🚧 From Rats to Rail Tunnels: Welcome to Edition #2 of the BOMA-NY Transportation Report 🗞️

We’re back for Round Two!

The November 2022 Transportation Report is packed with exactly the kind of updates that NYC commercial property managers didn’t know they needed—but definitely do. We’re talking about the big-ticket infrastructure projects, transit shifts, and policy changes that are shaping how people, goods, and even garbage flow through the five boroughs.

In this issue:

  • 🚆 The Gateway Tunnel gets long-awaited momentum (and a few billion more in costs)

  • 🏢 Vornado slams the brakes on Penn Station-area office towers

  • 🍽️ Outdoor dining sheds: charming to customers, but a nightmare for sanitation and fire trucks

  • 🔥 E-bike battery fires have doubled—yes, doubled—and we’re not just talking minor sparks

  • 🚓 More cops in the subways, more arrests, but still too many headlines for the wrong reasons

  • 🛥️ Plus: a new Staten Island Ferry (spoiler—it’s not the one bought by Colin Jost and Pete Davidson)

Whether you’re managing high-rises, navigating curbside loading chaos, or just trying to keep pests and problems out of your building, this report gives you the heads-up you need to stay compliant, prepared, and in the loop.

As always, this is built for BOMA-NY members who care about practical takeaways, real-world building impacts, and the occasional well-placed dad joke.

📍 Stay alert. Stay ahead. And don’t name your ferry Titanic 2.

🚨 Topline Headlines

  • Thanksgiving travel warning: Leave early—expect delays.

  • Holiday Construction Embargo in NYC: No non-emergency street work allowed 11/15/22–1/2/23.

🚄 Gateway Tunnel Project

  • NY & NJ agree to fund 25% each of the now-$16.1B project.

  • Federal funding decision expected by end of 2022.

  • Completion delayed: new tubes done by 2035, rehab of old ones pushed to 2038.

🏢 Penn Station

  • Vornado is pausing new office towers near Penn amid economic uncertainty, putting Gov. Hochul’s redevelopment vision in limbo.

  • Meanwhile, Moynihan Station features NYC’s “hottest” new bar. Yes, seriously.

🚗 Congestion Pricing

  • Gov. Hochul’s re-election keeps the plan alive.

  • Opposition: NY/NJ lawmakers and NJ Gov. Murphy want a COVID recovery delay.

  • Concerns: Potential harm to taxi industry and NJ infrastructure funding.

🍽️🐀 Outdoor Dining = More Rats?

  • Critics say street sheds invite rodents, block fire trucks, and stir up sanitation and parking issues.

  • Fire response times are slower due to bike lanes, barriers, and shed congestion.

🔥 E-Bike Fire Crisis

  • FDNY reports 200+ fires tied to lithium-ion batteries—up from 104 in 2021.

  • Notable incidents:

    • Nov 5: 3-alarm Manhattan apartment fire, 43 injured.

    • Oct 20: Queens bike shop blaze destroys 60+ e-bikes.

  • City Council hearing on 11/14/22 to push new regulations and education.

  • CPSC recalled 22,000 Ancheer bikes due to fire risks.

🚌 Electric School Buses

  • NYC gets $18.5M federal grant for 51 electric buses—more sought.

🚇 Subway System Updates

  • More police = More fare-beating tickets and 95% jump in arrests.

  • Public safety still an issue: random stabbings, muggings, and violent incidents on platforms.

  • Some subway bathrooms to reopen in Jan 2023 (only 8 of 69 with bathrooms).

  • Public sentiment: “You all run BETTER than the MTA” sign seen at NYC Marathon.

⛴️ Ferry News

  • New Staten Island ferry named Dorothy Day joins fleet—first new vessel since 2005.

  • Comedy side plot: Colin Jost & Pete Davidson’s roach- and asbestos-filled ferry (“Titanic 2”) still lacks a dock—and common sense.

  • Bonus: LEGO released a build-your-own Staten Island Ferry set.

Download the Full Report Here: November 2022 BOMA NY TransportationReport