Midtown, one of Manhattan’s most active and tumultuous neighborhoods in the area of Grand Central Station, will at last see much-needed infrastructure repairs beginning May of 2020. 

What has everyone talking is the size and breadth of the project, which is not projected to come to a close until 2040. While there is some concern regarding closures due to the construction both above and below ground, developers have assured that this will be done “a few blocks at a time” to keep obstructions to a minimum. Locals, especially those working and living along Park Avenue, will likely want to keep abreast of developments as they come and adjust their routines accordingly. 

The Basics of the Project

In total, the project has a budget of around $2 billion, before any considerations for inflation. 

This, over a period of two decades, is expected to cover a number of necessary repairs and updates. This will include:

• Repairs to the MTA train shed. This is a matter that’s been under serious discussion for at least the last year. The two-story underground terminal for Grand Central’s Metro North cars has been victim to water damage from leaking water and salt. A major challenge in updating this beyond simple patches that delay a larger repair is that it sits directly under Park Avenue. Tishman Construction Corp is slated to handle phase one of this portion of the project.
• The tunnels will be overhauled for connections to Grand Central. These are specifically those that run under Midtown East, including a 1.8 mile viaduct through Park Avenue. 
• Bridge repairs. Bridges that support the thoroughfare’s side streets, running from East 45th and East 57th, will, at last, see some needed TLC. 

More details have yet to be released regarding what else this will entail, but readers can expect to see them unfold as groundbreaking approaches in the coming months. 

Besides 20 Years, What Will It Take to Finish? 

It’s difficult to predict where two decades of construction will go, in full, but while some are wringing their hands over the protracted timeline, it’s good news for developers and contractors. While it is doubtful that any one company or group of companies will helm every phase, it means 20 years of competitive bids and the potential for structured, steady work ahead for everyone involved. 

The train shed repairs, which is likely to be the most forthcoming of the different project phases, looks to be challenging in its own right in the number of different disciplines that may be called for. There’s talk of taking up parts of the road above, so demolition is likely. 

Repaving is likely only one small part of the kind of work that will need to be done with concrete, brick, and masonry both above and below ground. It is likely that addressing the tunnel and bridge repairs will come with similar issues, but it’s not just the stone that makes up these places. Electrical, plumbing, drainage, and track will also come into the equation. 

Whatever the case, keep a weather eye out for new developments for the foreseeable future.

In Suffolk County, the community of Smithtown is hoping to see incoming improvements in the next couple of years. Their hope, says Town Supervisor Edward Wehrheim, is that phase one “incrementally” addresses some standing projects that have been waiting a long time to get underway. 

Among many projects awaiting completion (or even just updating) include the local water manes, Flynn Memorial Park, the town’s senior center and animal shelter, and more. This comes on the back of efforts in recent years to fund and refurbish other park areas in the Suffolk area, including Nesconset’s Joseph Andreoli Park and Gaynor Park and Veterans Memorial Park in St. James, both of which just celebrated grand reopenings after over $1 million in funding. 

What Are the Main Details of the Budget?

The major buzz about this latest budget proposal centers mostly around its increase in comparison to previous years. Compared to last year, the city would be seeing a $4 million increase, and this is said to feed a number of municipal needs, including:

• At least $1.5 million in the operating fund tax levy is going toward absorbing spikes in health insurance costs for city employees.
• $4 million is split into two packages goes toward Flynn Memorial Park. 
• Another $2.4 million will fund water main replacement at St. James’ Lake Avenue. 
• The senior center in town, as well as the animal shelter and nearby properties at Jericho turnpike will receive about $850,000 in landscape and structure updates that should give the area have a more communal, “campus”-like feel. 

A vote on the funds is expected to come late November 2019, according to the most recent sources available.

Flynn Memorial Park’s Facelift

The updates to the Daniel J. Flynn Memorial Park come with a goal in mind, something reflecting its richer history in community development. Once a stop for the region’s top ball teams, it has fallen into more significant disrepair over the years, with no major changes made since its dedication in 1979. The plan is the restore this hub for sports fans to its former glory. 

Some immediate improvements developers have planned are:

• Regrading and resurfacing all four of the park’s fields;
• LED field lighting;
• New fencing and a new drainage system so that games can resume more quickly after rain;
• A hub building containing bathrooms and concessions stands on the ground floor; and
• A new playground in a central location will be erected to replace the one recently demolished.

What Will It Take to Complete These Projects?

Along with all the changes to take place in Flynn Memorial Park over the next two years, laborers will also have to contend with the water main installation and the exterior updates to the locations near Jericho Turnpike. Those that take on the upcoming projects will have several jobs to complete. 

• Landscaping appears to be one of the most notable projects coming up in most areas: whether it’s resurfacing ball fields, updating the scenery, or simply covering over any installations made underground, it will be present at virtually all sites in early and late stages of the projects.
• Building exteriors around the senior center and nearby sites, in keeping with a “campus” feel, will likely be resurfaced to reflect a similar aesthetic. Working with concrete and bricklaying is definitely likely to come up.
• The drainage and water main changes call for similar expertise—pipes and drainage will be installed, and this will call for excavating old systems in need of replacing and temporarily displacing anything that sits on top of it. 

Teams that can tackle all of these and more should be looking forward to another 1 to 2 years of steady work in the future.

With a long and troubled road since it broke ground in 2014, Steinway Tower, at last, approaches its finish line in the looming year of 2020. This unique skyscraper takes its name and inspiration from the historic landmark Steinway Hall, a building that the developers both moved for the construction of this high-rise and then fully restored. At the site of 111 West 57th Street, where once the manufacturers of pianos once walked, Billionaire’s Row now gazes up at the thinnest skyscraper ever constructed, and in the next year, it will be fully complete.

Steinway Tower and Its Residences at a Glance

“He has the entire floor,” a New Yorker might say to a friend casually, as a way to tell someone just how well-to-do a person is. To occupy an entire floor of a high rise, with no neighbors through the wall— it’s something to dream of, certainly. For tenants taking up residence in this unique West 57th Street fixture of Billionaire’s Row, it’s not just the fantasy: it’s the standard. Reported to be twenty-four times taller than it is wide, there is only one residence per level.

Developers allowed the press to preview one of the finished condos last month, revealing a number of the features and fixtures that future tenants can look forward to. The 43rd-floor condominium, while not listed yet for sale, is of a similar size to the next unit up, which is listed at $29.5 million.

• Press entered by way of private elevator entrance, and while it lives in a building famed for its slender shape, it sports a massive 4,500 square feet of living space. 
• The three-bedroom residence featured an open concept kitchen and living area, with a full, symmetrical view of Central Park. 
• In fact, if the room has a window, then it’s floor-to-ceiling and has a unique, expanded view of the city around it. 
• Each bedroom, including the master has its own ensuite, and there is also an additional powder room for guests. 

The developers also promise amenities for future residents, including 24-hour concierge and doorman, a shared terrace, and an 82-foot swimming pool.

What Remains To Be Done?

At the end of October, the main structure of the building finally reached its final height of 1,428 feet. However, the upper floors, including residences and unfinished amenities, remain to be completed. 

Finishing the project will call for any of the following: 

• For one, expect the same level of boutique luxury present in every other aspect of the building so far.
• The building’s unique terracotta and bronze facade, a stark contrast from an area congested with steel and glass, will continue to its pinnacle now that the supports are set. 
• Much of the above point will help to house the structural wonder that helps to keep the building stable in spite of its slender shape, namely the mass damper in the mechanical penthouse, weighing 800 tons, that keeps vibration and movement to a minimum. 

Any residences that remain to be finished in the upper floors will reflect similar, opulent features, and with plans even to add onto the lower levels of the structure for shopping, recital space, and more amenities, a 2020 deadline for the first tenants to move in will likely not be the end to construction.

The beautiful natural landscape around Stony Brook Creek is finally looking forward to some long-needed rehabilitation. The hope, as private property owners, the communities of Brookhaven and Smithtown, and the governing bodies in Suffolk County join forces to improve this location, is to help local species of flora and fauna to flourish again and to make the waterways safe for recreational activities like boating and fishing. County legislature at present is looking to forward half the cost of the revitalization, which is estimated to total just over $500,000. 

What Created the Current State of Stony Brook Creek? 

The main troubles that the project aims to tackle are twofold: The first involves the current drainage system. According to local sources, this has led to stormwater from nearby Stony Brook Harbor emptying into the area, leading to siltation. 

Siltation is an often humanmade form of water pollution that harms the local ecosystem, an over-accumulation of silt (or mineral) deposits that can harm local fish and wildlife, change coastlines, raise water temperatures, shrink wetlands, and even increase flooding frequency. Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) remarked on concerns regarding changes to water quality that have been noted, including the presence of blue algae in local ponds, one example of “all sorts of discharge” that the runoff has caused. 

The second issue is that of an overgrowth of phragmites, a form of watergrass classified as invasive in this part of the world. Brought over from Europe, it outperforms local flora and chokes it out, thus shifting the balance of the local ecosystem and native biodiversity. Biodiversity ensures that every living organism in an area plays a role in maintaining and sustaining the environment. Without plant biodiversity, the needs of local organisms are thus left in the hands of a more limited supply of resources. Human hands doing their part to maintain local ecosystems keeps local parks and forest areas healthy. This underscores how important it is that so many local bodies have come together to help Stony Brook Creek thrive.

The Plan for Cleanup: Trimming Back Phragmite Growth

It was reported that the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) will be helming this part of the project. Suffolk County has awarded them a grant to tackle a pilot program for clearing away around 12,000 square feet of harmful concentrations of phragmite. Their innovative new method promises completion without the use of harmful chemicals or mechanical equipment. 

In fact, the entire process is done by hand, and WMHO has reported that in tests in smaller areas, there is very limited regrowth, giving local flora a fighting chance against an otherwise robust competitor for soil and nutrients.

The Plan for Cleanup: The New Drainage System

Probably the more costly arm of Stony Brook’s revitalization, installing a new drainage system will likely begin with disconnecting the four drain pipes that feed into the creek. The intent is to create a new system that will divert drainage away, and handled through crews of laborers and contractors hired by the Brookhaven Town Highway Department. Their jobs will be to: 

• Construct 32 catch basins.
• Install 2,300 linear feet of new drain pipe around town rights of way.
• Use these drain pipes to divert runoff away from the creek and into more environmentally safe places, such as the wetlands that can naturally filter and distribute new sediment without impacting ecosystem. 

Both arms of the project are expected to commence in the winter of this year and continue through to completion by the summer of 2021.