Police have shut down the intersection of East 123rd Street and Second Avenue in East Harlem due to an emergency response. Drivers and pedestrians are urged to avoid the area until further notice from authorities.

Half a century after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shelved construction of the Second Avenue Subway, the agency is ready to dig again beneath East Harlem. Backed by a $1.9 billion contract, Phase 2 of the line’s expansion will bring tunnel-boring machines—and renewed hope—to one of Manhattan’s most transit-starved neighborhoods.