Subway construction shakes up East Harlem
Most days in East Harlem, a massive pile driver on Second Avenue slams into the ground, sending out thunderous bangs as workers build the city’s newest subway.
Businesses along the street are covered in scaffolding and fences, making it more difficult to attract customers. The construction worsens traffic in the area, which is one of Manhattan’s largest subway deserts.
It’s all part of a new way of life in the neighborhood that began earlier this year, when the MTA started heavy construction on its project to extend the Q line from East 96th Street to East 125th Street.
Many East Harlem neighbors and business owners said the short-term pain is worth the addition of a subway up Second Avenue, which has been promised for nearly a century. The new line aims to shave time off commutes and bring more commerce to Manhattan’s poorest neighborhood.
The construction is expected to last at least another five years, a timeline that highlights how hard it is to build a new subway in the country’s most densely populated city, below a neighborhood with more than 130,000 residents.
“[There’s] lots of banging, the trucks moving back and forth, and people talking with a loud tone of voice,” said Peter Mercado, who lives a couple blocks away from an MTA construction site on East 120th Street where crews are using the pile driver to dig out a space to install a tunnel-boring machine. “But you know, it's a bad thing now, but once they’re done, it'll be beneficial for the community.”
