Last week we got a glimpse of what the future of New York City is going to look like: Electric cars that can be charged in stations throughout the city, water usage that can be checked remotely on your smart phone, and a Number 7 subway line that will travel from Times Square all the way to 34th Street on the Far West Side of Manhattan.
That's what's ahead for our city -- and it's not in the distant future; it's all happening over the next few years. For example, last week, the Department of Environmental Protection began rolling out a new system that allows water customers to access their water readings online. By visiting nyc.gov and entering your account number, customers can see how much water they're using in real-time. Homeowners and businesses will be able to access detailed data they've never had before, so they can carefully track exactly when they are using water, identify potential leaks, and look for ways to conserve and save.
All this is now possible because, last year, we began a major effort to replace older water-meter readers throughout the city with new wireless versions that can automatically transmit readings several times each day. It all adds up to simpler bills, easier payments, and potential savings from reduced water consumption. Our Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees our water supply, has already hooked up nearly 50 percent of paying customers with new wireless meters in their homes and businesses. And we plan to install the rest of the wireless meters by the beginning of 2012.
We're also making New York City a hot spot for electric cars. Last year, we conducted a study that explored what we could do promote the use of electric vehicles, which have environmental benefits for our city and economic benefits for drivers. One recommendation was to establish a network of charging stations, because without them, people won't start buying electric cars. Now we're taking that idea and running with it. Working together with a private company that received $15 million in stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, we're going to install 100 charging stations throughout New York City. We've already installed the very first one at a parking facility on 9th Avenue and 36th Street in Manhattan, and the rest of the publicly accessible charging stations will be up and running at other locations by early next year. Cars are a part of our daily life -- but that doesn't mean they can't also be part of our solution to create a more sustainable city.
We're also working to expand our subway system, and last week we made some major progress there, too. After 13 months of toiling and churning underground, the tunnel boring machines that have been blazing the path for the Number 7 subway extension finally finished their work. With the tunneling now complete, we are one step closer to running the Number 7 train all the way to the 34th Street station on the Far West Side. The Number 7 train extension is a great investment in our city's future, and one that will continue to pay big dividends in the form of new jobs, housing, and open space, not to mention the revenues generated from the development of the Hudson Yards area.
Mayor Ed Koch once declared that "New York City is the place where the future comes to audition." And I think that last week we proved that to be true. Because of the smart investments we've made, the future is coming here -- first -- and it's very bright.
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