electricians opposing wages paid by the General Railway Signal Company. In April 1936, William Jerome Daly, the secretary of the New York City Board of Transportation, stated, in response to requests for a stop at 178th Street, that constructing a station at that location would prevent express service from operating past 71st Avenue. He said that with a final station at 169th Street, express trains could run to Parsons Boulevard, and that if the line was extended to Springfield Boulevard as planned, express service could be extended past 178th Street with a yard east of the new terminal. In August 1936, construction to Forest Hills was expected to be completed by the end of the year. While the tracks were installed all the way to 178th Street, the stops to the east of Union Turnpike still needed to be tiled, have stairways, turnstiles and lighting installed. Two additional contracts remained to be put up for bid, both the results of last minute changes. One of the changes concerned the line's eastern terminal. Initially, express trains were planned to terminate at a station at 178th Street. However, the plans were changed to terminate the express trains at Parsons Boulevard, requiring the installation of switches. Since construction of the tunnel was already completed in this section, a few hundred feet of the wall separating the eastbound and westbound train tracks had to be removed to fit the two switches. In addition, a new tunnel roof and new side supports had to be constructed. Since the line's new terminal would be at 169th Street, the tracks at 178th Street would be used to turn back trains. This change delayed the opening of the line from Union Turnpike to 169th Street, and also led to protests from the Jamaica Estates Association because the 178th Street station had been eliminated. A extension from Roosevelt Avenue to Kew Gardens opened on December 31, 1936. In March 1937, the extension to 169th Street was expected to be opened on May 1, requiring work to be finished by April 3, and fully approved and tested by April 20. As of this point, minor station work remained, including the installation of light bulbs, with the only major work left to be completed being the final of track in the 169th Street terminal. Opening On April 9, 1937, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia announced that the operation of the $14.4 million