This Week: NYC Transit, From Vignelli to Lhota

The past, present and future of city transit are represented on the calendar this week, highlighted by a Wednesday forum with MTA chair Joe Lhota. Manhattan community boards will discuss a proposed pedestrian plaza on the East Side and street design surrounding an existing plaza in the Meatpacking District, and the EDC’s Joshua Nelson will talk freight rail. Details below.

• Today: The MTA will host a public information session with updates on proposed Metro-North service in the east Bronx, including four stations that would serve Morris Park, Co-op City, Hunts Point and Parkchester, providing connections to Penn Station, Westchester and Connecticut. 6:30 p.m.
• Also today: Baruch College presents an updated plan for an East 25th St. pedestrian plaza to the transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 6. The committee will also consider a resolution on left-hand turn signage for East 14th, East 23rd and East 34th Streets on 1st and 2nd Avenues. 7 p.m.
• Tuesday: The Manhattan CB 2 transpo committee will hear from DOT on Gansevoort Pedestrian Plaza roadway geometry. 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday: The Crain’s breakfast forum will feature MTA chief Joe Lhota, who will discuss the agency’s debt crisis, the upcoming fare hike and his plans to upgrade the nation’s largest transit system. 8 a.m.
• Also Wednesday: Massimo Vignelli and his design partners Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshi Waterhouse will speak with Michael Beirut about their famous and controversial 1972 New York City subway diagram and its new appearance in the MTA’s Weekender. New York Transit Museum, 6 p.m.
• Thursday: The Transportation Research Forum will host Joshua Nelson, vice president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, who will discuss the city’s freight rail system. 11:45 a.m.
• Also Thursday: DOT will hold an interactive workshop for business owners concerning commercial cyclists laws. 3 p.m.