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Immediate Steps Seen for Sunnyside Development Plan

2 Comments

  • nyc taxpayer
    Posted March 10, 2020 at 12:04 pm

    I guess no one can do math anymore. That $14B divided by 12,000 ‘affordable’ homes comes to $1,166,667 per home. With overruns, etc that $14B will end up being $30B ( $2,500,000 per home) by the time this boondoggle is completed. Tell me again, how is this affordable unless the units are massively subsidized by the NYC taxpayer which is exactly what will happen.

    $14B = $77,777,778 per acre or $1,785.53 per sq ft
    $30B = $166,666,667 per acre, or $3,826.14 per sqft

  • Larry Penner
    Posted March 16, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    The NYC Economic Development Corporation’s release of a master plan for their own proposed Sunnyside Yard project continues to leaves major unresolved transportation issues. The most critical is finding the funding to pay for all the promised transportation improvements. It could take 10 to 20 years, just for completion of all three promised transportation improvements. Few remember that in 1998, as part of the proposed MTA LIRR Eastside Access project, construction of a passenger station was considered for Sunnyside Yard. It would have provided access to the growing Long Island City business and residential district. Fast forward twenty one years. The MTA has still not advertised and awarded a contract for the new Sunnyside Yard LIRR Station (that was to be built at Queens Blvd. & Skillman Avenue). There is no significant funding included for this project within the current $51 billion MTA 2020 – 2024 Five Year Capital Plan. The next opportunity for funding would be under the upcoming MTA 2025 – 2029 Five Year Capital Plan. Construction might not begin until some time between 2025 and 2030 depending upon when the MTA comes up with funding. The same is true for the proposed new City Hall and Albany budgets. No one has promised any funding to support any planning feasibility studies for “a new Rapid Transit Bus Line connecting Queens with Midtown Manattan or a future new subway line as promised in the master plan. The MTA always has the option to add this project to the current Five Year Capital Plan via amendment. Funding could come out of the promised $15 billion from Congestion Toll Pricing. Once funding is in place, the MTA would need to complete environmental review, preliminary and final design followed by advertising and awarding a construction contract. Next, is the notice to proceed, contractor mobilization, actual construction, beneficial use, completion of inspection, acceptance and contract punch list items, receipt of asset maintenance plans, followed by release of retainage and final payment to the contractor. Just to reach beneficial use could easily take five years. Many years ago the previous estimated project cost for the Sunnyside Yards station was $400 million. Who knows what the engineers estimated cost would be over the next few years? Don’t be surprised if it grows by several hundred million more. Don’t forget that this station will have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and include a number of elevators. The final project cost upon completion could increase based upon responses to bids, along with change orders during construction due to last minute changes in scope or unforeseen site conditions. No one has any idea what the costs for a new Rapid Transit Bus Line or new subway connection could be.

    (Larry Penner — transportation historian, advocate and writer who previously worked in 31 years for the US Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office. This included the review, approval and oversight for billions of dollars in grants to the MTA which funded LIRR, Metro North, NYC Transit, and MTA Bus capital projects and projects)

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