The Astoria NW line went into service more than 100 years ago, in 1917. It's been in daily use ever since. Age and increasingly extreme weather have taken their toll. So, beginning in October 2017, we began intense and extensive work on the stations, track and supporting infrastructure to ensure another 100 years of service for Astoria. This year, the next big phase of this renewal project begins.

Check out the MTA's A Renewed Astoria Line website to learn more about the plan.

St. Marks Comics is the latest mom-and-pop local business to fall prey to New York City's rising retail rents. After 36 years on St. Marks Place in the East Village, the store will close for the last time very soon. The store recently posted why on social media:

After 36 years of being privileged to serve #NewYork, St. Mark's Comics is closing at the end of February. We will start our massive, store-emptying #sale TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY JAN 30! We've been asked why. There are lots of obstacles to running a retail storefront in NYC; too many of them at once to fight, and after 36 pretty intense years, not enough left to fight them.

In case you have been in a coma for a few months, mega-corporation Amazon has selected New York City as one of the locations for its second headquarters, and it's causing a lot of waves. Many people think that the city provided too many tax breaks to the company. But, the New York City Economic Development Corporation says that the city has the potential to get $13.5 billion in tax revenue from the deal, producing this video to show off how we could use that money for good. Check it out.

This is the largest single effort to attract new jobs in New York State history. It is projected to deliver over $186 billion in economic impact to New York over the next 25 years, including over $14B in tax returns to the State and over $13.5B to the City.