Second Avenue Subway Stall: Two Landlords Hit with Lawsuit by MTA for Blocking Access
After repeatedly being blocked from gaining access to two buildings on Second Ave. to do preliminary work connected to the Second Ave. Subway extension, the MTA has now filed a lawsuit against two building owners.
| 28 Aug 2024 | 10:21
The MTA lawsuit involves access to the three buildings along the east side of Second Avenue between 108th and 111th Streets and the agency said two landlords are blocking access to their buildings which need to be assessed before work can continue. While the first building is located at what will be the northern end of the 106th Street Station, the structures a block away adjoin a tunnel that was built for the project in the 1970s. (
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This MTA rendering of the Second Avenue Station’s southern entrance near 106th Street will be mirrored by another north entrance between 109th and 110th Streets. The MTA said all three buildings identified in its lawsuit against two developers are vital to construction of this facility. (
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The Second Ave. subway expansion has come to a screeching halt because the MTA claims a couple of East Harlem landlords are blocking the agency from gaining access to buildings that the transit agency needs to assess, according to a lawsuit filed by the MTA
The MTA brought action against Croman Realty Company, owner of 2100 Second Avenue and The Drivin Group, which owns 2146 and 2148 Second Avenue.
The suit was filed with both landlords as part of the next phase of the construction as a continuation beyond 96th Street to 125th Street. The congestion pricing toll was expected to raise $1 billion for the MTA which could have borrowed up to $16.5 billion to undertake massive construction and rebuilding jobs. But after the congestion pricing financial hold, some basic utility line relocation is being done as part of the current $54 million budgeted amount for this project, granted by Gov Hochul last month.
The lawsuit was first reported by Crain’s New York Business on Aug. 26.
“Legal action to obtain access for critical surveying and structural work are considered only as a last resort when property owners are unresponsive,” MTA Spokesperson Kayla Shults told Our Town.
She said that the MTA is obligated to provide its contractor access to perform tasks on these buildings for remedial construction work and installation and removal of measuring devices to assess building movement, which is mandated by New York City Building Code.
The three early-twentieth century structures are small, five and six story apartment buildings. While 2146 and 2148 Second Avenue adjoin a bare, completed tunnel structure previously constructed during the 1970s; 2100 Second Avenue sits between 108th and 109th Streets, at the northern end of a new proposed 106th St. station. This building’s access is badly needed for much more invasive work than the two buildings a block away.
The MTA said it has made multiple attempts to negotiate for access with the landlords since February 2022, but have been stonewalled by them. This legal action was, seemingly, the only solution.
This is yet another red signal for a transit project that had its roots in the late 1920s; the extension to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue from 96th Street and Second Avenue is projected for completion over a hundred years later in the 2030s, vital to the largely African American and Hispanic residents who live in East Harlem and will depend on this newest link for economic growth.
The delays entailed by the lawsuit will cost the already financially challenged MTA thousands of dollars every day that their contractors cannot gain access, the agency claims.
Shults, in summation with Our Town opined, “The MTA is committed to delivering the Second Avenue Subway project that will provide transformative benefits for the East Harlem community.”