -- the first new section of sidewalk on the west side of 2nd Avenue! The first sign that some sense of normalcy may soon return for pedestrians and merchants on this side of the avenue.



Another view, looking NW, of the same short (20') section of new concrete. (Yes, I know that it's not very exciting... but I'm sure that those of us who live in the area will be very happy to be walking down a sidewalk again, instead of navigating the maze of temporary walkways that are in place today.)



btw. 94th and 95th - looking N
One block north, it's still very clear that workers have much more to do, before the regular walking paths return.



94th street intersection, NW corner - looking S
If you look carefully you can see the new sewer manhole that has been installed, and is now being covered over.



Another look inside the same hole at this intersection.



just south of 95th street - looking N
This very large section of flexible pipe appeared at the work site in the past week or so. I assume, because of its color, that it's a new gas main.



Another view - at the SW corner of 95th looking S



A temporary water shut-off notice from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.


These two posters could be seen in the windows of a few of the shops on 2nd Avenue.

December 29, 2007

92nd street, NW corner - looking SW
Steel I Beams being loaded on to a truck.



93rd street, NW corner - looking north
The new sewer main is in place, at this location, and is now being covered over.



94th street, SW corner - looking south
A piece of 48" pipe waiting to be placed into the trench and connected to the new sewer main.



btw. 93rd and 94th, west side of the street - looking S
The trench on the right is for the new sewer main and the utility lines that are being relocated.

- - -

The images that follow show the current state of the west side of each intersection on 2nd Avenue from 91st up to 95th. I thought that these images might be useful for the next Community Board Number 8 meeting on January 29th. (Now rescheduled for March 3rd.)

At most intersections traffic has been squeezed into one lane and only one pedestrian walkway is open. But, as you can see, many pedestrians walk wherever they want.

The images "looking east" were taken from a position approx. 100 feet from the west edge of 2nd Avenue.

91st street

looking east
(Note that this street, 91st between 2nd and 3rd, has been closed to through traffic for years.)


92nd Street

looking east


looking west from the SE corner


93rd street

looking east


also looking east
Note the pedestrian walking in the active roadway instead of on the temporary walkway.


looking west from the NE corner
Again, another pedestrian walking in the street instead of on the temporary walkway.


94th street

looking east


looking west from the SE corner
Note the "Yes We Are Open" sign in the window of the shop on the left.


95th street

looking east


looking west from the NE corner
Crossing 95th street on the west side of the 2nd Avenue is dangerous at night, based on my personal experiences. Drivers turning from 2nd Avenue west onto 95th cannot easily see the pedestrian signal because it is located way over near the corner of the brick building on the left. The lighting on the west side of this intersection is also inedequate.



93rd street, SE corner - at the site office

November 24, 2007

btw. 92nd and 93rd streets - west side of 2nd Avenue
Pieces of the new 48" sewer main have now been laid in the 20' deep trench on the west side of 2nd Avenue --



but certain obstructions, like this smaller sewer line, need to be relocated before the new main can be finished --



a closer view of the smaller line that is obstructing the new 48" main.



near the SW corner of 93rd and 2nd looking north
Trench work continues. The rotary drilling rig has now moved all the way up to the north end of the launch box, at 95th street. (Yes, the shadow is in fact the person who took this picture.)



E..............................................SE..............................................S
NW corner of 95th and 2nd
Note: This is a stitched image.
Left-click on the image for a larger view.



NW corner of 95th and 2nd - looking south
A view of the rotary drilling rig with the sun directly behind it. (at about 1 PM)



a closer view of the rig.



and even closer.



the intersection of 95th and 2nd - looking east
Note: This is a stitched image.
Left-click on the image for a larger view.



Yes, this Chase branch in in fact open, even thought it is not apparent how one would enter the branch from this angle.

November 4, 2007

btw. 93rd and 94th streets
Looking through a piece of drilling pipe - approx 2 feet in diameter and 20 feet long.



the same piece of pipe - a wider angle.



This piece of equipment, a German made Bauer BG 22H rotary drilling rig mounted on a Caterpiller platform, arrived at the job site on Monday morning October 29th. The drilling portion of the machine stands about 70 feet tall.

This machine will be used to drill holes, about 2 feet in diameter, for the piles (the steel beams on the left in the image.) My guess is that these piles will support the outside walls of the launch box.



A closer view of rotary drilling rig.



A close-up view of the working end of the rotary drill.



And these are the piles that are being placed in the holes that are being drilled.



This store closed and relocated back in August. Most likely it will be some time before this location is rented again.



A jack hammer, a pair of boots and and a traffic cone.



A nice selection of tools at the job site.