Yesterday it came out that the presumed dead plans to extend the 7 train to New Jersey were very much alive if very much in its infancy. And now the plan has gotten a vote of confidence from no-less than the man who killed the last big New York-New Jersey tunnel project, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. more ›

[Update Below] A direct MTA subway connection to New Jersey has been mankind's greatest dream ever since the founding bros first glimpsed the glory of the Meatpacking District from Hoboken. Now, rumor has it, Mayor Bloomberg is moving heaven and earth to make the dream a reality before the end of his third (and final?) term. You'll recall that the Bloomberg administration gave a quarter-million dollar no-bid contract to an engineering firm to study the feasibility of extending the 7 line to Secaucus. Now sources tell the Post that Bloomberg wants to get the project moving before he leaves office. more ›

What with the rain falling and the apocalypse nigh, things couldn't get much worse, right? Don't be so naive: this weekend the MTA is shutting down all service on the 7 between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza to address "a recent increase in signal-related delays" caused by "an aging signal system and water-related issues." As always, the MTA in its press release is asking "patience from customers," but for riders of the 7, that's like getting blood from a stone. more ›

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who recently scrapped the plan to build a new NJ Transit tunnel from New Jersey to Midtown, said he would consider using state funds to extend the 7 train over to Secaucus. He said on a radio show, "It would actually connect us to the east side of Manhattan...go through Penn Station like we always wanted to, at what appears to be less of a cost, and with New York bearing part of the burden for that project." He has yet to speak to Bloomberg about the plan, but this brings us one step closer to subway access to the 182nd best place to live in New Jersey. more ›

What if you could get to the promised land of New Jersey without ever leaving the convenient confines of the NYC Transit system? Such a revolutionary transit transformation could encourage thousands of Jersey residents to leave their cars at home, while enticing more New Yorkers across the Hudson in search of cheaper rent and "alt scenes." The Bloomberg administration is currently floating a plan to extend the 7 train as far as Secaucus, which means the 7 would be the new L, and Weehawken should probably brace for a wave of Prohibition-era cocktail lounges. more ›

We're not entirely sure why city workers don't realize there is an army of citizen reporters waiting to post videos of their unlawful antics on the Internet, but it's about time they were made aware. City transit officials are investigating the case of a 7 train motorman caught texting while driving the Queens-bound train on Friday morning. An anonymous straphanger caught video of the motorman on his phone, who quickly stopped once he saw he was being recorded. The straphanger told NY1, "I was a bit perturbed to see that the driver of the train was text messaging and his eyes were on his cell phone and not at all on the tracks." more ›

A transit worker took a terrifying tumble from the elevated 7 train tracks in Queens while doing repair work this morning. Transit supervisor Kent Morgan was overseeing a switch replacement when he fell through a path next to the tracks, more than 20 feet up. He landed on 114th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. Eyewitnesses said he landed flat on his back in his street with his head pounding against the sidewalk. "He couldn’t talk. He was able to move his right hand a little bit, but it was shaky," Luis Lopez told the Post. He was rushed to New York Hospital Queens afterwards, but remarkably, was said to be alert and conscious when he was put in the ambulance. more ›

Those new maps have barely had time to hit the walls, and now the MTA is considering implementing even more service cuts. The possible new cuts, which must be approved on Wednesday by the MTA board, could save the MTA an additional $3.7 million. Bloomberg did warn us. So what could possibly be on the chopping block this time? more ›

Daily Intel caught up with a 24-year-old who moved from Queens to the Upper West Side, via the 7 train then the 1 train—via a transfer at Times Square—and thanks to his friends from his language school. Well, now they're his former friends after hauling Young Min's "air conditioner, collapsible double-rod closet, dishes (including serving platters and utensils), laptop, linen, quilts, books, clothes, and assorted framed pictures, a soup cauldron, Korean medicine, condiments, and a 40-pound bag of rice... (Mid-trip, the air conditioner broke through the trunk holding it.)" more ›

Though Bloomberg previously scrapped a plan for a 7 station at 41st and 10th Avenue after extension costs became too high, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Real Estate Board members will meet with VP Joe Biden tomorrow to ask for federal funding for the project. The extension from Times Square to the Javits Center is already costing the city $2 billion, and they estimate the 41st Street station would cost an extra $500 million. REB president Steve Spinola says not building the station would be a "terrible, terrible mistake." more ›

[UPDATE: It's back.] Good morning, we hope this reaches you in time to reroute your commute if you're traveling between Long Island City and Manhattan! Due to mechanical problems at the Grand Central-42nd Street Station, there is currently no 7 train service between the Hunters Point Avenue Station and the Times Square-42nd Street Station in both directions. And earlier this morning there were big problems with the L train; service was disrupted due to "signal problems in Canarsie Tube." The MTA says the L train is now back its mobbed, normal self. You can stay up to speed by following the NYC Transit Twitter, or check the MTA website for updates. more ›

It's a triumphant day for Long Island City residents—and for Manhattanites who just want to visit Long Island City to enjoy the neighborhood's parks, art scene, restaurants, bars, theater, etc. After announcing that vital weekend 7 train service between Manhattan and Queens would be suspended for ten consecutive weekends, NYC Transit has defied expectation and finished work early, "ending a major inconvenience for tens of thousands of weekend riders." Indeed, people were pissed. more ›

As MTA megaprojects including the Second Avenue Subway and the 7 train expansion have fallen behind schedule and gone up in cost, salaries and staff at the department in charge of overseeing such projects have increased for five years straight. Under the guidance of the MTA Capital Construction department, the price of major developments has surged and setbacks have become commonplace—yet the department has grown from 39 employees in 2004 to 151 in 2009, and its payroll has ballooned by $10.6 million. more ›

With the G train out of commission for four straight weekends, some crafty commuters in the Greenpoint area had relied on the 7 train—just on the other side of the Pulaski Bridge—to get into Manhattan. Well, so much for that stratagem. Starting next weekend, there will be no 7 train service between Grand Central and Queensboro Plaza. And no service for the next 10 weekends after that. Please be patient. more ›

In February, the city released literally awesome photos of a massive cutter head for a 1000-ton tunnel boring machine, as it was lowered into a "launch chamber" hole near the intersection of 25th Street and 11th Avenue. The tunnel boring machine, or TBM, has been working its way east since then, as part of a $2.1 billion project to extend the 7 subway line from Times Square to the Hudson Yards. Now the mayor's office has dropped this fresh video of the TBM cutter head breaking through the 34th Street Station Cavern Wall. The fun starts at the 30 second mark, and climaxes when [SPOILER!] triumphant workers crawl through the cutter head from the other side: more ›

To make room for the planned extension of the 7 train, the Port Authority will evict the city's largest homeless drop-in center at the end of March, according to the Daily News. The Open Door shelter — which every day provides meals and showers to some 200 homeless men and women — would have closed sooner, but the city was able to convince the transit agency to delay a part of the line extension project to keep shelter visitors off the streets during the winter. Though the Open Door shelter doesn't have beds, an average of 94 people slept there per night in September. One of the regulars, 63-year-old Lee Parker, told the tabloid he has slept in a chair at the shelter each night for the past two months. "It's better than sleeping out on the street," he said. "It's safe and warm." more ›

Fresh off their annual Subway Shmutz Survey, the Straphangers Campaign is doing their best to be a buddy to local commuters with the release of "State of the Subways." (They sure do love those s's!) The group analyzes subway performances in a variety of different categories and then breaks them down by individual lines, something that the MTA refuses to do. more ›

It's a good thing the MTA Bailout saved the W train from saying farewell because it sounds like its neighboring buddy line the R has already had enough dumped onto it lately. The tenth annual "subway shmutz" survey released today by the Straphangers Campaign rated the R the dirtiest line in the system with only 25 percent of its cars clean. more ›

After initially thinking that they would rename the 7 Train subway stop in tandem with the new ballpark, the MTA announced that the train stop closest to the Mets' new digs will not carry the name "Citi Field" after the team refused to cough up any money for the station's name change. The station is nearly halfway through a planned $40 million in renovations to go along with the opening of the new stadium and the MTA had hoped to help pay for the work with a portion of the $20 million a year the Mets are receiving in naming rights from Citigroup. The team apparently wasn't eager to spread the wealth however and now the station will simply be renamed "Mets/Willets Point," the nearby LIRR station carrying the same name. On the upside, at least the MTA avoids the possibility of being forced into renaming the station again with no one exactly holding their breath that Citi Field (or as some are calling it, Debits Field) is a moniker that will last through the economic winter. more ›

[UPDATE: VIDEO BELOW] That big beautiful specimen you see dangling behind our mayor is the front part of what will be a 100-ton tunnel boring machine, or "TBM," as they say in the boring biz. Today workers lowered the "cutter head" part of the TBM into a "launch chamber" hole near the intersection of 25th Street and 11th Avenue, where come spring they'll begin drilling two 7,100-foot long tunnels to Times Square as part of the long-awaited 7 train extension. more ›

With the MTA halting weekend 7 train service (namely, service between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza) to upgrade the tracks this past weekend plus the next eight weekends, residents and business owners feel like they are getting the shaft. 1010 WINS reports, "Riders who go to the Grand Central Station can expect to see yellow tape blocking the entrance, but what they won't find is an explanation or an alternate route into Queens." A Long Island City gallery and theater owner says attendance was down 50% this past weekend and City Councilman Eric Gioia said, "The 7 train is a lifeline to Queens. When the MTA shuts it down for nine weekends, it hurts families and businesses in already tough economic times." He wants the MTA to increase bus service and discount tickets on the LIRR, adding, "If you're asking us to pay more on our MetroCards, then please at least give us the bare essentials." more ›

As we briefly mentioned yesterday, the grades have come in on the second annual rider report cards for the L and 7 train lines. While only half the riders on the L and a quarter of those who take the 7 train turned in a report card when compared to a year ago, the results were roughly the same--consistently staying in the C-range in most categories. MTA officials were quick to highlight how riders gave both lines some more credit for how clean they kept their cars and stations (all the way up to B-minus for L cars). The lowest grades for both lines came in how riders felt about having adequate room during rush hour, with each picking up a D. The MTA tried to put the best face on the grades with NYC Transit president Howard Roberts Jr. saying, "What would have astonished me is if the results had turned out to be A’s.” Related: 2007 rider report cards for the 7 and L. more ›

Attention passengers: The next stop on this westbound 7 train extension will not be 10th Avenue and 41st Street. Due to a sick economy, MTA officials will bypass plans for a 10th Avenue station. However, they're still going through with building a new station at 34th Street and 11th Avenue to accommodate the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. City Room reports that last fall the MTA signed a $1.14 billion contract with a company to dig a new 7 train tunnel and build the 34th Street station; a second station at 41st and 10th would have cost $450 million, and officials say the budget won't allow it. The city defended the change, explaining that "a 10th Avenue station is not necessary to drive growth there." But Andrew Albert of the NYC Transit Riders Council scoffs to NY1: "Is that the only reason we build subway stations now, to spur development? How about to serve the people that are already in a neighborhood?" The extension is expected to be finished in 2013. Please be patient. more ›