Pandemic Delays 2nd Avenue Subway's Harlem Extension: Report

HARLEM, NY — Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is threatening to delay the Second Avenue Subway's march into East Harlem, but that hasn't stopped the MTA from continuing to pick out properties in the neighborhood that it wants to clear to make way for the extension, according to a new report.

At a July board meeting, the MTA said it had acquired 15 properties near 2nd Avenue and 125th Street through agreements with property owners, according to the nonprofit news site THE CITY.

The agency has said it needs to acquire more than 40 addresses for the next phase of the project, in which the Q line will be extended from 96th to 125th street and new stations will be built at 106th, 116th and 125th streets, THE CITY reported.

Among those properties is the full-block site on East 125th Street, formerly home to a Pathmark supermarket, that is currently being redeveloped by Extell into a nine-story office tower, according to THE CITY.

If the MTA can't reach agreements with all the necessary property owners "in a timely manner," it will make use of the state's eminent domain law, which allows governments to seize private property for a public purpose.

Meanwhile, facing steep financial losses from the pandemic, the MTA has said the entire project may be significantly delayed. In June, the agency put its $51 billion capital plan, which would have raised money to build the extension, on pause.

Earlier this month, MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber told NY1 that the agency needs billions in aid from the federal government for the project to be viable — but so far, the money hasn't arrived.

“Absent clarity from the federal government, we can't move forward with the next phase of the Second Avenue subway project,” Lieber said.

Read more at THE CITY.

Previous coverage by Patch:

• Cuomo Heads To Washington To Pitch Trump On NYC Infrastructure
  
• Second Ave Subway Phase 2 Eligible For Federal Grant, Pols Say