In a press conference in the Times Square subway station today, the mayor announced the groundbreaking (without shovels or dirt) of the 1.5-mile extension of the No. 7 subway line, a keystone in the city’s efforts to expand midtown to the far West Side.

While officials, including Governor Spitzer, Representative Jerrold Nadler, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, lined up at the press conference to pledge their support for the start of the project, the decision of who will pay to finish it—should there be any cost overruns—has been pushed off to a later day.  read more »