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7-Line Suspended for 11 Weekends
Folks commuting on the 7-line between Queens and Manhattan on weekends need to find an alternative starting Jan. 21. Modernization to the Flushing Line and its stations necessitate suspension of 7-train service between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square for 11 weekends, 12:01 a.m. on Saturdays to 5 a.m. on Mondays, and the full closure of the Court Square Station on the 7-line until April 2.
The service changes are part of MTA’s long-term project to install new signaling, replacing a system that is 50 to 90 years old. Scheduled completion of the new Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) system is late 2016.
As an alternative, riders can take a special fare-free shuttle bus service that will operate between the Vernon-Jackson and Queensboro Plaza stations.
During the closure, the Court Square station in Long Island City will undergo platform and windscreen replacement and the enhancement of accessibility features with the installation of ADA boarding areas, tactile warning strips, and signage. The $7.2 million project will make the station accessible to the disabled when it is complete in June.
Riders may reach the Court Square area by using the E, G, or M subway lines or the Q39, Q67, Q69, or B62 bus lines. Riders who now transfer between the 7 and G lines at Court Square may now make a free walking transfer with their MetroCards between the 7-line’s Hunters Point Avenue station and the G-line’s 21 Street-Van Alst station.
“We are taking the opportunity to do a lot of work during this period, and while we regret the inconvenience to our customers, this is work that must be done in order to improve the performance of this line,” said NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast.
The 7-line is not the only line facing service changes. With the launch of the FASTRACK program, the 4, 5, and 6 lines were closed from the Grand Central-42 Street to Atlantic Avenue corridor starting January 9 until today at 5 a.m.
The FASTRACK program entails the partial closure of a subway line on four consecutive weeknights from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., four times a year and will allow the MTA to inspect, maintain, and upgrade the subway stations, tracks and signals in less time, at less cost.
FASTRACK will be expanded to include these corridors:
• Sixth Avenue: West 4th Street to 59 Street
• Seventh Avenue: 34th Street Penn Station to Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street, Brooklyn
• Eighth Avenue: 59th Street to Jay Street-MetroTech, Brooklyn
Carnegie Hall Youth Orchestra
Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute will launch a youth orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). A two-week residency followed by an international tour the summer of 2013 will provide young players across the nation an opportunity to join their peers and a faculty of leading orchestral musicians.
One of the world’s leading maestros—Valery Gergiev—will conduct the orchestra each year and first-chair musicians from prominent American orchestras will mentor participants.
The program is tuition-free, including room and board, rehearsal, and performance activities, and costs associated with the concert tour.
The program is open to all U.S. citizens or permanent residents ages 16–19, excluding full-time music students. Registration must be completed by Sept. 7 this year for those who wish to participate in 2013. A full application, which must include an audition video, should be submitted by Nov. 1.
