But a senior MTA planner told the Tri-State Campaign that evaluating the 2nd Avenue line's prospects at this time is akin to "figuring out the meaning of life."

The Second Avenue subway is the subject of the Transit Authority's Manhattan East Side Alternatives (MESA) study. The study proposes two variations of a subway under Second Avenue between 63rd Street and 125 Street, linking to the Broadway 'N' and 'R' tunnel below 63rd Street.

Some speculate that big dollars for the 2nd Ave. project in the next capital plan would take the place occupied in the current capital plan by the costly ($650 million) 63rd Street/Queens Boulevard subway connection. The argument is that State Assembly Democrats will press for a Transit Authority capital plan equal in size to that in place now.

But with the likelihood that the $2 billion LIRR-Grand Central connection will go ahead, fueled in part by significant earmarked funding in ISTEA-2, the $5 billion Second Ave. Subway stands a strong chance of being crowded out of the next MTA capital plan. Indeed, East Side Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is seeking only $55 million for environmental and engineering analysis to keep 2nd Avenue Subway work alive during ISTEA-2. A Maloney aide said bigger federal funds would be sought for the job in ISTEA-3, but that won't come before Congress until 2003 or 2004.

Still, demand for the project is growing. At a NYMTC forum in Manhattan last week, a large group spoke out on the "essential" need for better East Side transportation. Nurturing a political outcry similar to the one that drove fare discounts is the way to get the line built, according to City Council member Gifford Miller. Miller says a "general consensus" for the project is forming among Upper East Side elected officials. Hopefully, that coalition will extend to Harlem and the Bronx, where transit service is also needed and powerful Congressional allies reside.

The LIRR-Grand Central project may add thousands of new riders to the Lexington Avenue subway, which will throw fuel on the East Side's fire. "We need to get the MTA out of big box thinking, where the agency builds one project every ten years," said Miller.