> I don't think this is true. One of the reasons the green line is so overcrowded is because so many people work on that line. It's not only about where people live. If you put people next to the E, it doesn't mean they only take the E.
First, I'm not sure that's the case. Most of the jobs in Manhattan are in midtown and downtown. Downtown all the lines converge and in midtown there's multiple crosstown subways. Sure if you work at Hunter College you have to take the Lexington line, but that's a relatively small number of people.
Second, inasmuch as its about where you work rather than where you live it doesn't matter whether or not you put new housing in Manhattan. If you put it in Jersey City or Brooklyn you still need to get those people to work. A moritorium on new housing in the entire metro area is a non-starter. So from that POV, you might as well put them in Manhattan.
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Certainly though I agree that Albany and Washington should quit ripping us off so hard and that the MTA should be less dysfunctional. We could use more and better running mass transportation.