Second Avenue Subway Rumblings

Construction is proceeding on the oft-delayed Second Avenue Subway line in Manhattan and that's got people on one stretch of the avenue complaining because the MTA has to move them out of their homes for a few weeks while engineers and workers shore up their buildings.

A survey found 18 buildings need reinforcement to make sure they're not damaged by subterranean blasting, to be followed by the work of a 1000-ton tunnel boring machine.

"These are old buildings," said Michael Horodniceanu, MTA Capital Construction president.

"These are buildings that were built at a time when controls from the Building Department were almost non-existent."

In all, 28 apartments will be cleared out for a month or two, with the state-run agency paying for hotel rooms- plus rents - for displaced residents, officials said.

The rehab and relocation, set to begin next month between E. 93rd and E. 97th Sts., will cost $6 million to $8 million.

"We expect to do everything possible to make sure the impact will be minimal," said Horodniceanu.

The first 1.7 mile stretch of the new line will run from 96th Street to the Lexington Avenue station at 63rd Street and is on target to be done in 2016.

It's amazing that the same people who would benefit most from this work once its done are complaining about the nature of the work and that their lives are currently being disrupted by the work.

Second Avenue Sagas has more on the construction and the blasting needed to prepare a site for the launch of a tunnel boring machine that will eat through the rock beneath the street and construction a significant portion of the line.