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News and Updates
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In May 2008, a 36th member has joined the vision42 Advisory Committee — Theodore W. Kheel, Chairman, Nurture New York's Nature. Ted has been a key labor negotiator and a strong advocate for public transit, whose advice has been highly valued by many of New York's mayors. He observes that every time the transit fare increases, ridership decreases; he is currently advocating for free public transit in New York.
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An update of the construction cost estimate was completed in July 2007, and a financing study was completed in February 2008, which details how vision42 can be constructed without competing for scarce public funds with any of the other worthy NYC transit projects now in planning or construction.
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Joseph G. Tucker, Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations for the Walt Disney Company and President and General Manager of the Times Square Studios, Ltd, joined the vision42 Advisory Committee as its 35th member. Mr. Tucker acts as corporate liaison to City Hall, recommends real estate development opportunities, and represents Disney production units operating in the city.
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Robert F. Fox, Jr., Partner, Cook + Fox Architects, LLP in February 2007 became the 34th member of the vision42 Advisory Committee. His firm has designed the splendid new tower rising on the northwest corner of 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas, known as One Bryant Park, which has been widely acclaimed for its green standards and energy-efficient design, and qualifies for the LEED Platinum certification. Mr. Fox is also a member of the Mayor's Advisory Board for the City's Sustainability Plan. The enlightened developer of One Bryant Park is vision42 Advisory Committee member Douglas Durst.
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October 24, 2006 — Community Informational Forum: The key findings of the second round of technical studies were presented and discussed at the theater of the SUNY College of Optometry, 33 West 42nd Street.
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January 2006 Launching of a Second Round of Technical Studies: In response to comments at presentations, a new round of technical studies was launched, which examined: the economic potential for ground floor retail and for the theaters and hotels in the corridor; the details of retail deliveries and a closer look at East Side traffic conditions; and the most expeditious methods of construction phasing. The same consultants were commissioned for these studies as for the first round: Urbanomics, Sam Schwartz, PLLC, and Halcrow, Inc. The studies were completed in October 2006, and presented to an open community informational forum on October 24, 2006. |
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Posted: 01/03/06 |
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Foster Burnett, General Manager of the Times Square Hilton Hotel, became the 33rd member of the vision42 Advisory Committee. Like his predecessor, Russell Menkes, Mr. Burnett considers vision42's light rail component exactly what is needed to take the hotel's patrons to the Javits Center efficiently and pleasantly, and the landscaped auto-free street an ideal setting for the hotel. |
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Posted: 06/12//2006 |
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Maura Moyniham, Senior Fellow at the Regional Plann Association, joined the vision42 Advisory Committee as its 32nd member. Ms. Moynihan has been advocating for and overseeing the development of Moynihan Station, an important new transportation hub for New York City, to be appropriately named after her father, the late Senator and champion of urbanism, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. |
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Posted: 11/29/05 |
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Presentation and Panel Discussion at the American Institute of Architects, Friday, October 21, 2005, 8:00 to 9:30 am: Panel members were Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, William Haas, Project Director for the Hudson Yards for the NYC Department of City Planning, Peter Hopkinson, FAIA, Chief Architect with DMJM+Harris for the MTA's East Side Access project, and John Pettit West, III, AIA, Community Preservation Corporation. The presentation featured key findings by independent consultants on the plan's traffic impacts, capital and operating costs, and its potential economic benefits. It was concurred that the light rail would not be competing with the #7 subway extension, as it would provide a different type of service -- slower, but with many-to-many stations, and easily accessible at grade. |
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| Posted: 10/30/2005 |
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Alexander Garvin became the 31st member of the vision42 Advisory Committee: We were extremely pleased to welcome Alexander Garvin to the Advisory Committee. Garvin is President and CEO of Alex Garvin & Associates, Inc., and has combined a career in urban planning and real estate with teaching, architecture, and public service. He has held prominent positions in five NYC administrations, including Deputy Commissioner of Housing (1974-1978), City Planning Commissioner (1995-2004), and Vice President for Planning, Design and Development at the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (2002-2003). Garvin is adjunct Professor of Urban Planning at Yale University, where he has taught a wide range of courses. His most recent book, The Beltline Emerald Necklace: Atlanta's New Public Realm, proposes a new circumferential light rail line, incorporating fragments of old rail lines, which would link parks and developable sites with the stations of the city's underused radial rail rapid transit network. |
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| Posted: 10/30/2005 |
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Informational Forum at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, April 18th: Key findings of the Technical Studies on traffic, costs, and the plan's (tremendous) economic potential were presented by vision42's consultants. At this Forum, which was co-hosted by the Manhattan Borough President and Manhattan Community Boards Four, Five and Six, an audience of some 200 people had an opportunity to raise questions and offer comments on vision42. The Forum has been followed by TV news coverage and by a number of newspaper articles and letters to newspaper editors. |
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| Posted: 06/11/2004 |
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New Advisory Committee Members in 2005: We welcomed three distinguished new Advisory Committee members: transportation consultant Robert L. Banks, Chief Executive of R. L. Banks & Associates; Jonathan Bowles, Research Director at the New York City-based Center for an Urban Future; and Alfred E. Fazio, former President & CEO, 21st Century Rail Corporation, which operates the Hudson Bergen Light Rail Line along New Jersy's waterfront. We were extremely saddened in March, however, to learn of the untimely death of Robert Banks.
:: View all 35 Members of Our Committee |
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| Posted: 06/11/2005 |
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| Posted: 06/11/2005 |
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Resolution Passed by CB5: A resolution passed by Community Board Five has urged that the City seriously study and consider vision42 and other proposals for improving crosstown surface transit and the pedestrian environment, was sent to the City Council and to the Manhattan Borough President.
:: Read the Resolution |
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| Posted: 06/11/2004 |
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vision42 Highlighted in Several Newspaper Articles and Electronic Newsletters: On August 9, 2002, the Regional Plan Association's Spotlight on the Region published a lively and favorable article on vision42 by Alex Marshall, which noted that "...(t)he cars on 42nd Street carry little economic freight; New York needs more crosstown mass transit; and making 42nd Street pedestrian would compliment Times Square's new role as a family-oriented, tourist center." The September 2, 2002 issue of Carfree Times also featured an article describing the vision42 proposal. And following our April 18, 2005 Informational Forum, there has been quite a flurry of newspaper articles on the proposal.
:: Read the Articles |
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| Posted: 09/01/2002 |
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vision42 needs your help to make our goals a reality.
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The Urban Land Institute, New York District Council, hosted a forum "Transportation Transformed: Innovations in the Tapestry of Urban Transit" on Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at 5 Times Square. Presentations were made on vision42, the High Line, the Water Taxi system, and THE (Trans-Hudson Express) Tunnel. Featured were key findings by vision42 consultants on the plan's construction costs and staging, its traffic impacts, and its projected economic and fiscal benefits of more than $1 billion annually — in large part the result of an expected increase of 35 percent more pedestrian traffic.
If you'd like to learn more about vision42, its traffic impacts, its costs, and its (tremendous) economic potential, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the key findings of the vision42 Technical Studies, as well as the full reports - all available on this website. |
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