Good morning. It's Wednesday. Today we'll look at one of the most important documents in the city's history that you may have never heard of: the Regional Plan. The subject of a new exhibition in Grand Central Terminal, this 1920s treatise of urban planning, and its subsequent iterations over the decades, defined our bridges, byways and neighborhoods, and shaped the city as we know it. We'll look at the impact of congestion pricing on a struggling city icon: yellow cabs. |
 | | The Constant Future ExhibitionRegional Plan Association |
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New York City as a whole can seem a haphazard amalgamation of ambition and intention, its streets a Gordian knot of commerce and industry, given a smidgen of order by its grid plan. In 1922, a group of civic leaders met to launch what would eventually become the Regional Plan Association, a consortium to plot the shape of this unruly city. |
The association, a nonprofit organization, is celebrating its 100th year with an exhibition called "The Constant Future: A Century of the Regional Plan." It's open seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. in Grand Central Station's Vanderbilt Hall through Oct. 24. |
"As the kids say, 'If you know, you know,'" said James Sanders, an architect who produced the multimedia exhibit. "People in the know, know all about the Regional Plan Association and how important it's been, but it's amazing in a way that it is not better known." (Want to know more? This New York magazine review is very informative.) |
You've certainly felt the effects of the first plan the association issued in May 1929. Within a decade of its publication, it resulted in arteries and esplanades so intrinsic to the city, they seem to have always been there. They include the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (a.k.a. the Triborough Bridge), the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Jacob Riis Beach and Riverside Park. |
Mr. Sanders first encountered the original plan as a student at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, where two antique volumes resided in a library. "I used to sit there mesmerized, kind of drooling over these things that could have been, visions of New York, and have been fascinated ever since," he said. |
But braided into the association's legacy (it has issued four plans, the last in 2017) are less-sparkling outcomes than bridges and beaches; its recommendations for so-called blighted areas catalyzed slum clearance in the 1930s and, beyond that, displaced poor people in the name of progress. |
The centennial comes at a time when the pandemic appears to have upended much urban evolution. But the power of its plans can still be felt, Mr. Sanders pointed out. The Second Avenue subway rumbles; it was suggested way back in the first regional plan, and by the end of this year, the Long Island Rail Road will be connected to Midtown East, a project the association helped revive in its third regional plan over 25 years ago |
Those original planners, who included George McAneny, Lillian Wald, and Frederic A. Delano, "couldn't by fiat make anything happen; all they could do was propose and persuade, and that's what they did," Mr. Sanders said. "That is what made it all the more remarkable, that they have been so influential. It was just people seeing what they could do." |
Enjoy a sunny day near the low 70s. At night, expect a chance of showers with temps around the low 60s. |
In effect until Monday (Shemini Atzereth). |
 | | Karsten Moran for The New York Times |
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Cabs Face a New Threat: Congestion Pricing |
 | | Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York Times |
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From predatory loans to the rise of ride-share services, yellow cabs have struggled under existential blows in recent years. Now the city's plan to add new tolls in Manhattan's most clogged areas to boost transportation revenue and cut down on exhaust may loom as another threat to the iconic vehicles, my colleague Ana Ley writes. |
The plan, which may entail drivers paying as much as $23 if they enter into a tolling zone that runs from the Battery up to 60th Street, is still not finalized: Taxis may end up being exempt, and fees for all vehicles are being hammered out. But one option being explored by the city is a $19 fee during peak hours every time a taxi enters the congestion zone (this applies to rideshare cars as well); another option levels the $23 fee, but only during peak hours, and once per day. |
There is already a congestion fee that is passed on to customers: Since 2019, all trips south of 96th Street in Manhattan have been charged an additional charge of $2.50 for yellow cabs, while other for-hire vehicles pay $2.75. The new fees would be on top of these existing ones. |
Balkar Singh, 63, a cabdriver for the past 30 years, told my colleague he fears the fees will keep riders away from his yellow cab. "Nobody wants to pay extra." |
I often pass though the plaza at the center of Columbus Circle, where the perimeter of fountains muffles the din of traffic and creates a delightful oasis. |
Once, when I was flittering through early in the morning, I saw a young woman in a ballerina's outfit sit down, change from her street shoes into dance shoes and put in a pair of earbuds. |
For 15 glorious minutes, I watched as she danced around the statue of Christopher Columbus for an audience of one: me. |
I could not hear the music, but I could see the grace and beauty it inspired. It was thrilling. The woman seemed to dance for the sheer love of it. |
When she finished, she bowed softly. |
Instinctively, I stood up and bowed back in response. |
"Exuberance," I said quietly. |
About a week later, and in a spot not far away, I was walking in the street with lots of people late in the afternoon when a young woman stepped out of the crowd. |
"Exuberance," she said, and then melted away. |
Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — S.M.N. |
| Melissa Guerrero, Hannah Fidelman and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. |
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