Since The Snow Has Stopped Falling, New Rochelle Has Become Pothole City

Two weeks ago was the last time New Rochelle received any snow accumulation, thankfully. Since Christmas, New Rochelle has received enough white stuff (about 6 feet) to run a ski operation for a period of time. For those of us that enjoy snow, it was a wonderful gift. For the rest of us, we know the shovelling drill.

Now, that a considerable amount of it has melted, we're dealing with a different kind of gift - potholes.

As you may know, these tools of automobile destruction have begun to wreak havoc on our cars. Pictured below are some divots that seem to reveal themselves in this weather. These winners are at the corner of Huguenot and Centre - a perpetual pothole location right next to the parking lot and bus stop. To the uninitiated, a right turn off Huguenot spells trouble for not just the hole in the pavement, but the freezing water creates a driving hazard that can cause a car to lose control.

This spot, pales in comparison to the king of potholes at the southbound entrance of I-95 on Main Street. This is not divot but a bonafide hole straight to the sub-roadbed. Not knowing of its existence caused me to drive right into it, loosening my tire sensor for the front right tire, causing a front end misalignment and a bent rim - a painful experience all around to say the least.

I'm sure there are more potholes in New Rochelle like the ones I've just described - let's hope DPW reads this post and does something about it.

MTA Celebrates Queens Midtown Tunnel’s 70th Birthday

New York, NY (November 15, 2010) – MTA Bridges and Tunnels celebrated the landmark birthday of the Queens Midtown Tunnel which linked Manhattan and Long Island City, Queens. It was the culmination of a 20-year lobbying and planning effort along with four years of hard work. At the time it was the largest, non-federal public works project in the nation.
“From its inception, the Queens Midtown Tunnel was a key link in the metropolitan region’s transportation network, providing a vital conduit for businesses, daily commuters and families exploring the cultural riches that exist from Manhattan to Queens and Long Island," said MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Jim Ferrara.
The MTA placed a collection of historic photographs and accompanying text in lobby of its lower Manhattan offices at 2 Broadway until the end of November. It was also among one of the most photographed projects. Commercial photographers took more than 4.600 photographs documenting each aspect of its progress. The display shows the evolution from construction of the tunnel thru its completion and opening from the MTA Bridges and Tunnels Special Archive.
History of the tube
Inspired by the new Holland Tunnel on Manhattan’s west side, civic and business groups began lobbying in the early 1920s for an East River tunnel to help handle a steady increase in traffic at its already clogged East River bridges. The city’s Board of Estimate approved $2 million to design and construct an East River tunnel but plans were put on hold when the stock market crash occurred in 1929.
In order to begin the construction process, the Public Works Administration promised $58 million loans in 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Then Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia created the Queens Midtown Tunnel Authority, telling the new agency’s three-members, “You are starting from scratch with no appropriation and nothing but an idea and a law.”
The Oct.2, 1936 ground-breaking was marked with the push of a ceremonial button by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Over the next three years, the tunnel’s two tubes were excavated using the typical technology of the day - dynamite, drills and four circular 31’ wide cutting shields. The shield were lowered into shafts at each end of the tunnel and hydraulically shoved through the riverbed until they met in the middle. Sandhogs behind the shields assembled the 32-inch wide cast iron rings that still line the tunnels. As each ring was installed, 28 jacks behind the shield shoved new rings into place using 5,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. The work was particularly difficult on the Manhattan side where the rock was made of schist, limestone, gneiss and dolomite. All the rubble was removed using the Queens and Manhattan construction shafts. Work proceeded at a rate of about 18 feet per week for each shield. All totaled it took 54 million hours of labor to finish the QMT.
To blast the last six feet of rock between the Manhattan and Queens shields in both tubes, Mayor LaGuardia ignited the last dynamite charge on November 8, 1939. Fifty-three weeks later, opening ceremonies were held at the Manhattan toll plaza, attended by President Roosevelt, who was the first person to drive through the new tunnel. Other attendees included Mayor LaGuardia, Sen. Robert Wagner, and the tunnel’s Chief Engineer Ole Singstad, a well-known tunnel builder who finished building the Holland Tunnel after the death of its original engineer. In its first full year of operation, 4.4 million vehicles used the tunnel, paying 25 cents to cross it.
The tunnel today
Seventy-years later, the tunnel appears much the same as it did when it opened in 1940, except the original brick roadway, which was replaced with asphalt in 1995, and the addition of E-ZPass technology. The last major rehabilitation project, a $126 million project completed in 2001, replaced original 1930s materials and resulted in brighter lighting, new ceilings, new tiles along the walls and an entirely new traffic control system, including electronic message signs, and traffic control lights and signals. In 2009, 27.7 million traversed it.

SIDEBAR
Queens Midtown Tunnel By the Numbers (courtesy MTA Bridges and Tunnels)
•The south tube to Queens is 6,272 feet while the north tube to Manhattan is 6,414 feet
•There are a total of 178 employees at the Queens Midtown Tunnel. This figure includes 112 Bridge and Tunnel Officers, 18 Sergeants and Lieutenants, 37 Maintenance workers, 4 Engineers, 6 Managers and 1 administrative worker.
•The tunnel’s two ventilation buildings bring 3 million cubic feet of fresh air into the tunnels each minute, and provide a complete air change every 90 seconds.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of sidewalk construction work in New Rochelle. Cut granite curbs are being installed by construction crews next to nice smooth new sidewalks.

The new curbs might be illegal.

I recall reading the voluminous construction code a couple of years ago and ran across a clause that said curbs must be a smooth rounded surface. The cut granite curbs are sharp and can ruin a car’s tires if the sidewall touches it – I know, it happened to me.

If the curbs being installed are in fact illegal, several questions need to be answered:

• What should be done about this?
• Who authorized their installation?
• Why isn’t the NR code being adhered to?

Only our local government can answer these questions.

Photos - Above: Construction at 310 Huguenot St. in New Rochelle. Below: Curbs are supposed to be rounded and not sharp-edged granite which can cut a car's sidewall tires if the tire rubs against the curb when parking. Check out the older curb at the Gulf gas station. Compare for yourself.

Korean Presbyterian Church discusses grounds improvement plan

Korean Presbyterian Church Elder Ha discussed their consultant's drawing of the revised site plans for the church grounds at 50 Pintard Avenue on Saturday, September 18, 2010 with the Marvin Place Block Association. The plan calls for increasing the number of parking spaces from 60 to 81 which includes dedicated handicapped parking spots while not losing any 'green space'.

According to the church, the plan met with approval from the local Residence Park group, even though the church grounds are outside the historical boundary of the adjoining Residence Park area. Elder Ha said that the plan was not to ruin the green space view from Pintard Avenue. He added that many people from different backgrounds will use this church facility and that, "... the church is part of the community and we want the community to share it with us."

Specifics include widening the driveway to 24 feet so that 2 automobiles can safely pass each other and the repaving Marvin Place, a private street.

At the end of the meeting, Elder Ha announced that a series of 3 'revival' nights will be held by many Westchester Presbyterian groups at the church on September 24, 25 and 26.

According to an advisory, the New Rochelle Planning Board will review the project's application on September 28, 2010 at 7:30 pm at 90 Beaufort Place, Room B-1, City Hall Annex behind City Hall.



Check out other local news at New Rochelle's favorite blog - Talk Of The Sound at: http://www.newrochelletalk.com/

Storm Damage in New Rochelle and Pelham, NY on July 25, 2010

Between 4:30 and 5pm today, a huge squall line created a rain storm condition with 60+ mph winds in New Rochelle and Pelham, NY. At times, the rain 'fell' across the horizon instead of down, creating an updraft with water going everywhere imaginable. I did not see any major flooding but storm sewers were back up a bit because too much water going through pipes not big enough to handle it.

Downed power lines and big tree branches in both cities were evident as auto and foot traffic were diverted for safety reasons by the repective police and fire departments. Some of the tree limbs were quickly moved by police but fire department intervention was required for the power lines hitting the ground.

New Rochelle photos on Elm Street (note the downed power line on the close-up):

Pelham NY photos on Boston Post Road at Pelhamdale Rd as Pelham PD blocks the road for their FD...

...and near the Hutchinson River Parkway:

For additional information on this storm, cut and paste this link below into your web browser:
http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/brief-powerful-storm-rips-new-rochelle-1-missing-presumed-drowned-premium-point-send-us-your

Dangerous Driving Conditions In New Rochelle, NY

By Joseph M. Calisi Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved

The New Rochelle Transportation Center that is used by Metro-North, has a dangerous driving situation that needs to be addressed. When the entire center was rebuilt to include a parking garage and new entrance ramps, the western entrance was built with a view block when exiting the center and entering Division Street. Division Street is a one-way southbound street bridge. A second similar situation exists on the next block just over the railroad tracks.

When driving up this ramp and reaching the top at Division Street (located between Railroad Avenue and Station Plaza North) and at Railroad Avenue, the driver of a vehicle cannot see oncoming traffic on the right when stopping at the crosswalk. A driver must 'nose out' for the ability to see oncoming traffic - creating an accident situation for not one but two motorists.

The cause of this view block is the fence on the bridge over I-95. The fencing appears to be built according to code, but in this case, the fence needs to be modified. Below are photos I recently took of this dangerous place.

These intersections are dangerous for both motorists and pedestrians as visibility is limited.

There are no yield signs on Division Street warning of possible oncoming traffic nor is there a painted ‘candy stripe’ on the bridge to pull cars into a slow lane requiring a full stop. Cars on the ramp are not protected from bridge traffic.

These are all issues apparently not addressed during the design phase of the project back in the 1990s.

The object of this post is to warn drivers of these situations. Hopefully, the New Rochelle Department Of Transportation will read this and apply the candy striping and appropriate signage. As a long-range goal, Federal Department of Transportation fence guidelines should be modified to allow for an angular design to provide for greater visibility. The Federal DOT and FRA are the agencies responsible for the track overpass guidelines.





A progression of photos showing that drivers on both Division Street and the Transportation Center exit ramp. Drivers cannot see around the I-95 fencing there and the subsequent corner just over the railroad tracks.