[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16093-16094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7070]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the 
Manhattan East Site Alternatives Project--``Second Avenue Subway.''

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental draft environmental 
impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority/New York City Transit (MTA/NYCT) are issuing 
this notice to advise the public and interested agencies that a 
Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) will be 
prepared by the FTA and MTA/NYCT on the Manhattan East Side 
Alternatives Project (MESA). The SDEIS will evaluate a ``full-length'' 
Second Avenue Subway alignment in Manhattan, extending from the 
vicinity of 125th Street in Harlem south along Second Avenue to the 
Financial District in Lower Manhattan. The original Notice of Intent to 
prepare a DEIS for the MESA project was issued on June 30, 1995.
    The MESA DEIS/MIS (Major Investment Study), released to the public 
August 13, 1999, contained four alternatives. The build alternatives of 
that document included a Second Avenue subway alignment extending from 
the vicinity of 125th Street south to East 63rd Street; a composite 
build alternative also included complementary bus and light rail 
alternatives from 63rd Street to Lower Manhattan and Lower East Side. 
During the preliminary MIS, a full-length subway alternative had been 
considered, but consideration of that alternative was discontinued 
because of cost concerns. As a result of public comments and elected 
officials' concerns, the MTA has decided to fully evaluate a Second 
Avenue Subway line extending from 125th Street to Lower Manhattan.
    The SDEIS will present new information or circumstances relevant to 
the full-length Second Avenue Subway alignment and evaluate 
environmental impacts that were not evaluated in the MESA DEIS. In 
addition, the SDEIS will evaluate alternatives that improve transit 
access to the Lower East Side of Manhattan that may ultimately 
supplement Build Alternative 3 or progress as an independent project.
    The participation of the general public, interested parties, and 
agencies

[[Page 16094]]

is encouraged and will be solicited. Public outreach meetings will be 
held to discuss the information to be included in the SDEIS.

DATES: Initial outreach meeting will be held on Thursday April 19, 2001 
at 6:00 p.m. at the location identified below. Subsequent meetings will 
be announced by mail, Internet, and other appropriate mechanisms, and 
conducted throughout the study area. Written comments should be sent to 
MTA New York City Transit by April 23, 2001. See ADDRESSES below.

ADDRESSES: The initial outreach meeting will be held at the 
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Fifth Floor Boardroom, 347 
Madison Avenue, New York, New York. Subsequent meetings will be held 
throughout the study area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irwin Kessman, Director, Office of 
Planning and Program Development, Federal Transit Administration, 
Region II. One Bowling Green, Suite 29-40, New York, NY 10004-1415; 
Telephone 212-668-2170. James Dubbs, Assistant Director, Government and 
Community Relations, MTA New York City Transit, 130 Livingston Street, 
Brooklyn, NY 11201; Telephone 718-694-5141. Additional project 
information may be obtained from the MTA website: http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/planning/index.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MESA DEIS evaluated four major 
alternatives: (1) Do-nothing or ``No-Build,'' (2) Transportation System 
Management (primarily bus service changes and prioritizations), (3) 
Build Alternative 1 (subway extension of the Broadway Line, beneath 
Second Avenue from East 63rd Street to East 125th Street, and bus 
improvements), and (4) Build Alternative 2 (Build Alternative 1 plus a 
Light Rail system from 14th Street to Whitehall Street through the 
Lower East Side). The MESA DEIS suggested that Build Alternative 1 
provided the best combination of improved transit mobility and 
accessibility, reduced auto and taxi trip making, and cost-
effectiveness.
    In this SDEIS, MTA/NYCT will evaluate a new ``Build Alternative 3'' 
and a No-Build Alternative. The Build Alternative 3 is a full-length 
two-track Second Avenue Subway alignment from the vicinity of 125th 
Street to the Financial District in Lower Manhattan. The alignment 
between 125th Street and 63rd Street is unchanged from the alignment 
presented in the DEIS, including a connection to the 63rd Street/7th 
Avenue Broadway line. Build Alternative 3 continues the subway beneath 
Second Avenue south of 63rd Street, and for the portion of the Second 
Avenue Subway south of 14th Street, two alignment options will be 
evaluated in the SDEIS: Option A continues the subway beneath Chrystie 
Street, St. James Place, and Water Street to a terminal in Lower 
Manhattan. Option B proposes connecting the new subway to the existing 
tracks of the former BMT ``Nassau Loop'' beneath Kenmare Street to 
access Lower Manhattan.
    The MESA DEIS originally presented a Light Rail Transit system 
alternative in the Lower East Side as a complementary project to the 
initial 125th Street to 63rd Street subway proposal. The SDEIS also 
will explore additional transit solutions to Lower East Side needs that 
may have fewer neighborhood impacts. Subsequent findings regarding 
Lower East Side transit solutions discussed in the SDEIS may supplement 
Build Alternative 3, or advance as an independent project.
    The SDEIS will fully evaluate Build Alternative 3, including 
Options A and B, with respect to benefits and costs, environmental and 
other impacts (including any cumulative impacts) and proposed 
mitigation measures. The SDEIS will also provide responses to public 
comments received on the MESA DEIS during the public comment period, 
which occurred between August 13 and October 8, 1999.
    While an alignment south of 63rd Street to Lower Manhattan was 
originally discussed during the preliminary MESA MIS, it was also 
considered during the Major Investment Study phase of the MTA's Lower 
Manhattan Access MIS. Much of the technical information gathered in the 
Lower Manhattan Alternatives MIS will be incorporated into the MESA 
SDEIS. The MTA will hold public meetings in late spring 2001 to discuss 
the conclusions and recommendations of the Lower Manhattan Alternatives 
MIS, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2001.
    As noted above the SDEIS will evaluate the potential social, 
economic and environmental impacts of a full-length Second Avenue 
Subway alternative. Upon completion the SDEIS will be made available 
for public and agency review and comment. Public hearing(s) will be 
held within the study area. On the basis of the SDEIS as well as 
comments received from the public participation process, a final EIS 
will be prepared.

    Issued on: March 16, 2001.
Letitia Thompson,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-7070 Filed 3-21-01; 8:45 am]
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