• Introduction: Serving New York for More than a Century
• Green Building Features
• Demolition and Construction Schedules
• Working with the Community
• Community Design Charrette
• Air Monitoring Results

Introduction: Serving New York for More than a Century

The Mother Clara Hale Depot, 721 Lenox Avenue in Central Harlem, Manhattan was originally a trolley barn built in the 1890s. It was structurally modified in 1939 to become the 146th Street Bus Depot.  MTA New York City Transit rehabilitated the depot in 1990, renaming it in honor of Mother Clara McBride Hale in 1993.

About the New Depot

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Mother Clara Hale Depot – Green Building Features

• Recycling
  NYC Transit recycles construction waste such as concrete, metal and glass.  Recycled materials will be used to build the new depot.
  
  
• Low-NOx Boilers
  We will install Low-NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) boilers, which reduce Nitrogen Oxide emissions by 70 to 85 percent compared to older boilers. 
  
  
• Heat Recovery Units (HRU)
  Traditional ventilation systems bring air from outside a building and adjust its temperature to maintain an indoor environment.  The Heat Recovery Units (HRU) on the roof of the new Mother Clara Hale Depot will be more cost effective and energy efficient, because an HRU uses a heat exchanger when it’s cold outside.  The heat exchanger recovers heat from outgoing air and uses it to preheat fresh incoming air, which the HRU system distributes throughout the building. 
  
  
• Natural Lighting/Day Lighting
  The depot will use natural lighting where possible to complement or replace electric lighting. Day lighting enters the building through side windows and skylights.  Special “Low-e” (low energy) coatings on windows allow solar energy into the building, but block infrared and ultraviolet light rays that emit heat.
  
  
• Rainwater Recycling for Bus Washing
  A collection system on the roof of the new Mother Clara Hale Depot will send rainwater into an underground storage tank for use in depot operations.  
  
  
  
  

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Demolition: Three Phases

• Remove underground storage tanks and soil remediation
• Asbestos removal
• Building demolition

Projected Schedule for Demolition and Construction

• Demolition of depot – October 2008 to June 2009
• Construction of new depot on same site – 2009 to 2012
• Completion – 2012

Working with the Community 

NYC Transit representatives are working in partnership with the community that surrounds the Mother Clara Hale Depot to keep residents informed about this important reconstruction project. 

NYC Transit will post air-monitoring results regularly during the demolition of the old depot. Please click here to view them.

We hosted a Community Design Charrette on September 20 to provide customers and neighborhood residents with the opportunity to identify the depot’s significant impacts on the community and to suggest possible strategies to address these impacts.

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Community Design Charrette

NYC Transit hosted a Community Design Charrette public event on September 20, 2008.
The purpose of the Charrette was to invite neighborhood members to discuss the impact that the Mother Clara Hale construction would have in the community and suggest green design features project engineers could incorporate.

The Design Charrette took place at the A. Phillip Randolph Senior Center, located at 108 West 146th Street, across the street from the depot site.  The event had a good turnout, and community attendees participated enthusiastically. Here is an overview of the day’s activities, with photographs.
Professor Achva Stein, Director of Landscape Architecture at City College led the Charrette. She discussed sustainable design and its application at Mother Clara Hale Depot and outlined the event topics: Site, Energy, Water, Materials and Air Quality (first photo).  Community members formed panels, or “break out” groups (shown in the next three photos). Each group, led by a community co-leader and a NYC Transit professional, studied different aspects of the new depot’s green design, and then gave a presentation with suggestions for “green” construction. The last photograph shows audience members listening to one of the presentations.

When the MTA Design Team has evaluated all of the community’s recommendations and reports to the Mother Clara Hale Community Task Force, a summary of the Design Team’s assessment will be presented on this web page.

The Mother Clara Hale Task Force, which includes representatives from NYC Transit, community members, elected officials from the State Senate, Assembly, City Council and Manhattan Borough President’s Office, meets monthly to discuss the project’s status.  

NYC Transit representatives will continue to work with the community throughout the reconstruction process, utilizing the residents’ input to create a new depot that meets the needs of NYC Transit, the community, and the environment.

Photos from the Design Charrette Event

The Energy break out group.

The Materials break out group.

The Air Quality break out group.

Community members listen to presentations.

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Air Monitoring Results 

To view the results of air quality monitoring tests taken for a particular day, click here and enter a date or click on the calendar to select one.  After tests are taken, evaluated and reported, they are posted here on this site, generally, on the next business day.  Please note that tests are performed only when the work is ongoing and only for the activities noted below.

PM10 = Particulate Matter < 10 micron
TSP-L = Total Suspended Particulate Lead
VOC= Volatile Organic Compound

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