Almost a year after massive floods crippled the subway system and left millions of riders stranded, New York City Transit is employing a low-rent solution to keep water off the tracks in Queens. Whenever the forecast calls for rain, workers rush to flood-prone areas and roll blue tarp over sidewalk subway grates.Six cement-filled buckets keep each tarp in place. Short poles protruding from each bucket allow yellow "construction area" tape to be wound around the whole set-up.
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is also concerned.
"What if there's a fire on the line, where does the smoke go?" said her spokesman, Dan Andrews.
"If the gratings can be arbitrarily covered up, then why are they there in the first place?" GRATE! MTA'S LAME SUBWAY FLOOD FIGHT
NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said the temporary solution was "low-tech" but "effective" while more permanent solutions are in the works.
"But those take time to design," he added.
Well, you've had a year, how long does it take?
3 comments:
Hey, isnt that Dutch Kills where they are 'downzoning' to 11 story buildings and as a afterthought the local community board changed the zoning from R5 to R6.
A casual afterthought....
Isn't the purpose of the subway grates on the sidewalk surface to allow the hot, humid air in the subway tunnel and on the platform a chance to exit?
Also, isn't it true that the trains act as pistons, pushing the tunnel air in one direction or another, so the grate also allow that pressure to escape?
So, isn't it true that covering the escape vents defeats this purpose?
Too bad those buckets are filled with cement.
They'd make great outdoor toilets for some of our less sanitary third world cousins!
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