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Description
The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway SystemRobert A. Van Wyck, mayor of the greater city of New York, broke ground for the first subway line by City Hall on March 24, 1900. It took four years, six months, and twenty three days to build the line from City Hall to West 145th Street in Harlem. Things rarely went that quickly ever again. The Routes Not Taken explores the often dramatic stories behind the unbuilt or unfinished subway lines, shedding light on a significant part of New York City's
Robert A. Van Wyck, mayor of the greater city of New York, broke ground for the first subway line by City Hall on March 24, 1900. It took four years, six months, and twenty-three days to build the line from City Hall to West 145th Street in Harlem. Things rarely went that quickly ever again. The Routes Not Taken explores the often dramatic stories behind the unbuilt or unfinished subway lines, shedding light on a significant part of New York City's history that has been almost completely ignored until now.
Home to one of the world's largest subway systems, New York City made constant efforts to expand its underground labyrinth, efforts that were often met with unexpected obstacles: financial shortfalls, clashing agendas of mayors and borough presidents, battles with local community groups, and much more. After discovering a copy of the 1929 subway expansion map, author Joseph Raskin began his own investigation into the city's underbelly. Using research from libraries, historical societies, and transit agencies throughout the New York metropolitan area, Raskin provides a fascinating history of the Big Apple's unfinished business that until now has been only tantalizing stories retold by public-transit experts. The Routes Not Taken sheds light on the tunnels and stations that were completed for lines that were never fulfilled: the efforts to expand the Hudson tubes into a fullfledged subway; the Flushing line, and why it never made it past Flushing; a platform underneath Brooklyn's Nevins Street station that has remained unused for more than a century; and the 2nd Avenue line--long the symbol of dashed dreams--deferred countless times since the original plans were presented in 1929. Raskin also reveals the figures and personalities involved, including why Fiorello LaGuardia could not grasp the importance of subway lines and why Robert Moses found them to be old and boring. By focusing on the unbuilt lines, Raskin illustrates how the existing subway system is actually a Herculean feat of countless political compromises. Filled with illustrations of the extravagant expansion plans, The Routes Not Taken provides an enduring contribution to the transportation history of New York City.Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Fordham University Press
Published: 09/01/2015
ISBN: 9780823267408
Pages: 336
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.70h x 6.20w x 0.90d
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4.5 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Absolutely love this room divider!
Color: Beige, Size: 3 Panel-102‘’-Round Pad, Color: Beige, Size: 3 Panel-102‘’-Round Pad
When they say you can't see anything through it, they are correct. As you can see by the video, the cars are traveling by with the sunlight on the divider and you still can't see any cars passing nor can you see the ones in the parking lot. You can also tell it blocks out the sunlight too which is a definite plus for our store. Quality material on the divider. Material is nice and snug on the poles with no ripples. I also like the base of these, they make the divider nice and sturdy and can be adjusted if floor is uneven. Also the design of the legs allow them to go under your furniture. Also putting them together is pretty easy. Just make sure you when you are putting the poles together to make sure at the top of the pole that the indent screw hole faces out. This makes for a better look. The directions don't say which way to turn and at 1st, I had one, one way and the other was another way as both ways work that way but I wanted a uniform/better look.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2024
★★★★★ 4
Works well, need power tool to assemble
Color: Beige, Size: 3 Panel-102‘’-Round Pad, Color: Beige, Size: 3 Panel-102‘’-Round Pad
Sturdy enough, especially when feet are positioned for balance. Works perfectly to create a WFH “cubicle”. Can adjust the size to provide complete privacy or fold back a panel when I want more openness. The fabric panels are not perfectly taught, but pretty close. The only negative is that without my husband’s power drill/screwdriver we wouldn’t have been able to put it together. It would take the strength of Thor to do it with just a manual screwdriver.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2022
★★★★★ 5
Now I don't have to see the "black hole" that used to be my family room!
Color: Black, Size: 4 Panel-136‘’W-Round Pad
I have an adult child living at home and his bedroom is tiny, so he's pretty much taken over the family room. We are both much happier now that the divider is up. It is about 12 feet long and gives him privacy to watch his movies and play his video games. And I don't have to see all the shoot-em-up stuff he likes to watch. I put the divider together with just a screwdriver (not a power one, that would be nice but I don't have so I had to use a little elbow grease.) It took a couple hours. The instructions are straightforward. I did have to use my long dining room table to attach the feet to the divider panels, which was a bit tricky. But I'm really pleased with the end result. I'm NOT a handywoman, so I feel proud that I did it "all by myself." He wanted the black fabric, but I think the lighter colors would have been better for a room that gets hot in the summer. Just my opinion. Whatever color you choose, I think you'll like the end result.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2023
★★★★★ 3
Busted spring on one side....
Color: Black, Size: 28-70"W x 48-120"H (Pack of 1), Color: Black, Size: 28-70"W x 48-120"H (Pack of 1)
I would have given it five stars except for the fact that 1) the instructions that come with it are miserable so you will definitely want to refer to the photos they have in the advertisement here, and 2) it appears that one of the vertical poles has a busted spring and I literally had to stuff some socks underneath it to make it hold. Definitely an eyesore, so I'm not thrilled about that.
With that being said, I'm in an apartment and I don't want to drill in the walls to hang a curtain rod. My sliding glass doors have a track that I was able to get brackets that fit over the track to hold a pole, but I had one window that I could not do that with. I thought this would be an interesting way to hang curtains without doing damage. I considered those sticky tape curtain rod holders, but I was reading a lot of bad reviews about them not holding or them taking the paint off upon removal. I figured this was the better option and it gave the room some nice aesthetics because my furniture is farmhouse white wood with black iron accents, so this blended really well with the aesthetics of the room. I know that most people who did reviews used this product as its advertised to be a room divider for privacy... So I figured this is a nice way to review using this product in a different way. I just really can't stand window blinds, as they look so commercial and industrial to me... I needed a way to make the space seem more homey.
While this is working fine for me, the reality is I have white lace curtains, which don't weigh much. I don't know that I could recommend this product, even though it says it can support a bit of weight, with curtains that are too heavy. Some of that, in part, is due to the fact that one of my springs is broken so it's not very stable as it is. However, even if I was not having the issue with the spring being busted on one side, I still don't think this would be good with heavy curtains (especially if you like opening your curtains frequently).
It did come with curtain hooks if you have the kind of curtains that allow you to use hooks to hang them. I do not. My curtains just slide onto the pole. If they were the type that could be put up with hooks then opening and closing them would probably be easier and maybe not as big of a deal as it is for me with the type of curtains I have.
I cannot comment on longevity as I just installed it today... If anything changes I will try to remember to come back and modify this review.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Easy setup works well
Color: Black, Size: 28-70"W x 48-120"H (Pack of 1)
I love these! Have bought two so far. Easy set up and no damage to walls. Room divider or window curtains. Works great!!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2026