I've lived in New York City for seven years and for all but six months of it, I've lived on Second Avenue. In the spring and summer of 2002, I lived on a little street off of the Bowery and then I found myself right back on Second Avenue. It's not that I don't like other avenues or even the west side, it's just that Second Avenue has had a way of pulling me back in. Who was I to resist?

When I first came to New York, I had mixed feelings about living on Second Avenue. Technically I was on the Upper East Side, which sounded posh and leafy, but my walk-up was in a former tenement and had lopsided floors. I often wondered if the building was structurally sound. Every time a truck would drive by, which was roughly every five minutes, the building would shake. I noticed this did not happen at my friends' apartments.

But it was my little lopsided place and at $550 a month, I couldn't complain. The neighborhood, Second Avenue at 94th Street, was one part high rises full of families, one part walk-ups full of yuppies and frat boys and one part Spanish Harlem. Buying Macron con Queso at the local grocery store was normal. The bars were dark, Irish and always open and diners were happy to indulge even the biggest of drunks in a 4:00 a.m. snack. No matter what part I was in, I noticed that Second Avenue had personality. Second Avenue goes downtown, so you're always en route to more fun. Second Avenue has no shortage of bars and cheap restaurants. You can't say that about Fifth Avenue or Madison. Second Avenue runs pretty much the length of Manhattan. It doesn't turn into another street, the way Third turns into the Bowery. It doesn't end abruptly, the way Fifth Avenue and Lexington do at Washington Square and Gramercy Park, respectively. It's constant, it's solid.

Even as a clueless newbie to this town, I noticed the horror that is the 6 train on the Upper East Side during rush hour. Aside from the jokes that can be made about how every single person essentially looks the same, (white, somewhat professional, etc.) these people were packed like cattle into the cars. This was not always the case on the west side. Where, a few years later, I would not only get a seat at Canal Street, but I could get some reading in before getting to midtown.

When I moved further down to Gramercy, I noticed that the crooked tenements were a thing of the past and there wasn't a box of Macron Con Queso to be found anywhere. But the vibe of 94th Street was still there. Sure, there are busses that go down Second Avenue, but there are no subways. If you're on Second or anywhere that far east, you probably mean to be there, for whatever reason. No matter where you are along the way, it's never a terribly crowded place, unlike Broadway or Sixth Avenue that spits people out of subway stations every few minutes.

Which is why I wonder: After all this time, do people really still want a Second Avenue Subway? It's 2006, and the original plans were conceived in 1919. Back then it was seen as a comprehensive Bronx to Brooklyn line to move an already heavy burden of people in New York. Over the years, wars and fiscal crises plagued it, even as some tunnels were dug. No matter how crowded the east side became, people still found a way to get downtown. Building the tunnels now would disrupt and possibly put a lot of small businesses under. Of course, developers are licking their lips at the prospects of the new line. Having a subway that far east could raise property values significantly once it's completed within 10 to 15 years. And who's to say the project won't hit another snag, as it has for decades?

Once finished a Second Avenue subway could be a boon to downtown New York, but tourists and locals alike seem to be getting along fine without it. The current subway system has plenty of bugs that need to be worked out. The L into Brooklyn, for instance, is constantly being repaired and updated, leaving many a hipster stranded on the weekends. The Q out to Brighton Beach and Coney Island is currently in flux on weekends, making it harder to get to a ride on the Cyclone.

In the meantime, I'll happily come home to an unscathed Second Avenue every night, even if it means walking a few extra blocks from the N train. Rents are lower over here. We overlook Queens as opposed to the Hudson River, but almost a century of urban stalling never looked so good.