Happy Tuesday in New York City! When I was younger, my brother and I would compete to dig the largest hole at the beach. We’d dig for hours side-by-side and then stand in our respective holes and compare depth. I never won the contest. I was working with a shovel, and he was working with a Herrenknecht Single-Shield Tunnel Boring Machine.
Turns out, crews with the Gateway Development Commission are almost finished assembling two of those very same machines to begin digging out the brand new train tunnels under the Hudson River. Each 1,700-ton, $25 million machine is created by welding together 96 high-tech pieces imported from Germany, including 165-ton cutting heads, hydraulic motors, conveyor belts and metal shielding.
Once assembled, a team of 30 operators will use the machines to bore through 30 feet of thick basalt rock every day. It will take a year to grind from the Palisades in North Bergen, N.J., to Weehawken, N.J., at which point the single-use machines will have served their purpose and be destroyed. The next stage of the project will then begin as workers blast underneath the river toward Manhattan with a different set of specialized equipment.
Officials plan to deploy the machines within the next couple of months. The project’s executives were forced to place the assembly on hold earlier this year when Donald Trump attempted to block funding for the entire Gateway project, setting off a legal dispute that the president eventually lost.
The current tunnels under the Hudson were built in 1910 using a combination of hand drilling and explosives. It took 6 years and around $100 million dollars to finish them. The current Gateway Program, meanwhile, will take an estimated nine years and $16 billion to complete.
Don’t chalk up the elongated timeline to the boring machines, however. They’re estimated to move three to five times faster than traditional drill and blast methods.
Say what you will about my brother, but he sure was precocious.
Matthew Rodríguez, 18, was extradited from Pennsylvania and charged in the death of 7-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore. He was charged with multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, assault, hindering prosecution and tampering with a witness.
The Rainbow Pride Flag at the Stonewall National Monument will continue to fly, as part of a lawsuit settlement with the Trump administration.
Oyster harvests off Long Island and along New York’s waterways could be historically poor this year after an unusually harsh winter season caused severe losses for area oyster stocks.
Brooklyn native Amanda Torres was named the new Director of Building Operations at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.
The Brooklyn Quilters Guild will host an outdoor quilt exhibition at the Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church on Saturday, May 9.
The Liberty expect their big three, Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, back at Barclays Center next season.
Our World In Photos
Photo: Wason Wanichakorn/AP
THAILAND — While pouring water is a symbol of cleansing, reverence and good fortune, splashing someone in the face is also just plain old fun: People participate in the Songkran water festival to celebrate the Thai New Year in Prachinburi province, Thailand, Monday, April 13, 2026.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
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Prospect Park’s Vale of Cashmere restoration draws pushback from some community members
Marine Corps combat veteran Matt Metzger, who grows his own mushrooms for microdosing psilocybin, displays prepared doses in packets Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Olympia, Wash. Photo: Lindsey Wasson/AP
On Monday, March 16, Prospect Park and city officials were excited to begin construction on an 18-month, $37.5 million restoration of the park’s Vale of Cashmere, the area’s first in over 50 years.
Their excitement, however, was not shared by the entire community; some frequenters of the Vale received the news with dismay. On Saturday, March 21, a group of community members gathered to share their experiences in the Vale and organize against its alteration.
Read on to learn why some organizers and neighbors fear loss of seclusion and queer gathering space.
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Cartoon Sketchbook
By Jeff Koterba
For the Road
Shutter Shock: After being open for 30 years, Hunter’s Steak & Ale House, 9404 Fourth Ave. in Bay Ridge, announced its official closure. A sign was posted outside the eatery earlier this week. Read more.
Happy Birthday to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Sarah Michelle Gellar!
On This Day in 1948, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The president of the U.S. Rocket Society believes the moon should be made a ‘station stop’ on the road to Mars. ”
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