area, and has 5,000 square feet of windows. Construction 1970s The Archer Avenue subway's groundbreaking took place on August 15, 1972, at Archer Avenue and 151st Street. The first section of the line to be built was between 147th Place and 151st Street under Archer Avenue. $162 million of the $242 million project was paid for by the city, with the state footing the remainder of the bill. Construction on the Archer Avenue subway began on October 23, 1973, at 159th Street and Beaver Road, just south of Archer Avenue. It was then expected that the subway would be complete by 1980 or 1981. On March 27, 1974, a fire broke out in the tunnel under 150th Street, temporarily severing telephone service in the area. The fire started when waterproofing tar being sprayed on the tunnel walls was ignited. In July 1974, the federal government announced its approval of a $51.1 million grant for the project. The Jamaica–Van Wyck station was estimated to have 1,200 passengers during rush hours, while the Sutphin Boulevard and Parsons Boulevard stations were expected to be used by 5,300 and 8,700 passengers during that period, respectively. Mayor Abraham Beame, on December 13 of that year, announced that he had decided to prioritize the construction of the Southeast Queens Line while postponing construction of the Second Avenue Subway for six years, and as a result, he faced opposition among some members of the New York City Board of Estimate. Prior to making this decision, in October, Beame had considered deferring the construction of all new lines, including this line, due to the lack of federal aid. On October 31, the MTA Chairman David Yunich had announced this decision. On January 16, 1975, a spokesman for the Mayor said that work on the line would proceed even though a report found that the Mayor's plan to save the existing fare and construct new lines was off by as much $1 billion. On June 3, 1975, Queens Borough President Donald Manes and other Jamaica leaders pressed for the formal transfer of half of the $74 million in federal funds approved for the Second Avenue Subway to the Archer Avenue project. On March 5, 1975, the MTA announced that the line should open by 1981. An August MTA letter stated that the line would not open until 1984. Construction of two tunnels under the nine tracks of the LIRR