The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s plan to move entrances at the East
72nd Street stop of the Second Avenue Subway line is drawing protest from
both residents and elected officials.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney sent a letter on June 5 to the Federal Transit
Administration asking for a full environmental review of the move.

A spokesperson for the authority said they just received a copy of the
letter and will be looking into the issue shortly.

“We will review this matter, but at this point it is too early to comment
on it fully,” said MTA Deputy Press Secretary Aaron Donovan.
       

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, State Sen. Liz Krueger,
Assembly Members Jonathan Bing and Micah Z. Kellner, and Council Members Daniel R. Garodnick and Jessica Lappin also signed the letter.
       

The proposed change will put covered entrances with escalators and
staircases in the middle of the residential block.  The original plan had
the entrances on the corner of 72nd Street and Second Avenue, an area
that is both commercial and residential.
       

According to representatives at Maloney’s office, the authority proposed
the move because of eminent domain issues and engineering problems.
       

While the elected officials who signed the letter support the Second
Avenue subway overall, they believe that moving the 72nd Street station’s
entrances will have a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
       

“It’s an open invitation to jaywalkers and will divert tens of thousands
of commuters onto a residential street,” Maloney said.  “Something this
out of the ordinary and potentially disruptive deserves a full
environmental review.”
       

According to critics, the station change will also divert pedestrians to
narrower walkways and affect traffic flow, garbage pick-up and emergency
vehicle access to buildings in the area.  The letter also states that the
authority has not conducted studies on how the station change will impact
the environment.
       

Elected officials are asking that the public get a chance to comment on
the proposed change.
       

“We’re very excited that the elected officials are taking a position on
this.  We applaud them for asking the federal government have the MTA do
a full environmental review,” said Valerie S. Mason, who lives across the
street from where the authority wants to put the station entrance.
       

The letter comes just three months after residents in co-ops near the
planned mid-block entrances took legal steps making the same requests
with the authority.  An authority spokesperson said the company was aware
of the lawsuit but could not comment on pending litigation.