New York Transit Museum
Boerum Pl. & Schermerhorn St.
Tuesday, May 13, free with advance RSVP, 6:30
718-694-1600
www.mta.info
www.fordhampress.com
Inspired by a copy of the 1929 subway extension map, Joseph B. Raskin set out in search of parts of the New York City underground train and tunnel system that were never built or remain unfinished. Raskin, the assistant director of government and community relations for MTA New York City Transit, has compiled his findings in The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City’s Unbuilt Subway System (Fordham University Press, November 2013, $34.95). “There were demands to expand the subway system even before the first lines opened,” he writes in the preface. “Some plans never got beyond the planning, preliminary design, or engineering phases before being halted. Others proceeded further. There are tunnel and station segments throughout the New York City subway system built for lines that were never completed. A platform under the IRT’s Nevins Street station has remained unused for over a century. Other proposals underwent radical changes before they were actually built.” The book, which contains one hundred black-and-white illustrations, also delves into the politics and finances behind many of these projects, including stories about Fiorella La Guardia, Tammany Hall, and Robert Moses. As part of the 110th anniversary of the subway system, Raskin, who also runs the Wandering New York photo blog, will be at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn on May 13 to discuss the book with WNYC transportation reporter Jim O’Grady, followed by a book signing. Free advance RSVP is recommended.