Second Avenue subway expansion White House priority: Congresswoman

The newly opened Second Avenue subway might still be considered a novelty on the Upper East Side, but it’s never too early to start thinking about its next expansion.

And with a New Yorker in the White House, phase two and three of the project might happen sooner than we think, according to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.

“Members in the transportation office of the White House have assured me that the Second Avenue Subway made the cut and is on the first list of infrastructure priorities for the new administration,” Rep. Maloney said Thursday. Her district includes parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

The Second Avenue subway currently stops at three stations between 65th and 96th streets. Future expansion will extend the line north to 125th Street and south to Houston Street.

Though the White House did not confirm its local infrastructure plans, the MTA has $1 billion to begin the line’s expansion to Harlem, which would include new stations at 106th and 116th streets and stops at existing stations at Lexington Avenue and 125th Street.

President Donald Trump has spoken about possibly spending $1 trillion on infrastructure around the country, and Maloney feels positive some of that funding will come to his hometown.

“It seems to be an area that Democrats, Republicans and the administration are united on, so it should be easier to move,” she said.

With the first phase of the Second Avenue project taking the better part of a century to be completed, some New Yorkers are skeptical about Maloney’s optimism.

“Man, I’ll probably be dead by then,” one resident told NY1. “Yeah, maybe my great-great-great grandchildren will be here by that time.”