Invisible cities

“The city exists and it has a simple secret: it knows only departures, not returns.” Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino

A full moon shines through the window gnawing at the bones of sleep. The ocean breeze doesn’t always arrive to cool things of, so the window is wide open even in July. It’s simple, no AC where I’m staying which was once an old stable for a manor.

All is silent after the last car drives away, when the din of house parties and the bars farther down in town close you can hear a pin drop. In the stillness, dew dropping softly from the trees rustling the leaves make an echo.

On such nights I’d sometimes stir and walk the 20 minutes to Council Rock, a large white-quartz boulder that’s luminous in streaming sunlight and moonlight. Years later I can still see it with my eyes closed.

I can understand why the Indians gathered on this hill from across the island, overlooking a pond and the ocean, to meet and discuss their important business. Before the last groups disbanded and all was lost to time and memory.

From here they would have seen the frst tall white-mast ships arrive like clouds foating on the water, though of course not known the signifcance. And the idea of cities was unknown to them, beyond living frames of reference.

Something diferent crossed the threshold, like a gripping wind that wanted to swallow everything even the bones. There was no shelter from that wind.

There is no way to see through the haze, like fog rolling in of the ocean it envelops everything. Even the present is distant, far away, hidden in the depths.

I sometimes wonder how we came to be here and am not surprised things don’t turn out as expected. If I had thought to uncover something in the depths that country is beyond me. There are no bones. But there’s always a border and a threshold, just no one knows where.

Stephen Cipot Garden City Park/Montauk, 2006

year how the lost time would be made up. It would include resource allocations by the contractor and the MTA to meet the latest recovery schedule.

The MTA is incurring additional costs for its own project management staf and McKissack, its own independent engineering consulting frm, providing additional oversight of the contractor for several years beyond what was anticipated. Will the MTA fle a claim with the contractor for compensation of these costs?

Costs may continue to grow based upon any change orders due to unforeseen site conditions or last- minute changes in technology or scope requested by maintenance or operations groups to the base contracts during the course of construction. Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Rail Road may not reach substantial completion for installation and use of OMNY until late 2025.This will be followed by benefcial use, completion of inspection and acceptance for all work to insure it conforms to contract specifcations, punch list items, receipt of asset maintenance plans, followed by release of retainage, and fnal payment to the contractor(s). Contractors may submit delay claims against the MTA for insufcient facility access, NYC Transit, Long Island or Metro North staf support. Commuters and taxpayers may never know the true fnal cost for OMNY for several more years after the system is in full use agency wide.

Another critical failure of OMNY that Gov. Hochul, MTA Chairman Lieber or their predecessors never acknowledge is the failure to come to any agreement for integration of OMNY with NJ Transit, Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) subway and NYC Economic Development Corpo- ration Private Ferry fare collection systems. The MTA’s previous plans to phase out the MetroCard in 2023 have been delayed until at least 2025. A majority of riders are still using the Metro Card vs. OMNY. While almost 50% of subway riders are using OMNY, far fewer are doing the same for those commuters boarding New York City Transit Bus, Manhattan Bronx Surface Bus Authority and MTA Bus. MTA’s OMNY trials and tribulations will continue for years to come.

Larry Penner Great Neck

Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously served as a former Director for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Ofce of Operations and Program Management.