Government briefs: NYC’s new subway cars, Pier 55 can proceed … & more

From the August issue: As part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $27 billion, five-year capital plan, the city is slated to receive 1,025 new subway cars, with features such as wider doors and accordion-like passageways that allow riders to move between cars, the New York Times reported. Last month, a State Supreme Court appeals judge lifted an injunction blocking the construction of a 2.4-acre public park on the Hudson River known as Pier 55, Curbed NY reported. An investigation has found Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office at fault for “a complete lack of accountability” in the city’s removal of deed restrictions that paved the way for the sale of a Lower East Side nursing home to luxury condo developers, according to the Wall Street Journal. The MTA will shut down the L train between Brooklyn and Manhattan for 18 months starting in 2019, in order to repair damage to the East River tunnel caused by Hurricane Sandy. [more]