The MTA is supposed to be expanding the 7 line to the Javits Center and then South to 34th Street from its current terminus at Times Square. It would expand service to an area that currently lacks subway service and would enable growth in that underserved and underdeveloped area.
Here's where the commuters get screwed.
The MTA is already cutting back on the plans. They are eliminating the station for the Javits Center, which makes no sense whatsoever, and they're not even bothering to install a shell for a station there, which means that if the MTA decides to later change its mind after the extension is built, it will cost billions more.
The extension will essentially add only one new station on the far West Side of Midtown, and it wont even be where a current destination is located.
This makes no sense whatsoever, but the bean counters at the MTA realize that they don't have the money on hand to deal with cost overruns or increased costs, so they're scaling back the project to nothingness.
The Javits Center is an island of commerce that lacks direct subway connections, which means that people going to conventions either have to walk several long blocks from other subways, or take cabs, which only adds to the congestion in the vicinity. Enabling the subway to let out commuters in front of the Javits adds to its appeal as a destination for conventions.
That, apparently, is lost on the bean counters.
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