title: East Side Access

text: East Side Access (ESA) is a public works project in New York City that extended the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) from its Main Line in Queens into a new station under Grand Central Terminal on Manhattan's East Side. A project of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) originally scheduled to open in 2009, the new station and tunnels are tentatively scheduled to start service in December 2022. The project's estimated construction cost rose nearly threefold from the planned $3.5 billion to $11.1 billion , making it one of the world's most expensive underground rail-construction projects.


title: East Side Access

text: East Side Access is based on transit plans from the 1950s, though an LIRR terminal on Manhattan's East Side was first proposed in 1963. The planned LIRR line was included in the 1968 Program for Action of transit improvements in the New York City area. Lack of funds prevented the construction of any part of the connection other than the 63rd Street Tunnel under the East River. Plans for the LIRR connection were revived in the late 1990s. The project received federal funding in 2006, and construction began the following year. The tunnels on the Manhattan side were dug from 2007 to 2011, and the connecting tunnels on the Queens side were completed in 2012. Afterward, work began on other facilities related to the line, such as new platforms at Grand Central, ventilation and ancillary buildings, communication and utility systems, and supporting rail infrastructure in Queens. The completion of the line has been delayed several times since construction started.


title: East Side Access

text: The new LIRR terminal will contain eight tracks and four platforms in a two-level station below street level. It is being built in conjunction with several other LIRR expansion projects, including an additional track along parts of the Main Line and a new Sunnyside station in Queens. The project is intended to remove or reduce the need for subway transfers for many riders, as many office jobs are in the Midtown East section of Manhattan and many others will be reachable by a single transfer.


title: East Side Access

text: The East Side Access project is based on regional planning proposals that were first brought up in the 1950s. In March 1954, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) issued a $658 million construction program. The proposal included a tunnel for the Second Avenue Subway, which would cross the East River between 76th Street in Manhattan and Astoria in Queens before continuing onto the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)'s Main Line in Queens. The 76th Street tunnel proposal resurfaced in 1963, though the location of the tunnel was changed several times thereafter. In 1965, the NYCTA finally decided to construct the subway tunnel at 63rd Street.


title: East Side Access

text: The first proposals to bring LIRR service to a terminal in eastern Midtown Manhattan arose in 1963. To facilitate planning for this terminal, a third track was added to the plans for the 63rd Street subway tunnel in April 1966. The track would serve LIRR trains to east Midtown, alleviating train traffic into Penn Station on Manhattan's west side while integrating the LIRR with the subway. A fourth track was added to the plans in August 1966 after it was determined that LIRR trains would be too large to run on subway tracks. This amendment increased the number of LIRR tracks to two, and provided segregated tracks for the LIRR and the subway.


title: East Side Access

text: In February 1968, the NYCTA's parent company, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), released the Program for Action, which proposed numerous improvements to subway, railway, and airport service in the New York metropolitan area. The plan included a new LIRR terminal at a proposed Metropolitan Transportation Center at Third Avenue and 48th Street in East Midtown. It also included connections to Grand Central Terminal, with a new northern entrance leading to the center, and the Second Avenue Subway, among other transit services. The new LIRR line was to branch off from existing lines in Sunnyside, Queens, and enter Manhattan using the new two-level 63rd Street Tunnel. The upper level was to be used by the New York City Subway's 63rd Street lines and the lower level was to be used by the LIRR. According to renderings of the transportation center, the mezzanine would be placed above four island platforms and eight tracks, which would be split evenly across two levels, similar to the structure under construction at Grand Central.


title: East Side Access

text: Construction on the project began in 1969. Four prefabricated sections of the 63rd Street Tunnel were constructed under the East River, the first of which was delivered in May 1971. That first section was lowered into place on August 29, 1971, and the last section was lowered on March 14, 1972. The double-deck, tunnel under the East River was "holed through" on October 10, 1972, with the separate sections of tunnels being connected. The estimated cost of the project was $341 million, and the MTA applied for $227 million in Federal funds.


title: East Side Access

text: Plans to build the Manhattan terminal in the Turtle Bay neighborhood were opposed by residents who feared it would change the neighborhood and bring traffic congestion; they suggested it be built at Grand Central instead. MTA officials countered that there were too many rail lines at Grand Central, and that adding the LIRR would further strain the Lexington Avenue Line. If it were on Third Avenue, passengers would have been more inclined to use the Second Avenue Subway, which was partially under construction at the time. On April 16, 1973, a Federal directive directed New York State to consider expanding and modernizing Grand Central before building the new terminal under Third Avenue.


title: East Side Access

text: Preliminary planning for the Metropolitan Transportation Center had been completed by January 1975. Due to continued opposition to the Transportation Center, a "Grand Central Alternative" was published in September 1976. It called for the LIRR to use Grand Central Terminal's lower level instead. In 1977, the MTA's board of directors voted to use Grand Central as the terminal for the proposed LIRR route.


title: East Side Access

text: Due to the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis, the LIRR project was canceled long before the tunnel was completed. "The New York Times" noted that the lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel was still under construction by 1976, even though "officials knew that the tunnel would never be used." Richard Ravitch, the MTA chairman, said that to stop the work was impossible or so costly as to make it impractical subsequent to the construction of the subway portion." The lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel was completed along with the upper subway level. The western end of the tunnel lay dormant under Second Avenue at 63rd Street for three decades. By the time that construction on the LIRR tunnel level stopped, the tunnel was built for a distance of . The 8,600-foot "tunnel to nowhere" was completed "largely for structural reasons — to support the subway tunnel above."


title: East Side Access

text: The 63rd Street subway line and LIRR tunnel were completed as far as 29th Street in Long Island City, Queens, with the subway level of the tunnel opening in 1989. The LIRR tunnel remained unused beneath the subway tracks. In 1994, work began to extend the 63rd Street subway tunnel east to connect to the Queens Boulevard subway line; the LIRR tunnel was also extended east, under 41st Avenue in Queens to the west side of Northern Boulevard in Queens. The subway connector was opened to full-time F train service in December 2001.


title: East Side Access

text: Plans were made in 1995 to bring LIRR service to East Midtown, and had resurfaced by the turn of the century. At the time, the MTA was quoted as saying that the LIRR East Side connection would not be completed within the next generation. Two years later, in 1997, U.S. Senator Al D'Amato started petitioning for an allocation of federal money to connect the LIRR to Grand Central. New York Governor George Pataki had previously proposed completing the project, but D'Amato's support, as well as the promise of financial backing, increased the likelihood that construction would actually commence. At the time, if everything went favorably, the LIRR link could open by 2010. By that time, the LIRR was the busiest commuter railroad in the United States, with an average of 269,400 passengers each weekday in 1999. As of 1998, there were almost 1.77 million jobs in Manhattan. An increasing number of these jobs were white-collar "office" jobs, with most of these new jobs in East Midtown. Penn Station, located on the West Side, was operating at capacity due to a complex track interlocking and limited capacity in the East River Tunnels.


title: East Side Access

text: In 1999, the MTA proposed a $17 billion five-year capital budget. This budget included a $1.6 billion LIRR connection to Grand Central, as well as several subway extensions. The project's final environmental impact assessment (FEIS) was released in March 2001. The FEIS reviewed two key options for bringing LIRR service to Grand Central. The first option was to connect the tunnels to the existing lower level at Grand Central, while the second option was to build an entirely new station underneath the Metro-North Railroad's existing upper- and lower-level platforms at Grand Central. The MTA ultimately recommended selecting the second option because it was cheaper and less disruptive to Metro-North service. Two months later, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave a favorable "Record of Decision", a mark of approval, to East Side Access after reviewing the project's FEIS.


title: East Side Access

text: After the September 11, 2001, attacks, the MTA announced plans to accelerate the timeline for constructing East Side Access. LIRR president Kenneth J. Bauer stated, "The incident of September 11 shows the importance of East Side Access to a greater degree. If something happened at the East River tunnel, you wouldn't be able to run trains to Penn Station." The MTA and Governor Pataki supported East Side Access and the Second Avenue Subway, both of which involved building new railroad infrastructure on the East Side. In 2002, Congress passed a bill that allocated $132 million for infrastructure projects in New York State, of which $14.7 million was to go toward funding East Side Access. Approval of a final design for East Side Access was granted in 2002, and the first properties for East Side Access were acquired in 2003.


title: East Side Access

text: In 2004, some business owners in Midtown announced their opposition to a proposed 16-story ventilation building at 50th Street east of Madison Avenue. They stated that the building would cause pollution and that it could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks. In particular, Catholic Archbishop Cardinal Edward Egan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York was concerned about the impact of East Side Access on St. Patrick's Cathedral, which faced Fifth Avenue with its back on Madison Avenue north of 50th Street. Despite this, the MTA affirmed its plans for the ventilation tower at that location. After continued opposition from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and other nearby entities, the MTA reduced the size of the building and relocated the structure's cooling towers.


title: East Side Access

text: Funding for MTA capital projects such as East Side Access, the Second Avenue Subway, and the 7 Subway Extension were included in the Rebuild and Renew Transportation Bond Act of 2005. As part of this act, the state would take on $2.9 billion in debt to issue bonds to fund these projects. Voters ultimately approved the bond issue by a margin of 55% to 44%. The federal government committed to provide $2.6 billion to help build the project by signing a full funding grant agreement in December 2006. The construction contract for a tunnel in Manhattan westward and southward from the dormant lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel to the new station beneath Grand Central Terminal was awarded in July 2006. The contract went to Dragados/Judlau, a joint American–Spanish venture whose American headquarters were in College Point, Queens, close to the East Side Access site. The total contract award was $428 million and used two large tunnel boring machines. After Hurricane Sandy flooded the East River Tunnels between Queens and Penn Station in 2012, officials prioritized the construction of East Side Access so that LIRR trains could be diverted to Grand Central, allowing the East River Tunnels to be renovated.


title: East Side Access

text: Work on the Manhattan side included building a new 8-track train station with storage tracks extending to 38th Street. North of the station, the tunnels would connect to the 63rd Street Tunnel's lower level. The new station would be housed in two gigantic caverns blasted out of the Manhattan schist rock formation under the station. A three-level structure was being built in each cavern, with one train platform and two tracks each on the top and bottom levels. A passenger concourse was being constructed between each cavern's upper and lower levels. An upper-level concourse, accessed by a series of stairs, elevators, and escalators, would replace ten tracks on the west side of Metro-North's Madison Yard. The cavern structure is located under the Park Avenue Viaduct, which surrounds Grand Central Terminal, while the storage tracks are located under the Park Avenue Tunnel, which is located south of Grand Central Terminal.


title: East Side Access

text: The track connections from the new station to the 63rd Street Tunnel were excavated using tunnel boring machines. The first machine was delivered in May 2007. Dragados/Judlau created a launch chamber for the tunnel boring machines under Second Avenue at 63rd Street in Manhattan using a controlled drill-and-blast method, then assembled and launched each 640-ton machine. The first tunnel boring machine was launched westbound then southbound from the 63rd Street Tunnel in September 2007, and it reached Grand Central Terminal in July 2008. The second machine began boring a parallel tunnel in December 2007 and had completed its tunnel at 37th Street on September 30, 2008. Geocomp Corporation was hired to monitor the boring, using a battery of instruments to record vibration, ground settlement and any tilting or drift suffered by the tunnel boring machines. The instruments include inclinometers, extensometers, seismographs, observation wells, dynamic strain gauges, tilt meters and automated motorized total stations with prismatic targets. The tunnel boring machines bored an average of per day. Cross-connections between the tunnels were created under Park Avenue, between 49th and 51st Streets, by controlled drill-and-blast. The work began in mid-July 2008 and required between six and eight months to complete.


title: East Side Access

text: In April 2008, the MTA awarded Dragados/Judlau another contract. The $506 million contract was for excavating caverns for the three-level platform structures, mezzanine, escalators, passageways, and track crossovers. The MTA gave Gramercy Group Inc. the $38.9 million contract to reconfigure part of Madison Yard in March 2009. In September 2009, the MTA awarded Yonkers Contracting Company a $40.8 million contract to demolish a building at 47 East 44th Street and construct a ventilation plant & concourse entrance on the building site, along with constructing a station entrance at an existing office tower at 245 Park Avenue (at East 46th Street). Smaller contracts for electrical installations and structural repairs were also awarded in 2008. In 2010, the New York City Business Integrity Commission found that a subcontractor for the East Side Access project was involved with an organized crime family. The subcontractor, who had been hired to haul away the dirt from the excavation process, was replaced.


title: East Side Access

text: In July 2011, after the tunnel boring machines finished drilling through the Grand Central station box, they were left in place under 38th Street and Park Avenue, as it was more economical than disassembling them in Queens and selling them for scrap, which could have added $9 million to the project's final cost. The next step in construction was to make cast-in-place concrete sections to create the tunnel lining. Each tunnel was in diameter, with an average depth of beneath street level.


title: East Side Access

text: In September 2014, the MTA opened a pocket park, at 48 East 50th Street between Madison and Park Avenues, created along with a $97 million ventilation facility at that location. The pocket park, known as 50th Street Commons, has a capacity of 100 people standing, or 40 people sitting down. The park, containing abundant greenery along a granite backdrop with tables and chairs, was meant to reduce noise pollution from the ventilation facility, which also served as an emergency exit.


title: East Side Access

text: On October 26, 2015, a seating area in Grand Central Terminal's lower-level dining concourse was closed in order to build structural framework that would allow for the construction of stairways and escalators between the concourse and new LIRR station. This was deemed a major milestone in the construction of East Side Access by Dr. Michael Horodniceanu, President of MTA Capital Construction. On November 10, 2015, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to celebrate the emergence of the project into Grand Central Terminal.


title: East Side Access

text: On January 27, 2016, the final major contract for the construction of East Side Access was awarded to Tutor Perini Corporation. The contract was for the construction of four railroad platforms and eight tracks for the new Grand Central Terminal. The first tracks inside the 63rd Street Tunnel were laid in September 2017. The pre-cast platforms inside Grand Central Terminal were completed in May 2018, followed by the completion of the tracks in August 2018. The MTA also started installing escalators between the lower concourse and the platform mezzanine. Beginning in April 2018, the MTA began conducting site tours of the project; it had given 35 tours by September 2018. In advance of the planned deconstruction of 270 Park Avenue above East Side Access, the MTA and 270 Park Avenue's owner JPMorgan Chase signed an agreement in July 2019, in which JPMorgan agreed to ensure that the deconstruction of 270 Park Avenue would not disrupt the timeline of East Side Access.


title: East Side Access

text: Previous work extending subway service through the upper level of the 63rd Street Tunnel to lines in Queens also extended the lower level to a point west of Northern Boulevard, across from the Sunnyside Yard. Work in Queens included extending the tunnel under Northern Boulevard and boring four tunnels under Sunnyside Yard. This was a particularly delicate and expensive task due to the existence of the elevated BMT Astoria Line and the underground IND Queens Boulevard Line directly above. In addition, the existing tunnel bell mouth west of Northern Boulevard was expanded to serve as the staging area for the Manhattan work, bringing in workers, equipment and supplies, and bringing out the muck and debris from excavation. A temporary narrow-gauge railway and a conveyor belt system were constructed behind the tunnel boring machines and through the 63rd Street Tunnels to the Queens bell mouth. Due to its shape, the Queens work site was nicknamed the "Q-tip".


title: East Side Access

text: Pile Foundation Construction Company built an $83 million cut structure, which extends the tracks under Northern Boulevard into the Sunnyside Yard. It created an area that served as both the launch chamber for soft-bore Queens tunnels, connecting the 63rd Street line to the main LIRR branches, and an interlocking and emergency exit and venting facility. The cut was then covered with a deck. In August 2009, Perini Corp. was awarded a $144 million contract to reconfigure the Harold Interlocking, increasing its capacity to accommodate trains bound for Grand Central Terminal and to construct new yard lead tracks to allow trains to enter the storage yards. Smaller contracts for structural work, environmental monitoring, and data measurement were also awarded. Some Amtrak buildings in Sunnyside Yard were demolished to make room for the East Side Access portals in Queens.


title: East Side Access

text: In September 2009, the MTA awarded Granite-Traylor-Frontiere Joint Venture a $659.2 million contract to employ two 500-ton slurry tunnel boring machines to create the tunnels connecting the LIRR Main Line and the Port Washington Branch to the 63rd Street Tunnel under 41st Avenue. The four tunnels, with precast concrete liners, total in length. The contract included a $58 million option to dig three tunnel pits and three emergency shafts, as well as complete an open cut. The two custom-built slurry TBMs, which could dig through several types of earth, were the first such machines to be used in the New York City area.


title: East Side Access

text: The two tunnel boring machines began digging on the Queens side in April 2011. On December 22, 2011, breakthrough was achieved in Tunnel "A" of the four Queens tunnel drives from the 63rd Street Tunnel bellmouth. By July 25, 2012, all four Queens tunnel drives were complete. In April 2014, contracts were awarded for the final modifications for the tunnels, as well as for communication systems.


title: East Side Access

text: The scope of the project within Queens also included the construction of two bypass tunnels for Amtrak trains within Harold Interlocking. While eastbound Amtrak trains to New England would be able to go through the interlocking without crossing the paths of East Side Access trains, westbound Amtrak trains to Penn Station would use tracks that intersected East Side Access tracks. East Side Access trains to Grand Central came from the east and would diverge to the northwest while Amtrak trains to Penn Station came from the north and would continue west, so the final environmental impact statement called for a bypass for westbound trains. Around $295 million was allocated for the bypass in 2011, and work on this project started in 2013. However, by October 2015, the tunnels were behind schedule because Amtrak and the MTA could not cooperate on track access schedules. These delays ultimately raised construction costs by almost $1 billion as of April 2018, and in a report that month, the MTA attributed the delays to a lack of cooperation on Amtrak's part. The work at Harold Interlocking also included the installation of a microprocessor-based signal system, replacing the old track circuit-based signal system.


title: East Side Access

text: In July 2018, workers started realigning tracks to make way for the construction of the Queens tunnel portal, which was the final major contract not underway at the time. The realignment of the three westbound Main Line and Port Washington Branch tracks, as well as the construction of a new eastbound Main Line track to replace an existing track, were completed by the end of summer 2018. The last major construction contract, $60 million for the relocation of tracks in Harold Interlocking and the construction of a tunnel portal structure for Tunnel B/C, was awarded to Skanska in October 2018. Work on the tunnel structure was expected to begin in mid-2019 and be complete by mid-2021. Work on the Midday Storage Yard also progressed, and by 2019, tracks were being laid in the storage yard. The portal for Tunnel B/C had been completed by early 2021, and the yard was 99 percent complete by that May.


title: East Side Access

text: By May 2021, finishes were being placed in the station; the third rail, signals, and other right-of-way equipment were being tested. On October 31, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul rode the first passenger test train through the East Side Access tunnels to Grand Central Terminal. In May 2022, MTA chairman Janno Lieber announced that the project was still scheduled for completion by the end of the year, and Hochul announced that the new station would be named "Grand Central Madison". More extensive tests of operation and safety features (e.g., the positive train control system) were underway and were expected to be completed by the end of 2022.


title: East Side Access

text: By late 2022, there were concerns that the project's completion could be delayed to March 2023. At the time, the MTA had not yet activated the Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System, which would automatically activate the brakes of oversized trains that attempted to enter the tunnels. In addition, mass-transit ridership declined significantly following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, and the LIRR's passenger numbers had not completely recovered more than two years later. Large amounts of office space in Midtown Manhattan were still vacant, although MTA officials expressed optimism that the completion of East Side Access would attract office workers back to Midtown. The LIRR received operational control of the Grand Central Madison station on December 9, 2022, upon which the station and tracks became subject to Federal Railroad Administration regulations.


title: East Side Access

text: Extending between Sunnyside Yard in Queens and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, the East Side Access project is creating an LIRR branch from its Main Line through new track connections at Harold Interlocking within Sunnyside Yard, and through the lower level of the existing 63rd Street Tunnel under the East River. A storage yard adjacent to Sunnyside Yard is also being built, connecting to the 63rd Street Tunnel via a loop. In Manhattan new tunnels begin at the western end of the 63rd Street Tunnel at Second Avenue, curving south under Park Avenue and entering a new LIRR terminal beneath Grand Central. Excluding storage tunnels, the project is about long, consisting of of new route in Queens, of preexisting route under the 63rd Street Tunnel, and of new route in Manhattan.


title: East Side Access

text: On the Queens side, four tunnels merge into two tracks and enter the lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel. Three of them (Tunnels A, B/C, and D) will connect to the busy Harold Interlocking, splitting off the Main Line. A fourth tunnel on a lower level will connect to the Midday Storage Yard. The Midday Storage Yard, located to the northwest of the existing Sunnyside Yard, comprises and will contain 24 storage tracks once completed. Tutor Perini is constructing the $291 million yard just south of the existing Harold Interlocking.


title: East Side Access

text: The line will then fan out into a bi-level station under Grand Central Terminal with eight tracks, four on each level. South of the station, the four tracks on each level will merge into two storage tracks, with one in each cavern on each level. These storage tracks, which extend under Park Avenue south to 38th Street, will be able to store one , 12-car train. The storage tracks were not part of the original proposal, as they were added in a 2008 modification to the plans for East Side Access.


title: East Side Access

text: The project also includes the construction of several ventilation plants. One is located at 44th Street, near the Yale Club of New York City, while another is located at 50th Street east of Madison Avenue. Ventilation facilities are also located on Park Avenue at 38th Street and at 55th Street, as well as on 63rd Street at York Avenue and at 2nd Avenue.


title: East Side Access

text: The new LIRR terminal at Grand Central, located 14 stories below ground, will have with four platforms and eight tracks, plus a new retail and dining concourse with 25 retail spaces. There will be two caverns containing one platform and two tracks on each of two levels; a mezzanine would be located between the two platform levels. The LIRR terminal would initially be accessed via stairwells, 22 elevators, and 47 escalators connecting to the existing food court at the lower level of Grand Central. The number of elevators in this terminal would exceed the 19 escalators in the remainder of the LIRR system combined.


title: East Side Access

text: The MTA originally planned to build and open additional entrances at 44th, 45th, 47th, and 48th Streets. The station would connect to existing entrances at Grand Central North. The new LIRR station would also contain entrances at 335 Madison Avenue, near the southeast corner with 44th Street; at 270 Park Avenue and 280 Park Avenue near 47th and 48th–49th Streets, respectively; and at 347 Madison Avenue, on the east side of the avenue at 45th Street. An entrance on 46th Street between Lexington and Park Avenue was also built, connecting with Grand Central North. However, the MTA later announced its intent to defer construction of an entrance at 48th Street because the owner of 415 Madison Avenue wanted to undertake a major construction project on the site. The MTA would also connect the new station to the existing 47th Street cross-passage. The escalators would be up to long and descend more than . The escalators and elevators would be among the few privately operated escalators and elevators in the entire MTA system.


title: East Side Access

text: Trains to Grand Central are expected to run 20 hours a day. Plans call for 24 trains per hour to run to Grand Central during peak morning hours, with an estimated 162,000 passenger trips to and from Grand Central on an average weekday. Bilevel rail cars, such as the LIRR's DM30AC and C3 fleet, would not be able to serve Grand Central because of low height clearances in the 63rd Street Tunnel. The project is likely to increase passenger loads on the already overcrowded IRT Lexington Avenue Line and on surface bus routes on the East Side. At the same time, the project will reduce the load on rush-hour E train service between Pennsylvania Station and Midtown East and 7 train service across the East River.


title: East Side Access

text: On June 2, 2022, the MTA announced draft timetables for the proposed service pattern after East Side Access and related infrastructure projects were completed. This is the first major overhaul of LIRR timetables in over 30 years. LIRR president Catherine Rinaldi described these changes as "revolutionary", stating that "in one stroke, we are increasing service by 40%." A virtual public meeting pertaining to service changes was scheduled for July 13, 2022, and the final timetables (with any further changes) were scheduled to be released in late 2022. Because construction was still not complete , the MTA announced that a shuttle service would operate between Grand Central Madison and Jamaica until all work was complete in early 2023.


title: East Side Access

text: The draft timetables call for off-peak and reverse-peak service to be significantly increased on most branches. For example, there would be half-hourly off-peak service on the Main Line to and from Ronkonkoma and hourly off-peak service on the West Hempstead Branch. Additionally, the draft timetables would eliminate reverse-peak service gaps of over 90 minutes along the Main Line. Most branches will also provide service to both Manhattan terminals, with a considerable increase in the total number of trains to and from Manhattan during peak hours. The inconsistent service patterns of most branches will be restructured into simpler patterns with western and eastern zones. The draft timetables call for more evenly spaced trains.


title: East Side Access

text: In addition, the draft timetables were designed to accommodate repairs to the East River Tunnels to Penn Station following damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The reduction of tunnel capacity (from four to three operational tunnels) during renovation, resulting in the need to share additional track space with Amtrak and NJ Transit, has been cited as a reason for reduction in service to Penn Station in the draft timetables. Renovation work is expected to begin no earlier than 2024 and take approximately three years to complete.


title: East Side Access

text: These changes have met generally positive reception for introducing additional flexibility to peak commuters, especially those traveling to the East Side, and facilitating the development of job centers on Long Island for reverse commuters. In the June 2022 MTA board meeting, chairman Janno Lieber described increased reverse peak service as having a "potential boom to Long Island's economy".


title: East Side Access

text: Some proposed service changes were not well received. The proposed timetables have been criticized for greatly reducing the amount of through service to Atlantic Terminal and not sufficiently augmenting peak service, with some stations even seeing a slight reduction in peak service. Additionally, reconfiguration of the track layout of Jamaica station will require Brooklyn-bound riders to perform up-and-over transfers to a new Platform F; this has been criticized as being much less convenient than cross-platform transfers, especially for disabled customers. Riders have also criticized the elimination of timed connections at Jamaica, which will no longer be built into the schedule; the MTA claims that this change will reduce delays and allow more trains to run. Some have stated that poorly-timed connections, especially to and from Brooklyn shuttles, could lengthen their daily commutes by over 20 minutes. Diesel branches are also not slated to see considerably increased service, as noted by one blogger. Despite this backlash, Lieber urged customers to "give it a chance" and declared that the MTA was "making no apologies" for the proposed service plan.


title: East Side Access

text: On September 28, 2022, following backlash from customers, the MTA announced the restoration of three express trains serving Penn Station on the Port Washington Branch, which were initially cut from the draft timetables.


title: East Side Access

text: The project's estimated cost has increased from $3.5 billion when first proposed to $4.3 billion in 1999, $5.3 billion in 2003, $6.3 billion in 2004, $7.2 billion in 2008, $8.4 billion in 2012, and either $9.7 billion or $10.8 billion in 2014. By 2017, the projected cost was either $12 billion or $10.2 billion, making it the most expensive construction project of its type in the world by either measure. The MTA budgeted a total of $10.178 billion to the project over five 5-year capital programs, up to and including the 2015–2019 capital program. Of these, 27% are federal funds and the other 73% are local funds. , the MTA had spent $7.397 billion of the available funding. , the project was expected to cost $11.1 billion, an increase from a previous estimate of $10.2 billion. The project had $10.3 billion in funding, which allowed construction to continue through 2020. The state legislature had to approve an additional $798 million to allow construction to be completed, but this had not been approved by late 2019.


title: East Side Access

text: The completion date for the project has also been pushed back multiple times. Once planned to be operational by 2009 at a cost of $4.3 billion, East Side Access was then rescheduled to open in 2017, 2016, 2018, 2019, September 2023, and then either December 2023 or late 2023. However, , the MTA was looking to start passenger service in December 2022, at an estimated cost of $11.1 billion. , the MTA had a "target revenue service" date of May 2022 (whereupon construction would be essentially complete), while the line was planned to open to the public in December 2022. The timeline was only slightly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, although social distancing measures related to the pandemic could potentially delay the timeline more.


title: East Side Access

text: In 2012, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)'s Inspector General announced that it wanted an audit done on the project, after the USDOT learned of the fourteen-year delay in the completion date and the more-than-100% cost increase. In 2015, the USDOT's Deputy Principal Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and Evaluation, Joseph W. Come, testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets. Come said that several New York City transportation projects also experienced significant delays and cost overruns. This was due to a variety of factors, such as fraud, poor management, and a lack of oversight.


title: East Side Access

text: "The New York Times" reported in 2017 that the project was slated to become the most expensive of its kind in the world. With an estimated cost of $12 billion, or approximately $3.5 billion per mile ( billion per kilometer) of new tunnel, the East Side Access tunnels were seven times as expensive as comparable railroad tunnels in other countries. Over the years, the projected cost of East Side Access had risen by billions of dollars due to unnecessary expenses. Contractors for the MTA were paid more than those working in other cities, even though that provided no construction benefits. Planning for East Side Access cost upward of $2 billion, and planning for MTA projects in general also made up a more significant part of the cost than in other cities' projects. In addition, politicians and trade unions had forced the MTA to hire more workers than were needed. In 2010, an accountant had found that the project was hiring 200 extra workers, at a cost of $1,000 per worker per day, for no apparent reason. The bidding process for MTA construction contracts also raised costs because, in some cases, only one or two contractors would bid on a project. Similar construction projects in New York City, such as the Second Avenue Subway and 7 Subway Extension, had been more expensive than comparable projects elsewhere for the same reasons, even though other cities' transit systems faced similar, or greater, problems compared to the MTA. Other delays were attributed to the fact that dozens of contracts, some of which conflicted with each other, were bid out separately. Cost increases also occurred due to changing the design while construction was underway; ordering components that were the wrong size; failing to cooperate with other transit agencies in Sunnyside Yard; and making infeasible construction-timeline estimates.


title: East Side Access

text: In September 2018, in an effort to alleviate the high costs and shorten delays, the LIRR hired Arthur R. Troup, who previously worked in high-level positions at Atlanta's and Washington, D.C.'s rapid transit systems, as the new leader for the East Side Access project.


title: East Side Access

text: Several major accidents have occurred during construction, and as a result, East Side Access has been cited for numerous safety violations. In late 2011, a construction worker died after a tunnel collapsed on him. In October 2014, a contractor who was digging wells on the Queens side accidentally punctured the subway tunnel underneath, grazing an F train with passengers inside.


title: East Side Access

text: The Arch Street Yard and Shop is located in Long Island City, near the Hunterspoint Avenue station. The yard itself has been in use since at least 1910. The Arch Street Facility includes tracks that were built on the right-of-way of the LIRR's former North Shore Branch. Although the branch formerly extended west to what is now the Gantry Plaza State Park on the East River shoreline, the Arch Street Facility's storage tracks only extend as far as 11th Street, several blocks away from the river.


title: East Side Access

text: The LIRR planned a maintenance facility in the yard as part of the East Side Access project. The building was completed in either December 2004 or June 2005. The $80.4 million facility was built using a mix of federal and non-federal funds. The LIRR had built the Arch Street Facility in advance so it could test its then-new M7 cars. When the MTA planned the facility in 2002, it had anticipated that East Side Access would open in 2011 and that the Arch Street Shop could be used to maintain the LIRR fleet. It was thought that the Hillside Facility would not be able to maintain the expanded LIRR fleet on its own. However, after the East Side Access project was repeatedly delayed, the Arch Street Facility was ultimately leased and licensed for other uses.


title: East Side Access

text: Just south of the Arch Street Yard, the Montauk Cutoff connected the Main Line to the Montauk Branch until it was decommissioned in 2015. As part of East Side Access, a portion of the cutoff was demolished to make room for the Midday Storage Yard.


title: East Side Access

text: A new LIRR train station in Sunnyside on the west side of Queens Boulevard and Skillman Avenue along the Northeast Corridor (which the LIRR uses to get into Pennsylvania Station) would be built, which would provide one-stop access for area residents to Midtown Manhattan. The station would have two side platforms and one island platform, all of which would be able to accommodate 12-car trains. In its 2015–2019 capital program, the MTA budgeted $76.5 million for the construction of the station. Construction is scheduled to start in January 2021, and is expected to be completed in December 2022.


title: East Side Access

text: The East Side Access project, along with several readiness-improvement projects, will allow the LIRR to run 24 more twelve-car trains during rush hours. This will boost its rush-hour passenger capacity from 300,000 to 425,000 daily commuters, a 45% increase.


title: East Side Access

text: Related to the MTA's East Side Access project is its long-planned widening of the two-track LIRR Main Line by adding a third track. Completion of Main Line third track construction was assumed during East Side Access project planning and referenced in the original East Side Access environmental impact statement as necessary to support service level increases caused by adding service to and from Grand Central. The MTA has said that it considers the Main Line third track an "essential" project to support East Side Access, and that the Main Line third track will "complement the East Side Access megaproject, which is doubling the LIRR's capacity into Manhattan."


title: East Side Access

text: The third track's construction was deferred indefinitely by the MTA in 2008 due to budget constraints. In January 2016, Governor Cuomo and the MTA announced plans to restart construction of the Main Line third track. In December 2017, the LIRR awarded a contract for the project to the consortium 3rd Track Constructors for $1.8 billion. A groundbreaking ceremony for the third track project was held on September 5, 2018. The third track opened in several phases and was completed by October 2022.


title: East Side Access

text: Five "readiness projects" are also under construction across the LIRR system to handle the expanded peak-hour service planned when East Side Access opens. Together, they are expected to cost $495 million.


title: East Side Access

text: The largest of these projects is at Jamaica station, where the MTA is re-configuring track layouts, installing high-speed switches, and adding a new Platform F for the Atlantic Branch. The changes will allow the Atlantic Branch to function as a high-frequency shuttle service to Atlantic Terminal, and most trains from Long Island will proceed to either Long Island City station, Penn Station, or Grand Central via the Main Line. The first phase of the project, including the new platform, was completed in 2021 at a cost of $380 million.


title: East Side Access

text: Another project will add train storage capacity at two LIRR stations. A siding near Massapequa station on the Babylon Branch will be used to store trains that originate or terminate at the station, enabling more peak-hour service to and from Penn Station/Grand Central. It was originally planned for completion in April 2019, though was delayed until June 2021. The MTA is also extending Track 2 on the Port Washington Branch, which ends as a pocket track east of Great Neck station, eastward by so it can store two trainsets. Additionally, a new bridge was built at Colonial Road near the station; it opened in May 2016 and replaced a 114-year-old span. The construction of the pocket track was originally scheduled for completion in December 2018 at a total cost of $45.2 million. However, the completion date was pushed back several times; , a tentative completion date of August 2022 was annnounced, though construction is still underway as of November 2022 and is now expected to be complete by the end of the month.


title: East Side Access

text: Finally, the MTA planned to expand two yards. The MTA expanded the rail yard along the Main Line/Ronkonkoma Branch next to Ronkonkoma station, increasing the number of tracks in the yard from 12 to 23. The project was budgeted for $128 million. Construction started in July 2017 and the expanded yard went into service in late 2020. Additionally, the Port Washington Yard, next to Port Washington station on the Port Washington Branch, was planned to be expanded to store two more ten-car trains. , construction was scheduled to begin in late 2020 or early 2021 at a cost of $500,000. However, this project met significant community opposition, primarily because of proposed reduction of parking spaces near the station. , the MTA has not come to an agreement with the Town of North Hempstead, resulting in the project being postponed indefinitely.


title: East Side Access

text: The LIRR also plans to purchase new railcars—up to 160 M9 cars—to handle the increased passenger traffic expected when East Side Access opens. They are being paid for with federal grant money attached to the project. As of June 2022, the delivery of M9s was almost three years behind schedule, reportedly due to supply chain issues and labor shortages. Only 132 of 202 cars in the base order have yet been delivered, and the additional 160 M9As will not arrive before the opening of East Side Access. The MTA thus plans to reintroduce some of the older M3 cars (which first entered service the mid-1980s) to provide the advertised additional service, until the remaining M9s for fleet expansion are delivered.


title: East Side Access

text: Redirecting LIRR trains from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal would free up tracks and platforms at Penn. This new capacity, as well as track connections resulting from the East Side Access project, would allow Metro-North Railroad trains on the New Haven Line to run to Penn Station via Amtrak's Hell Gate Bridge. Four new local Metro-North stations in the Bronx are planned as part of this project, at Co-op City, Morris Park, Parkchester, and Hunts Point. The MTA also proposes a second connection from the Metro-North's Hudson Line to Penn Station using Amtrak's West Side Line in Manhattan. The Penn Station Access project would provide direct rides from Connecticut, Westchester County, the Lower Hudson Valley, and the Bronx to West Midtown; ease reverse-commuting from Manhattan and the Bronx to Westchester County, the Lower Hudson Valley, and Connecticut; and provide transportation service to areas of the Bronx without direct subway service. In December 2021, it was announced that the project would be completed in 2027, several years later than initially proposed.


title: Sluice

text: Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered as a bottom opening in a wall. Sluice gates are one of the most common hydraulic structures in controlling flow rate and water level in open channels such as rivers and canals. They also could be used to measure the flow. A water channel containing a sluice gate forms a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. It can also be an open channel which processes material, such as a River Sluice used in gold prospecting or fossicking. A mill race, leet, flume, penstock or lade is a sluice channeling water toward a water mill. The terms sluice, sluice gate, knife gate, and slide gate are used interchangeably in the water and wastewater control industry. They are also used in wastewater treatment plants and to recover minerals in mining operations, and in watermills.


title: Sluice

text: "Sluice gate" refers to a movable gate allowing water to flow under it. When a sluice is lowered, water may spill over the top, in which case the gate operates as a weir. Usually, a mechanism drives the sluice up or down. This may be a simple, hand-operated, chain pulled/lowered, worm drive or rack-and-pinion drive, or it may be electrically or hydraulically powered. A flap sluice, however, operates automatically, without external intervention or inputs.


title: Sluice

text: Vertical rising sluice gates are the most common in open channels and can operate under two flow regimes: free flow and submerged flow. The most important depths in designing of sluice gates are:


title: Sluice

text: Flow under sluice gates could be described using energy–momentum concept by assuming that energy losses are negligible. The volumetric flow formula_7 rate under vertical sluice gates could be estimated using the following equation:


title: Sluice

text: where formula_9 represents the gravitational acceleration, and formula_10 represents the channel's width.


title: Sluice

text: where formula_12 is the contraction coefficient, formula_13, which is the ratio of the jet width to the orifice opening width or the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the jet vena contracta to its opening area. formula_14 is the ratio of the alternative depths, defined as:


title: Sluice

text: In the mountains of the United States, sluices transported logs from steep hillsides to downslope sawmill ponds or yarding areas. Nineteenth-century logging was traditionally a winter activity for men who spent summers working on farms. Where there were freezing nights, water might be applied to logging sluices every night so a fresh coating of slippery ice would reduce friction of logs placed in the sluice the following morning.


title: Sluice

text: Sluice boxes are often used in the recovery of black sands, gold, and other minerals from placer deposits during placer mining operations. They may be small-scale, as used in prospecting, or much larger, as in commercial operations, where the material is sometimes screened using a trommel, screening plant or sieve. Traditional sluices have transverse riffles over a carpet or rubber matting, which trap the heavy minerals, gemstones, and other valuable minerals. Since the early 2000s more miners and prospectors are relying on more modern and effective matting systems. The result is a concentrate which requires additional processing.


title: Sluice

text: Sinhala people in Sri Lanka who had an ancient civilization based on harvested rain water, refer to sluices as Horovuwa.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Confetti is the sixth studio album by British girl group Little Mix, released on 6 November 2020 through RCA Records. The album was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, which interfered with the subsequent promotion plan for the album. It was the group's last album to feature former group member Jesy Nelson, who left the group in December 2020, and their first album to be released under RCA Records, following their split from Syco Music.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Musically, "Confetti," is primarily a pop and R&B record with elements of 1980s pop, 2000s pop, and gospel music. Upon release the album was met with positive reviews from critics with some describing it as a solid pop album with praise given to its production. The album addresses themes of self-acceptance, self-worth, freedom, and independence. The album was supported by four singles; "Break Up Song", "Holiday", "Sweet Melody", became the group's fifth number-one single in the United Kingdom and a remix of the title track, featuring Saweetie. An expanded edition of the album was later released on 11 December 2020, and includes the stand-alone singles; "No Time for Tears" (with English DJ Nathan Dawe), "Bounce Back" and "One I've Been Missing".


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Commercially, "Confetti" peaked at two on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the fastest-selling album of 2020 by a British act, and the group's sixth album to reach the top five there, and topped the Irish Albums Chart, becoming the group's third number one album in the country. Elsewhere, it reached the top ten of the charts in ten other territories, and peaked at number eighty-five on the US Billboard 200 charts. It is currently Little Mix's highest rated album to date on Metacritic. To promote the album, the group have embarked on The Confetti Tour, and gave televised performances on "Little Mix The Search", "The Jonathan Ross Show", and the 2020 MTV EMAs.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: On 12 March 2020, Little Mix released a music video for the "LM5" (2018) album track "Wasabi". At the end of the video, the album cover for "LM5" was seen standing on a platform before being thrown out by an explosion of confetti, followed by the message 'New Era Pending'.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: On 16 September 2020, "Confetti" was announced across multiple social media platforms by Little Mix, revealing the release date of 6 November 2020, as well as the album art and the title. On 18 September, streaming services released pre-orders of the album. The standard edition has 13 tracks. On 27 October, Little Mix partnered with Amazon Alexa to release the official track listing. Fans were encouraged to say "Alexa, drop some Confetti" and they would receive a track name. The next day, 28 October, the full track listing was confirmed.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: The album was "pretty much finished" before the COVID-19 lockdowns were implemented, with "little tweaks" still to be made. As restrictions eased, each of the members individually visited the studios to add "final touches", whereas for their previous albums, they would complete the album process together. Perrie Edwards noted that it was a "weird process", but that they felt they had to complete it due to wanting "everyone to hear it". Jesy Nelson noted the contrast between "Confetti" and "LM5", stating that "LM5" was very "girl power", whereas with "Confetti", she said: "With this album, we just had fun and wrote songs that we liked and it came together". Jade Thirlwall agreed with Nelson, adding, "Not every single song has to have this super deep meaning. People know what we're about now and know what we stand for. I think "LM5" was very much about solidifying that, whereas with this album it is just about writing brilliant pop songs that we love." "Confetti" was described by Leigh-Anne Pinnock as the group's "biggest" album yet. Around the album's release, Nelson took some time out of the group's promotion schedule, citing a private medical matter. On 14 December, Nelson announced she was leaving the group due to the impact on her mental health. In a statement, she said, "I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard."


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: On 12 June 2021, a new vinyl version of the album was made available in selected stores around the world for Record Store Day 2021. The new version came in an orange and pink cover with the album title printed in cursive silver glitter. The new version exclusively featured the new remix version of the album's title track, "Confetti", featuring American rapper Saweetie.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: On 13 July 2022, a limited vinyl edition in partner-ship with UNICEF UK, Blue Vinyl series was released.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Musically, "Confetti" is a pop and R&B record, incorporating elements of synth-pop, gospel, retro and contemporary pop production that "provides its audience with a warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgic delight". The album was also described as reminiscent of the group's previous bubblegum-pop records, but with a more mature sound and "poignant lyrics". Lyrically, the songs discuss being freed from unrealistic expectations, self-acceptance, self-worth and a "fierce and mercifully coherent statement of independence".


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: "Confetti" opens with "Break Up Song", a 1980s synth-pop "kiss-off anthem" about joy and liberation that one can find in single life. It has been compared to Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer". Sam Etzioni of "Renowned for Sound" believes that the song serves as a sequel to the group's "Glory Days" track "Shout Out to My Ex". The second track, "Holiday", has a "post-Daft Punk" feel and is set to house beats. The third track, "Sweet Melody", has reggaeton beats, and lyrically is about getting over an ex-boyfriend. The title track, which serves as the fourth track of the album, is reminiscent of a compilation of early 2000s hits, and encapsulates the feel-good tone of the album as a whole. The song contains self-sufficient lyrics and promotes a focus on one's individual enjoyment of life, a lack of preoccupation with men and relationships and an appreciation for what one has right here and now.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: "Happiness", the fifth track, is a Europop-R&B song. Lyrically, the song is about finding strength from within, rather than needing a partner to draw that strength and happiness from. The lyrics are reminiscent to the group's "LM5" track "The Cure" for its message regarding self-love and acceptance. The sixth track, "Not A Pop Song", is a guitar-lead track, containing lyrics about battling unrealistic expectations and superficial standards in the pop world. The song also appears to take a swipe at Simon Cowell and his record label, Syco Music, which the group left back in 2018, with the lyrics "I don't do what Simon says". The song is also described as "the perfect ode to the stereotypical pop music factory". The seventh track, "Nothing But My Feelings", is lyrically about a "booty call". Member Jade Thirlwall said that they "[the writers] purposefully made the song seem quite innocent, but really when you look into the lyrics they're pretty filthy".


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: The eighth track, "Gloves Up", has a euphoric and deep groove with clattering rhythm that is reminiscent of 2000s R&B. The ninth track, "A Mess (Happy 4 U)", is a melodic pop song, shifting after two minutes into a dark cloud of sampled panting, booming drums and distorted vocals. "My Love Won't Let You Down", which serves as the tenth track of the album, is a gospel piano ballad. The song talks about the "human nature of friendship", and it is believed to be written as a love letter for the fans. Jacklyn Krol of "PopCrush" described the song as a "soaring ballad" and that it "shows off the group’s raw vocal talent without getting bogged down by glossy production". The eleventh track, "Rendezvous", is a contemporary pop song with hints of retro, and has been compared to the work of the Pussycat Dolls, particularly their song "Buttons". The song samples "Sway" by Dean Martin.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: "If You Want My Love", the twelfth track, is a R&B song, and has drawn comparisons to TLC and Destiny's Child. The closing track, "Breathe", is a torch song and lyrically about heartbreak. "Bounce Back" appears on the Japanese deluxe version of "Confetti", and is a trap-pop song that interpolates "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: The standard cover of the "Confetti" album depicts Nelson, Pinnock, Thirlwall, and Edwards, each wearing glittery makeup with fluorescent lights flying across the background. The name of the group can be seen at the top of the cover printed in off-white color, and the album name at the bottom. Pinnock can also be observed wearing her engagement ring in the cover artwork, after she was engaged to her fiancé Andre Gray in May 2020. The back cover also has fluorescent lights in the background, similar to the front, and displays the track list of the album. The expanded edition of the album features the same cover but with the name of the band printed in blue color. The exclusive vinyl version of the album for Record Store Day 2021 came with an orange and pink cover with the album title printed in cursive silver glitter.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: "Confetti" was supported by four singles. On 27 March 2020, "Break Up Song" was released as the lead single from the then-untitled album. The official music video for the was released on 8 May 2020. The song debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, and spent 18 weeks on the chart. The song charted in several other countries and received gold music certifications from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and from Pro-Música Brasil (PMB).


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: "Holiday" was released on 24 July 2020 and served as the album's second single. Its music video was filmed during isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in front of a greenscreen, and features the group as mermaids and goddesses. It was released on 28 August 2020. The track peaked at number fifteen on the UK Singles Chart, and charted in ten other territories. It has since been certified gold in both the United Kingdom and Brazil.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: "Sweet Melody" was announced as the album's third single on 19 October, and released on 23 October. An accompanying music video was released the same day as the song's release. The song debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at number one three months after its release, becoming the group's fifth chart-topper in the United Kingdom. The song spent thirteen weeks inside the top 10 of the UK Charts, becoming the group's longest running Top 10 single there.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: A remix of the album's title track, featuring American rapper Saweetie, was released as the fourth and final single of the album on 30 April, as announced on 21 April. The reworked version does not feature the verse by former member Nelson, as it was the group's first release as a trio, following her departure in 2020. An accompanying music video, directed by Samuel Douek, was released the same day. The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and has been certified silver by the BPI. The remix also charted in Belgium, New Zealand and Venezuela.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Prior to the album's release, three promotional singles were released, all of which had accompanying lyric videos on the group's YouTube channel. On 9 October 2020, "Not a Pop Song" was released as the album's first promotional single. On 16 October 2020, "Happiness" was released as the second promotional single. On 4 November 2020, the title track was released as the third promotional single, before being released as the album's fourth official single.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Promotion for "Confetti" and its singles was limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 21, 2020, the group first performed "Break Up Song" and "Holiday" for their virtual concert "Little Mix - UNCancelled". It was watched by over 300,000 fans and presented by Meerkat Music. They went on to perform an acoustic version of "Holiday" on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on September 15.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: The group later promoted the album and its singles on "Little Mix: The Search." The debut performance of "Sweet Melody" took place on the first live show of "Little Mix: The Search". Group member Jade Thirlwall was absent on the day of the performance as she was self-isolating as a precaution at the time. Two weeks later, they performed a mashup of "Holiday" and "Touch" on the semi-finals of the same show. It ended up being the last performance that featured all four members, before it was announced that Jesy Nelson would be taking an extended break from the group.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: On November 8, the group hosted the 2020 MTV EMAs as a trio, where they performed their single "Sweet Melody". Little Mix continued to promote the album with an appearance and a performance of "Sweet Melody" on "The Jonathan Ross Show" on 21 November 2020. They later performed "Break Up Song" on the semi-finals of BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" on 13 December 2020.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: On 17 September 2020, Little Mix announced their seventh tour, The Confetti Tour, originally scheduled to take place from 28 April to 29 May 2021, before being postponed. The tour locations were also announced, with the group scheduled to perform in cities across the UK and Ireland. Tickets were released to the general public on 25 September at 9am BST, with the option of pre-sale tickets given to those who pre-ordered "Confetti" through the group's official website. The pre-sale tickets were available from 22 to 25 September.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74 out of 100, based on ten reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews" and their highest rated to date. It was also met with universal acclaim from users with a score of 8.9 on the platform. Similarly, review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? rated "Confetti" 7.1 out of 10. "Clash"s Megan Walder praised the album's themes of "meta critiques on the music industry and driving forward with their empowering agenda to be every girl's best friend". Walder also felt that "touches of R&B, the nostalgic beats and the impeccable harmonies that the four produce offer comfort with their familiarity and still manage to feel progressive with the 2020 take on these classic elements of an iconic music era", referring to the 2000s as the iconic music era in question. Jenessa Williams of "DIY" agreed, saying that ""Confetti" feels like a proper bid for world domination, front-loaded with strong, Americanised R&B." Album tracks "Confetti" and "Rendezvous" drew comparisons to "00s compilation bangers, the sort that demand big-budget music videos that you can act out in your bedroom when no one is watching."


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Alexis Petridis from "The Guardian" awarded the album 3 out 5 stars, saying it sounded "strangely familiar", and "hard pushed to differentiate it from its predecessor ["LM5"]". Petridis noted that "Confetti" was a "box-ticking exercise in current pop trends" including '80s inspired synths ("Break Up Song"), reggaeton beats ("Sweet Melody"), post-Daft Punk house ("Holiday"), gospel ("My Love Won't Let You Down") and Europop ("Happiness"). He concluded by saying that "Confetti" is exactly what you would expect, "a solid mainstream pop album – even when it's claiming that it isn't". Meanwhile "The Independent"s Roisin O'Connor opined that the "group's clear nineties influences mesh wonderfully with contemporary pop production". In the review O'Connor said ""Confetti" doesn't stray too far from the empowered glam pop that Little Mix have made their forte. Its 13 tracks are a polished mix of flirtatious bops and high-octane tracks that celebrate self-worth... sure, there's nothing groundbreaking to be found here, but it does prove that Little Mix do just fine when they're relying on their own instincts."


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: The album was called "triumphant" and a "celebration", referencing the group's split with Simon Cowell and their former label Syco Music, by Elisa Bray from "iNews". Bray described that "Confetti" "is the confident album of a group who, approaching 30, have found their voice." Although Steven Loftin from "The Line of Best Fit" called the album a "stride forward", he said "a little more care in the craft of the big picture wouldn't go a miss". Loftin elaborated that "given the situation, almost freedom, that the assertive group find themselves in, there’s certainly a gap in "Confetti" that leaves you wishing there was a further step forward into something coherent." Writing for "musicOMH", Nick Smith said ""Confetti" sees Little Mix coming out of the starting blocks power walking. There's nothing really new here". Smith went on to criticise the Auto-tune used on some of the songs but ultimately said "these talented women are now undeniably veterans of kiss-offs and pop bangers with soaring choruses. "Confetti" is a dependable album with recipe staples, but to keep future interest piqued, something new is now required in the mix." Kate Solomon from "The Telegraph" agreed with all of the prior critics' sentiments, saying that although the album is "glorious fun" it was nothing "we haven't heard before". Solomon concluded that "Confetti" continued a trend of "high quality" music, with "consistently attainable style" and "likeable personalities". While "The Sunday Times" Will Hodgkinson said "Who would have guessed that the girl band would be thriving almost a decade later? Determination has won through and their latest album displays the chemistry and bonhomie that has got them this far." He said that the album sounded familiar, "somewhere between zippy pop and slinky R&B". Jeffrey Davies of "PopMatters", went on to call "Confetti" the group's best work to date, describing it as "entertaining but not over the top and bold but not self-serving". He also added that the album, apart from being bold and grown-up, "is campy and fun in a way that sounds completely natural to the group". Continuing his review, he stated "With this album, Little Mix have captured the best of both worlds: the beloved dance-pop that made them famous with newfound creative freedom and power". Jacklyn Krol of "PopCrush" stated that the album "packs a perfect flow that takes the listener on a journey of emotions and vibes" and that it "truly feels like a liberation for the group". "PopCrush" also included the album as one of the "25 Best Albums of 2020".


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: The album peaked at number one on the Irish Albums Charts, becoming Little Mix's third number one album in the country. On the UK Albums Chart, it debuted at number two selling over 49,000 copies in its opening week, 5,000 behind Kylie Minogue's "Disco" in which several outlets deemed to be a hotly contested chart battle. "Confetti" had the biggest first-week sales for an album by a British act in 2020, and was the fastest selling album by a British act that year. It also became the group's sixth consecutive top five studio album and since been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of 2022, the album has surpassed over 134,000 million streams in the UK.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: Outside of the United Kingdom, the album charted within the top 10 on the Australian, Croatia, Belgian, Portuguese, Dutch, New Zealand, Lithuanian, Spanish, Scottish and Austrian albums charts. It also charted within the top 20 on the German, Polish, and Swiss Albums Chart and charted in 9 other music markets including the United States. In the United States, the album debuted at number eighty-five on the US "Billboard" 200 chart.


title: Confetti (Little Mix album)

text: After the release of their sixth album, a trend called #RespectLittleMix went viral on Twitter, garning over 200,000 tweets. The trend started after fans started to have frustration towards their American label for failing to promote the group and their albums in the states. There was accusations of no physical copies of the album available for people to purchase in the states. Eventually Leigh-Anne Pinnock's mother also hit out at their US record label Columbia Records, accusing them of failing to promote the album in the US.


title: Jake Canuso

text: Jake Canuso is a Swiss actor, who is known for his role in the ITV comedy series "Benidorm", in which he played the Solana barman Mateo Castellanos from 2007 until 2018.


title: Jake Canuso

text: Canuso was born near Zurich, Switzerland, to immigrants from southern Italy. He moved to the UK when he was 18 years old.


title: Jake Canuso

text: Canuso survived the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004, whilst on holiday in Ko Phra Thong, Thailand. He climbed a tree after seeing the first waves, and was trapped underwater after the tree snapped. He developed aquaphobia and did not swim in water for several years.


title: Jake Canuso

text: Previously a dancer, Canuso appeared dressed as a ballet dancer in the music video for "No More I Love You's" by Annie Lennox. He also appeared in the video of Kakko's 1990 song "We Should Be Dancing", JX's "Son of a Gun", Alex Party's "Don't Give Me Your Life", Carter USM's "Let's Get Tattoos", 2 unlimited's "Here I Go", and Emma Bunton's "Crickets Sing for Anamaria". Canuso also toured as a dancer for acts including the Spice Girls, Elton John and Annie Lennox. He also appeared as a dancer on "Top of the Pops".


title: Jake Canuso

text: Canuso stars in the ITV comedy series "Benidorm" as flirtatious barman Mateo Castellanos and is the sitcom's longest-serving actor, appearing in all 74 episodes. Canuso was chosen along with several other members of the cast to star in "Benidorm Live", a touring stage adaptation of the show.


title: Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University

text: Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), formerly Kanpur University, is a public state university located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar Pradesh.


title: Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University

text: The administration is the Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor and the members of the executive council, the court and the academic council of the university.


title: Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University

text: The Kulpati (Vice-Chancellor) is a whole-time salaried officer of the university and is appointed by the chancellor from amongst the names submitted to him by a committee constituted in accordance with the provisions above U.P. Universities Act 1973.


title: Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University

text: The university is affiliating university all non engineering, non medical (including pharmacy), non MBA degree, non MCA degree offering colleges of Auraiya district, Etawah district, Farrukhabad district, Kannauj district, Kanpur Dehat district, Kanpur Nagar district and Unnao district from the year of 2020. Notable affiliated colleges include DAV College, Kanpur, Vikramajit Singh Sanatan Dharma College, Christ Church College, Kanpur, Chaudhary Charan Singh Post Graduate College etc.


title: Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University

text: The list of formerly affiliated notable college who now have university status or now affiliated with another university-


title: What's My Age Again?

text: "What's My Age Again?" is a song by American rock band Blink-182. It was released in April 1999 as the lead single from the group's third studio album, "Enema of the State" (1999), released through MCA Records. "What's My Age Again?" shares writing credits between the band's guitarist Tom DeLonge and bassist Mark Hoppus, but Hoppus was the primary composer of the song. It was the band's first single to feature drummer Travis Barker. A mid-tempo pop punk song, "What's My Age Again?" is memorable for its distinctive, arpeggiated guitar intro.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The song lyrically revolves around the onset of age and maturity, and the failure to implement changes in one's behavior. Hoppus declined to label the song as autobiographical, but admitted that he spent his twenties acting immature. The trio recorded the song with producer Jerry Finn. It was originally titled "Peter Pan Complex", an allusion to the pop-psychology concept, but the record label found the reference obscure and adjusted the title. The song's signature music video famously features the band running nude on the streets of Los Angeles. It received heavy rotation on MTV and other music video channels.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: It became one of the band's best-performing singles, peaking at number two on "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. for ten weeks. The song placed at number three in Italy and number 17 in the United Kingdom. Primarily an airplay hit, the song was the band's first to cross over to pop radio, hitting number 58 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The song received positive reviews and has been called a classic pop punk track; "NME" placed it at number 117 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" in 2012.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Blink-182, consisting of bassist Mark Hoppus, guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Scott Raynor, formed in the early 1990s, and by the end of the decade, had reached commercial success with their second album, 1997's "Dude Ranch". Its lead single, "Dammit (Growing Up)", became one of the most-played U.S. modern rock hits of 1998, sending its parent album to a gold certification and bringing the members newfound notoriety and wealth. With his first advance from major-label MCA, Hoppus purchased a home in the band's hometown of San Diego, California. Hoppus developed "What's My Age Again?" while sitting on the floor and playing guitar in his kitchen/living room. He was attempting to play the song "J.A.R." by Green Day, which has a distinctive intro on bass guitar. While practicing playing the riff, Hoppus came up with a new song derived from his failure to perform the part correctly.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Though he initially developed it as a vulgar joke song, he felt it had potential as a regular tune. Hoppus claims it took him five minutes to write. He later presented the song to the band while rehearsing at DML Studios in Escondido, California, where they had booked time for two weeks to write new songs. Earlier that year, Raynor had been expelled from the group and replaced with percussionist Travis Barker, previously of the ska-punk act the Aquabats. He and DeLonge found the composition agreeable and further developed it in the rehearsal space. The story in the song is not strictly autobiographical, but its central theme resonated with Hoppus, who spent his twenties by his own admission "acting like a jackass teenager". Barker agreed, later commenting: "[Mark] was a grown man but kept acting like a kid." Many Blink songs center on maturity—"more specifically, their lack of it, their attitude toward their lack of it, or their eventual wide-eyed exploration of it" according to writer Nitsuh Abebe.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: "What's My Age Again?" is credited to Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus. Though Barker helped write the songs on "Enema of the State", only Hoppus and DeLonge received songwriting credits, as Barker was technically a hired musician, not official band member. The song is two minutes and twenty-eight seconds long. The song is composed in the key of G-flat major and is set in time signature of common time with a driving tempo of 158 beats per minute. Hoppus' vocal range spans from Db to Gb. It follows a I–V–vi–IV chord progression, common across several genres of music. The band utilize the progression in numerous other singles; music educator and author Dan Bennett claims the progression is sometimes called the "pop-punk progression" because of its frequent use in the genre. The song is incredibly brief compared to most singles; within one minute, nearly two full verses and a chorus have been completed, and it in total runs two minutes and twenty-six seconds.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The song opens with a catchy, arpeggiated guitar part, following the song's chords in playing the root of each chord. The part has been considered tricky to perform; given its quick, articulated nature, it can be difficult to skip over the strings properly. Hoppus's bass line, which has been compared to the Pixies' song "Debaser", situates on the root notes of each chord. The song's first verse detail an intimate relationship gone awry. Hoppus sings of wearing cologne in hopes to impress a girl on a weekend date. Upon returning home, foreplay ensues, during which the protagonist begins watching television. This prompts his insulted partner to leave, leading into the song's chorus, in which Hoppus sings that "nobody likes you when you're 23." Hoppus was 26 when he wrote the song, and only included the lyric to rhyme. The song utilizes power chords in its chorus, and substitutes the arpeggiated intro for palm-muted power chords in the succeeding verse.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Each chorus is lyrically distinct, which was one of Hoppus's original goals; he felt this approach kept the song interesting and advanced the story in a creative way. Hoppus had once read that "the best art is the evolution of familiarity": an artist introduces an idea, a listener connects with it, and the artist slightly alters the original idea to retain a familiar feeling.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: After further development, the group presented it to producer Jerry Finn. A veteran engineer, Finn came to fame mixing Green Day's breakthrough album "Dookie" (1994). Finn was suggested by the label as an option for producing "Enema of the State"; the band got along with him immediately, and continued to work with him on their future projects. Finn would suggest and make adjustments where necessary, though in the case of "What's My Age Again?", he had little notes. By the time Hoppus presented the song to his bandmates, the first verse and chorus were written, with its second verse and bridge section needing further work. Hoppus and DeLonge crafted an instrumental bridge that went on for eight measures, which all agreed felt too long. Finn assisted in shortening the section, and the group recorded a demo at DML Studios.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Within the new year, the group recorded the song proper. The drums on "Enema of the State" were tracked at Mad Hatter Studios in North Hollywood, a space once owned by jazz musician Chick Corea. Hoppus remembered that Finn was meticulous in recording the kit, spending hours on microphone placement, as well as picking compressors and at which rate they would run. Barker recorded his drum portions, as well as the rest of the album's twelve songs, in eight hours. From there, Hoppus and DeLonge recorded their bass and guitar tracks at multiple studios throughout Los Angeles and San Diego. The band brought in session musician Roger Joseph Manning Jr.—best known for his career in the band Jellyfish and work with Beck—to add keyboard parts in the background of the song.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The song originally concluded after its final chorus. While recording, Hoppus liked how the arpeggiated chord progression continued over the rhythm guitar line in the last chorus, and wished to extend its length to highlight this element. In the pre-digital recording environment, this required the team to "bounce" the mix from the analog tape recorder (a 24 track 2-inch tape) to another tape, and splice the recordings together. With recording complete, the song was sent to engineer Tom Lord-Alge, who mixed the song at his South Beach Studios facility in Miami Beach, Florida. Lord-Alge had had previously remixed the "Dude Ranch" singles "Dammit" and "Josie" for radio, and would work with the group frequently in the future. Lord-Alge added subtle touches, including a panning effect for the title phrase in the last chorus.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The working title for the song was "Peter Pan Complex", referencing the popular psychology concept of an adult who is socially immature. Executives at MCA Records were uncertain that listeners would connect with the title, given it goes unmentioned in the song's lyrics. Previously, the label had appended parentheses to its two stateside singles from "Dude Ranch": "Dammit (Growing Up)" and "Josie (Everything's Gonna Be Fine)". The label was also concerned about litigation from the Walt Disney Company, who held rights to the name following their film adaption. The band disliked the suggestion, but given the creative freedom MCA had afforded them throughout recording, agreed to the change. Hoppus later conceded the new title made more sense and "feels right". Band management and label executives saw a strong single in "What's My Age Again?" although DeLonge felt otherwise: "I didn't understand it, because up to that point, we hadn't had a big single."


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Commercially, "What's My Age Again?" became one of the band's best-performing singles. It was picked as the lead single from "Enema of the State". It was first serviced to radio in April 1999, and premiered on KROQ-FM, an influential Los Angeles alternative station. Hoppus remembered the group were finalizing mixing the album when the song debuted. The song did best on "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart; the song first entered the chart during the week of May 8, where it debuted at number 21. It first hit the top five during the week of June 5, and hit number two on July 24, where it remained for ten weeks behind the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Scar Tissue". The song crossed over to mainstream radio in mid-1999, where it debuted at number 71 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on July 17. It later peaked at number 58 in the issue dated October 23. The song had previously peaked at number 51 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart on September 11. In the United Kingdom, the song was released twice, first on September 20, 1999, and again on June 26, 2000, following the success of "All the Small Things. The 2000 re-release peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Carrie Bell at "Billboard" deemed the song a "peppy punk anthem" while "Spin" columnist Jeffery Rotter called it an "ideal tonic for back-to-school nausea." A "Kerrang!" writer called the song "ridiculously infectious," while the "New Musical Express" ("NME") derided the song as "more mindless, punk-pop guitar thrashing from the world's current favorite American brats ... on the plus side, the song — much like Blink-182's career, we hope — only lasts for two-and-a-half minutes." Stephen Thompson, writing for "The A.V. Club", complimented its catchy sensibility, remarking, "you'll never go broke creating an anthem for immature post-adolescents, even working within a well-worn genre."


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Later reviews have subsequently been positive. Jon Blisten of Beats Per Minute deemed it one of the record's "finest songs," calling it a "twisted, self-depreciating examination of man-children." In 2014, Chris Payne of "Billboard" called it "the quintessential Blink manifesto — the story of a twenty-something who still acts like a child." The website Consequence of Sound, in a 2015 top 10 of the band's best songs, ranked it as number six, with writer Collin Brennan observing that its title is "the question underpinning the entire Blink ethos".


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The music video for "What's My Age Again?", directed by Marcos Siega, features the band running in the nude through the streets of Los Angeles, as well as through commercials and daily news programs. It was filmed shortly after completing the album, and was co-directed by Brandon PeQueen. Siega and PeQueen developed the idea from the band's onstage antics; Barker would often strip down to his boxers due to heat, while Hoppus would sometimes disrobe entirely, with only his bass guitar covering his genitals. Siega had known the band for many years at that point, having seen them play small clubs years before. He partially credited the idea to a late-night talk show segment about a streaker. Hoppus and DeLonge were immediately receptive to the idea; Barker less so. "My brain kept going to the sort of anti-establishment punk rock ethic that I associated them with. But not in an aggro way. They always came across to me as doing it with a wink," Siega later recalled.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The group wore flesh-colored Speedos for most scenes. The clip features a cameo appearance by porn star Janine Lindemulder, the model featured on the cover of "Enema of the State". Barker remembered that motorists "kept staring at us and honking their horns," and that the entire filming took nearly fifteen hours. "They almost got into accidents," Hoppus told "Rolling Stone".


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The video first began receiving airplay in early May 1999, debuting on U.S. television channels MTV, MTV2 and The Box. The video was MTV's second-most played video for the week ending August 1, and remained a popular video on the channel for over two years. The video was nominated for Best Alternative Video at the 2000 MVPA Awards, but lost to Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly". The band referenced the clip at the 1999 "Billboard" Awards, which opened with a clip of the band streaking through Las Vegas, as well as through appearances on "Total Request Live" and the scripted sitcom "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place". "Entertainment Weekly" writer Chris Willman called the video "ubiquitous".


title: What's My Age Again?

text: The video gave the band a reputation for nudity, leading many critics to pigeonhole them as a joke act. "It became something of an albatross as band members grew up," wrote Richard Harrington of "The Washington Post". "You know, when we were filming the video for "What's My Age Again?" the whole naked thing was only funny for like 10 minutes. Then, I was the guy standing naked on the side of the street Los Angeles with cars driving by me giving me the finger and shit. It's funny watching the video now, but at the time, it stopped being funny ten minutes in, and it definitely wasn't funny three days into it," recalled Tom DeLonge.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: This reputation would lead the band members to take control of their marketing and image, as DeLonge later commented in 2014:


title: What's My Age Again?

text: "What's My Age Again?" has endured as among the band's most popular songs, and has widely been considered a watershed moment for pop punk as a genre. Several of the group's contemporaries ranked the song among the genre's most influential, including Jack Barakat of All Time Low, Pierre Bouvier and Chuck Comeau from Simple Plan, and Tyson Ritter of the All-American Rejects. "Rolling Stone" Nicole Frehsée wrote that, "For a new generation of emo fans and bands, Blink's irreverent, upbeat take on punk rock with hits like "What's My Age Again?" and "All the Small Things" was hugely influential." Twenty years after the song's release, Hoppus noted that fans often decorate birthday cakes on their 23rd birthday with the lyric "Nobody likes you when you're 23", which he felt was an honor. The band later paid homage to the song's infamous video in the music video for their 2016 single "She's Out of Her Mind". The clip sees modern-day social media personalities running in the nude in Los Angeles. Lindemulder's place in the video was taken by actor and comedian Adam DeVine.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: "The Hollywood Reporter" Mischa Pearlman, in a review a 2013 concert by the group, wrote that the song "visibly infects every member of the audience. Because it's a song that recalls the reckless abandon of youth, and the carelessness of growing up." Although the magazine gave the song a scathing review upon its initial release, "NME" placed it at number 117 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" nearly thirteen years later, writing, "Few songs capture the urge of wanting to act stupid and be immature as well as this 2000 single does. [...] This is everything pop punk does well. Its guitar riffs seem to have been soaked in Relentless and its chorus makes you want to jump around the room. It's been imitated thousands of times since, but nothing's come close to this..."


title: What's My Age Again?

text: By the late 2000s, club promoters in the U.K. created nights based around lasting appreciation of the pop punk genre, including one named after "What's My Age Again?", described as a night celebrating "pop-punk, youthful abandon and teenage riot". British radio station BBC Radio 1 have a section on one of their shows named after the single and using it as the theme song. Greg James originated the game on his drivetime show, and has moved it to The BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show. The game sees Greg pitted against an opponent, typically a fellow Radio 1 DJ/presenter or celebrity guest. In the game, three listeners phone in and talk to the competitors, who take it in turns to ask questions, then try to guess the listeners' age.


title: What's My Age Again?

text: On March 26, 2019, the song was lauded by Princeton professor of music Steven Mackey during an interview between Hoppus and Mackey given at Princeton University. Mackey praised the lyrics by saying, "it's very much this portrait of this kind of 23 year old... Peter Pan complex", noting his enjoyment of the structure of the song, as well as its tone. Mackey stated, "after the second chorus there's this instrumental break. And there's a lot of instrumental breaks in blink, which I really like. This one in particular, it goes to a minor key. All of a sudden, it's kind of melancholy. And when they come out of that instrumental break, and I hear the rest of the words, it's sort of like... I feel like, wow, was that a moment of reflection? And then it's like, 'Ah, fuck it. Whatever.' It has that feeling. It sort of deepens it for me."


title: What's My Age Again?

text: In May 2019, the band recorded a live mashup of the song with hip hop artist Lil Wayne, to promote their joint headlining tour. The track combines "What's My Age Again? and Wayne's 2008 single "A Milli". The duo later released a joint digital single featuring a studio version of the mashup in August of that year. The track features Matt Skiba, who replaced founding guitarist Tom DeLonge in 2015, performing backing vocals and guitar. A press release promoted the new version, which was released to promote the second leg of the aforementioned tour, as a "new take on the track."


title: What's My Age Again?

text: "The Fader" contributor Jordan Darville noted that Wayne altered a lyric from his original verse, substituting the term "crackers" for "bitches".


title: What's My Age Again?

text: Credits adapted from the YouTube video for "What's My Age Again?" / "A Milli". Barker is credited with songwriting on this edition, as opposed to his original credits for "Enema of the State".


title: Claremont serial killings

text: The Claremont serial killings is the name given by the media to a case involving the disappearance of an Australian woman, aged 18, and the killings of two others, aged 23 and 27, in 1996–1997. After attending night spots in Claremont, a wealthy western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, all three women disappeared in similar circumstances leading police to suspect that an unidentified serial killer was the offender. The case was described as the state's biggest, longest running, and most expensive investigation.


title: Claremont serial killings

text: In 2016, a suspect, Bradley Robert Edwards, was arrested. He was held on remand and his trial began in November 2019 and ended on 25 June 2020, after seven months of hearings and evidence from more than 200 witnesses. On 24 September 2020, he was found guilty of the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, and not guilty of the murder of Sarah Spiers, whose remains have yet to be located. On 23 December 2020, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.


title: Claremont serial killings

text: The case began with the disappearance of Sarah Spiers (18) on 27 January 1996, after she left Club Bayview in the centre of Claremont at around 2:00 am. At 2:06 am, Spiers called Swan Taxis from a public telephone booth. Although she was living in South Perth with her older sister at the time, she had requested to be taken to the nearby suburb of Mosman Park. She was then sighted waiting alone near the corner of Stirling Road and Stirling Highway by three eyewitnesses, who also mentioned seeing an unidentified car stopping where she was waiting. However, she was not at the site when the responding taxi arrived at 2:09 am and, in the dark, could have been missed by the driver. Her disappearance soon attracted massive publicity and her fate remains unknown.


title: Claremont serial killings

text: In the early hours of Sunday 9 June 1996, Jane Rimmer (23) from Shenton Park, also disappeared from the same part of Claremont. Similar to Spiers, she had been out socialising with friends the night before. Rimmer's friends explained how they had moved from the Ocean Beach Hotel to the Continental Hotel and then Club Bayview. Noting the long line at the club, her friends then caught a taxi home, but Rimmer opted to stay, and she was last seen on security footage waiting outside the Continental at 12:04 am. Fifty-five days later, on Saturday, 3 August 1996, her naked body was found south in bush-land near Woolcoot Road, Wellard by a family picking wildflowers.


title: Claremont serial killings

text: Nine months later, in the early hours of Saturday 15 March 1997, Ciara Glennon, a 27-year-old lawyer from Mosman Park, also disappeared from the Claremont area. Like the others, she was with friends at the Continental and had decided to make her own way home. Three men at a bus stop saw Glennon walking south along Stirling Highway at approximately 12:30 am, and observed her interacting with an unidentified light coloured vehicle which had stopped by her. Nineteen days later, on 3 April, her semi-clothed body was found by a bush walker, north, near a track in scrub off Pipidinny Road in Eglinton.


title: Claremont serial killings

text: Within 48 hours of the disappearance of Spiers, the case was taken over by the Major Crimes Squad. After the disappearance of Rimmer, the Western Australia Police set up a special task-force called Macro to investigate the two similar cases. After the disappearance of Glennon, police confirmed that they were searching for a serial killer, and the Western Australian Government offered a $250,000 reward, the largest ever offered in the state at that time.