2nd Avenue Subway Extension Pushing On Into Harlem, MTA Says

EAST HARLEM, NY — After the entire project seemed in peril during New York's pandemic-induced fiscal crisis, the Second Avenue Subway is once again set to continue its march into East Harlem, agency officials have said.

The decades-old project calls for extending the Q line up to 125th Street — past its current terminus at 96th Street, which was completed in 2017. Along the way, two new stations at 106th and 116th streets will also be built, creating a brand new train line for the transit-starved East Side.

Though it seemed in jeopardy last year, funding is now back on the table after the MTA's budget deficit was reduced by the federal stimulus, and could be further lightened by President Joe Biden's upcoming infrastructure bill.

Now, the agency is pushing ahead with plans to seize more than a dozen privately-owned properties in East Harlem to make way for the subway, Joe O'Donnell, an MTA public affairs director, told Community Board 11 last month.

Most of the properties that the agency needs are "three-story, four-story walk-ups that are largely vacant," O'Donnell said. The MTA needs them to build station entrances and construction shafts, among other uses.

To grab up the lots, the MTA will take advantage of the state's eminent domain law, where governments can take private properties if they will be redeveloped for public use.

O'Donnell sought to dispel negative beliefs about eminent domain, telling the community board that nobody would be "kicked out of their property or put out on the street." Instead, he said, the MTA will acquire the properties through "negotiated settlements" with the owners.

At a March 30 public hearing, property owners were given the chance to weigh in on the project — some speaking out against the seizures, according to a transcript shared with Patch.

"Please don't take our property and let us continue with our development," said Peter Peccora, whose real estate company has sought for years to construct an apartment building on Second Avenue and East 120th Street — a project that would be canceled if the MTA seizes the land.

Michael Rikon, also speaking for the company, said he feared the MTA would not offer adequate compensation for the properties it takes since real estate values have plummeted during the pandemic.

"There are no fair market sales, only distressed sales," Rikon said. "The MTA must pay full just compensation based on fair market value before the pandemic. 2018, 2019 are the only information that they should consider."

Once construction begins, the East Harlem extension will make use of a 10-block stretch of tunnel dating back to the 1970s that already exists below the neighborhood, between 110th and 120th streets. MTA leaders had initially hoped to open the extension in 2027, but that goal will likely be pushed back.

In January, Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed that the state would complete the project, even as sources of funding remained murky.

"We will further extend the Second Avenue Subway from 96th Street to 125th Street," Cuomo said. "That will open up the East Side all the way up to Harlem for new, exciting possibilities."

Previous coverage:

• 2nd Avenue Subway's East Harlem Extension To Move Forward: Cuomo
• Pandemic Delays 2nd Avenue Subway's Harlem Extension: Report