A Riddle, Wrapped In A Mystery, Inside A Shell

How could a subway extension project with only one stop be cut back any further? It’s possible:

The MTA and the city are moving ahead with a planned extension of the No. 7 subway line to the Javits Convention Center, but much of the original project may be scrapped to stay on budget, officials said yesterday.

The agency is expected next week to approve a $1.1 billion contract to dig the extension from Times Square west to 11th Avenue, then downtown to a terminal at 34th Street.

Not only will plans for a stop at 41st Street and 11th Avenue be eliminated, but the MTA may not even build a planned shell for a future station.

. . .

Normally, the MTA wouldn’t spend $2.1 billion to add a single station, but the city is footing the bill as part of its development of the West Side rail yards.

There is an option to build the station shell for $500 million more, but the MTA would be responsible for overruns and doesn’t have the money. Transit advocates called the decision to possibly eliminate the station a grave error.

“The real irony is that there are many more homes and businesses near the 10th Avenue station than near the Javits station,” said MTA board member Andrew Albert. “The bottom line is this is going to cost us a lot more later.”