The Routes Not Taken Read online

  extension of Fulton Street subway, 142

  financial issues affecting Board of Transportation, 141–142

  meetings on Bronx subway issues, 76, 80–82, 83–84, 91

  meetings on Burke Avenue line, 169

  opposition to continuation of World’s Fair extension of Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown line, 43, 44–45

  purchase of New York, Westchester and Boston Railway tracks, 194

  relationship with Mayor La Guardia, 258

  role in creation of Board of Transportation, 10–11, 202

  role in Transit Construction Commission Plan, 7–8

  Transit Construction Commission plan for service to Staten Island, 126–127, 128, 133

  Demarest, William C., 112

  Democratic Party, 132

  Derrick, Peter, 256

  Deutsch, Bernard S., 99

  Depot Road, 51, 60

  Dewey, Thomas E., 230, 237, 238, 239, 240

  plans for financing transit, 238

  plans for the Transit Authority, 239

  Diamond, William J., 220–221

  Dohr, James L., 105, 186, 194

  Doig, Jameson W., 129

  Donahue, Charles D., 10

  Donnelly, James F., 92

  Donnelly, William T., 113, 114

  Dos Passos, John Randolph, 149–150, 168

  Douglaston, 58, 59, 68

  Douglaston Civic Association, 59

  Downtown–Lower Manhattan Association, 216

  Drew, Clarence A., 48

  Dual Systems Contracts, 70, 236, 259

  approval of contracts, 4, 55

  construction of lines, 6, 10, 62, 130

  impact of McAdoo plan on contracts, 4, 153

  public hearings on lines, 33–34

  planning for lines, 28, 47, 48, 50, 53, 110, 125, 201

  plans for next steps, 36, 116, 137, 138, 236

  Durfee, Edward S., 230

  Dwyer, Thomas B. 197

  Dyre Avenue, 82

  Dyre Avenue line, 196, 228, 229, 233, 234, 241, 261

  Dyson, Timothy J., 25

  Eagles Street, 60

  East Bronx, 82, 197

  East Bronx Transit Committee, 77

  East Elmhurst, 47

  East Flatbush, 110, 111, 113, 114, 118

  East Flatbush Taxpayers Association, 111–112

  East 76th Street, 236

  East Side access, 149, 153, 159, 168

  Eastchester, 185

  Eastchester Civic and Taxpayers Association, 191

  Eastchester Gardens Houses, 234

  Eastchester Road, 100

  Eastern Parkway, 113, 119, 227

  Eastern Parkway Line, 111, 112, 114, 120, 152

  Ebbets, Charles H., 32

  Ebbets Field, 31

  Edenwald, 91, 103

  Edenwald Taxpayers Association, 103

  Education, Board of, 175

  Ehrhart, Leo, 80, 99, 100, 102, 104

  plan for Burke Avenue line, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105

  8th Avenue–Amsterdam Avenue line, 76

  Eighth Avenue Business Men’s Association, 160

  8th Avenue–Washington Heights Line, 11, 16, 38, 71, 76, 78, 119, 140, 160, 205

  Eken, Andrew J., 93–94, 154

  Elevated Subway Lines, 86

  construction of new lines, 48

  cemolition of lines, 205

  opposition to building new lines, 13, 25, 26, 27, 29, 48, 51–52, 53, 54, 59, 86–87, 88, 89–90, 91, 111, 115, 256, 257

  support for building new lines, 53, 54, 55–56, 87, 88, 119

  Elkins, Louis, 101, 102, 104, 105

  Ellard, William, 234

  Ellis Island, 125

  Elliot, Gilbert, 113

  Ellsworth, T. Gardner, 62–63

  Elmhurst, 47

  Empire on the Hudson, 129

  Empire City Racing Association, 233

  Engel, Eliot L., 224

  Erie Railroad, 167

  Erlitz, Jeffrey, 104

  Estabrook, Charles M., 202

  Estimate, New York City Board of, 89, 148

  allocation of funding for Burke Avenue line, 169, 175, 179

  allocation of funding for Chrystie Street line, 216

  approval of Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown and 8th Avenue–Washington Heights line plans, 38, 41

  approval of Burke Avenue line plans, 105, 137, 194

  approval of elevated line demolition 206–208, 213

  approval of 53rd Street line plans, 40

  approval of final 8th Avenue–Concourse line connection plans, 77

  approval of 14th Street–Canarsie Line extension, 257

  approval of Fulton Street line extension, 137, 145

  approval of New York, Westchester and Boston Railway purchase, 192, 193–194

  approval of 63rd Street tunnel, 249

  approval of street closing plan to facilitate Curtiss Airport, 92

  approval of Utica Avenue line plans, 114

  capital budget hearings, 191, 215

  conflicts with New York State Transit Commission, 128–129, 130

  consideration of Dual System Contracts, 30

  discussion of Ashland Place connection, 138

  discussion of assessment plan to finance subway construction, 117–118

  discussion of Brighton Beach Line and subway to Staten Island, 124

  discussion of Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown line plans, 39–40

  discussion of Burke Avenue line, 97–99, 100–103, 173, 175–176, 178, 229

  discussion of fare increase, 228

  discussion of Flushing line plans, 56–58, 60–61, 71

  discussion of Fulton Street subway extension, 142

  discussion of Narrows Tunnel, 128–129, 131, 132

  discussion of 2nd Avenue subway plan, 218, 219, 223

  discussion of 64th Street Tunnel, 249

  discussion of Staten Island subway tunnel, 126, 127, 135

  lease of transit system to New York City Transit Authority, 239

  Rockaway Beach line purchase, 15, 237

  sale of elevated line structural steel to foreign nations, 207–208

  Subway Committee, 4, 29, 36, 58, 201

  Transit Committee, 126

  Transit system funding, 231–232, 238

  vote on extension of Queens Boulevard line, 229

  World’s Fair Committee, 43

  Evander Childs High School, 89, 168, 194

  Far Rockaway line, 243–244

  Farband Houses, 77

  fare increases, 231, 232, 240

  Federal Register, 225

  Feldman, Justin, 220

  Ferry Point, 237

  Fields, C. Virginia, 224

  5th Avenue, 77

  Fifth Avenue Association, 160, 249

  5th Avenue Elevated, 25

  57th Street, 156

  53rd Street Line, 202, 203

  1st Avenue Association, 204, 208

  1st Avenue subway, 78, 200, 202

  1st Avenue Subway Association, 202

  Fitch, Joseph, 51–53, 60

  five-cent fare, 227, 231, 257

  Flatbush, 109, 119

  Flatbush Avenue, 110, 112, 114

  Flatbush Chamber of Commerce, 119, 133

  Flatbush Gardens Civic Association, 119

  Flatbush Taxpayers Association, 2, 113

  Flatlands, 110

  Flatlands Civic Association, 119, 120

  Flushing, 51, 65, 68

  description of area in 1912, 48

  impact of subway construction on the development of the area, 73

  objections to elevated line, 48, 53–54

  plans for inclusion in Dual Systems Contracts, 49–50, 53, 55, 56, 58

  proposal to extend Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown line toward, 43

  Flushing Business Men’s Association, 50–51, 52–53, 55, 62, 65, 67

  Flushing Daily Times, 56, 68

  Flushing Evening Journal, 58, 68

  Flushing line, 227, 262

 
connection to Crosstown Elevated, 36

  connection to Port Washington and Whitestone LIRR lines, 60, 62–71, 257

  connection to 2nd Avenue El, 20, 72–73, 207

  construction problems at Willets Point, 72

  discussion of building an elevated line through Flushing, 51–54, 55–59

  extension to Bayside, 16, 56, 59, 61–62

  extension to Main Street, 72

  extension to Whitestone and College Point, 59–61

  extension to Willets Point, 71–72

  impact of line on development of Flushing, 73

  impact of line on development of northern Queens, 47

  inclusion in Board of Transportation capital plans, 72

  plans for line, 49–51, 55–58

  westward extensions, 71, 74, 159, 163

  Flushing Meadows, 64, 71, 72

  Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, 44

  Flynn, Edward J., 132

  Flynn, William J., 92, 96

  Ford, Gerald R., 223

  Fordham Road, 82, 86

  Forest Hills, 43, 251

  Fort Hamilton, 129

  Fort Hamilton Parkway, 135

  14th Street, 114, 115

  14th Street District, 114

  14th Street line, 111

  14th Street–Canarsie line, 28, 40, 118, 219, 257

  extension to New Jersey, 159–160, 164

  4th Avenue line:

  Ashland Place connection, 36

  Extension to Staten Island, 18, 121, 123, 124, 127, 129, 135, 152

  IRT plans for lines, 200

  Original proposal, 2

  Fox, Maskell E., 192

  Franklin Avenue, 28, 30

  Franklin Avenue line, 36, 43, 44

  Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive, 250

  Freedomland, 235

  Fresh Pond Road–Winfield line, 11, 14

  Fullen, Robert, 185

  Fulton Elevated Railroad Company, 26

  Fulton Street, 110, 245

  Fulton Street Elevated, 137

  approval of connection with Fulton Street subway, 148

  Ashland Place connection, 137, 138, 139, 140

  demolition of inner section, 20, 142–143, 144

  impact of line on downtown Brooklyn, 137

  inclusion in 1929 Board of Transportation capital plan, 14

  inclusion in 1936 Board of Transportation capital plan, 16

  linkage with Crosstown Elevated, 28

  original plans for line, 24, 25

  plans for express track, 36

  plans for connection with Nassau Street line, 137, 147, 148

  plans for connection with Rockaway Beach line and Fulton Street subway, 235, 237

  plans for demolition of middle section, 144

  plans for extension of line into Queens, 47

  plans for other Manhattan connections, 139–140

  Fulton Street subway, 118, 120, 235–236

  extension to Euclid Avenue, 19, 143, 148, 231

  plans for connection with Fulton Street Elevated, 16, 140–141, 143, 144

  plans for connection with Rockaway Beach line and Fulton Street El, 235, 237

  plans for extension to Southern Queens, 14, 137, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 227, 246

  F. W. Murner Sugar Refining Company, 27

  Garrett, Charles, 259

  Garvin, Edwin L., 105, 106–107, 172, 183, 186

  Gaynor, William Jay, 2, 114, 125, 151

  concern over subway plans, 4

  “cornfields,” 47, 49

  death of, 61

  discussion of Flushing Line proposal, 55, 57–58, 59

  role in in opposing nineteenth century plans for the Crosstown Elevated, 27

  support for legislation blocking twentieth century plan for the Crosstown Elevated, 35

  Gehringer, Martin, 14

  George Washington Bridge, 164, 166

  Germany, 207, 208

  Gilbert Elevated Railroad, 23

  Gilhooey, John J., 248

  Giuliani, Rudolph W., 224

  Giraud, Charles P., 77

  Giraud/Welsch Plan, 77–78, 80–81

  Glendale, 13

  Goethals, George W., 131

  Goldblatt, Charles, 82–83

  Goldstein, Jacob, 20

  Good, Mrs. William (Marie Campbell), 136, 285

  Graeser, Jacob, 58

  Grand Central Terminal, 149, 150, 153, 162, 163, 184, 201, 250

  Grand Concourse (Grand Boulevard and Concourse) 13, 76, 77, 82, 83, 256

  Great Britain, 208

  Green, Mark, 224

  Gregory, Julian A., 131

  Greenpoint, 25, 26, 28, 35

  Greenpoint Avenue, 154

  Greenwich Village, 150

  Gresser, Lawrence, 48, 50

  Gross, Charles P., 20–21, 211, 227, 228–229, 230, 259

  on need to expand and upgrade subway system, 227

  relationship with Mayor O’Dwyer, 230

  speech on Bronx subways; 229

  Gross, Max, 78

  Grumman Aircraft Corporation, 208

  Guider, Joseph A., 39–40, 41, 241

  Gun Hill Road, 75, 78, 198

  Haack, Robert W., 216

  Hague, Frank, 133–134, 164

  Hall, Cornelius A., 213, 228

  Halley, Charles V., Jr., 91, 98, 99, 100, 193, 197, 206

  Halley, Rudolph, 239, 240

  Hammersley Estate, 85

  Hansen, Stephen C., 220

  Hapgood, Norman, 132

  Haring, Alexander H., 76

  Harkness, LeRoy T., 67, 118, 129, 132, 154

  Harlem, 109, 162

  Harlem Board of Commerce, 107

  Harlem River, 115, 204

  Harmon, Clifford B., 109

  Harmon Foundation, 136

  Harmon, W. Burke, 134

  Harmon, William E., 109–110, 112, 116, 118, 120, 136

  Harmon National Real Estate Company, 118, 134

  Harriman, W. Averill, 241

  Harris Structural Steel Company, 207, 208

  Harvey, George U., 43, 44, 72, 105, 178, 186

  Haskins, DeWitt C., 147

  Hearst, William Randolph, 131

  Heck, Oswald D., 215

  Hedley, Frank, 72

  Heller, Simeon, 243

  Heyward, William, 64

  Hearst, William Randolph, 36, 64

  Hecksher, August, 260

  Hell Gate Bridge, 167

  Helmbuch, Mary, 82

  Henringer, Frank C., 223

  Henry Morgenthau Company, 117

  Highbridge, 77

  Hillside Houses, 154, 176

  access provided by Burke Avenue line, 97–98, 104, 173, 177, 178, 190

  effect of Ehrhart Plan on access, 101

  opening ceremonies, 99

  opposition by Mayor McKee, 94–95

  participation of representatives in Burke Avenue Line hearings, 103

  planning for, 93–95

  Hodge, Henry W., 67

  Hoff, Almeth W., 116

  Holler, James, 81, 83

  Holton, Harold M., 180–181, 192

  Holy Name Society of the Church of the Nativity, 180

  Home Boroughs Care Advertising Company, 260

  Hoover, Herbert C., 77

  House, Irwin L., 202

  Howell, James, 23, 24

  Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M, Hudson Tubes), 4, 133–134, 149, 153, 164, 166, 205, 244

  early efforts to build, 149–150

  plans for further extensions, 150, 153

  Hudson and Manhattan Stations:

  Christopher Street, 150

  Exchange Place, 134

  Hudson Terminal, 150

  9th Street, 150

  Hudson River, 113, 164, 165

  Hudson River Bridge (57th Street Bridge), 65–166

  Hughes, Charles Evans, 1

  Hughes, Richard J., 168

  Humanizing Subway Entrances, 222

  Hunter College, 81, 220

  Hu
nts Point, 80, 182, 254

  Hunts Point Avenue, 80

  Hutchinson River, 78, 84, 92

  Hutchinson River Parkway, 84

  Hylan, John F., 118, 240, 255

  advocacy for five-cent fare, 259–261

  appointment of John Delaney as Board of Transportation Chairman, 11

  appointment of John Delaney to administration post, 6

  campaign for third term, 132–133

  conflicts with Brooklyn Rapid Transit, 36

  conflicts with Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit, 38, 39

  conflicts with New York State Transit Commission, 8, 38, 70, 140, 257

  conflicts with Port of New York Authority, 129

  death of, 136

  delays in subway construction, 255–256, 257

  discussion of Flushing line plan, 70

  discussion of plans for tunnel to Staten Island, 126

  election as Mayor, 36

  employment with Brooklyn Rapid Transit, 32

  lack of a planning agency during term of office, 256

  McAvoy Commission investigation, 130–131

  Narrows Tunnel groundbreaking, 129–130

  opposition to Ashland Place connection, 138

  opposition to assessment plan to finance construction of the Utica Avenue line, 116

  opposition to Crosstown Elevated, 32, 33–34

  opposition of passenger rail tunnel to Staten Island, 126

  plans for city-owned subways, 37

  proposal for East Side trunk line, 203

  support for creation of Board of Transportation, 10–11

  support for Guider plan for Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown line, 40

  support for improved access to Staten Island, 125

  support for Narrows Tunnel, 127, 132

  Idlewild, 92

  Idlewild Airport, 92, 227, 258

  Impellitteri, Vincent H., 213, 236, 237, 239, 240

  plans for financing transit, 238

  proposal for Transit Authority, 238

  Independent City-Owned Subway System (IND), 245, 260

  Concourse line extension, 178, 181, 185, 228–229

  connection of Fulton Street subway with Fulton Street El, 243–244

  first phase plan, 11, 118, 140, 244

  Mayor Hylan’s role in building the IND, 255–256

  second phase plan, 11, 111, 82, 86, 119, 133, 140, 203, 256

  start of service to Brooklyn, 141

  Ingersoll, Raymond V., 175, 176

  Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), 117, 194, 235, 245, 256

  attempts to increase fares, 257–258, 260

  competition with BRT to build new lines, 4, 150

  desire to operate Tri-Borough Plan lines, 200

  extension into the Bronx, 75

  IRT “H,” 201, 290

  opposition to demolition of 6th Avenue El, 206

  plans for extensions to New Jersey, 150, 153

  plans for Nostrand Avenue line, 110

  plans for Utica Avenue line, 111

  postwar service upgrading, 228

  purchase of Metropolitan Street Railway Company, 199