Surfin' MTA

@NYCTSubway running on your trains is hella fun💯❤️. Hoping to be a Mta worker and get them keys gang💙😃 pic.twitter.com/YP7wNFxOjY

— Valaklikesmen (@valakryie) May 5, 2022

 

Ridgewood Post

Reports of “subway surfing” have jumped by nearly 363% since 2020, according to MTA figures provided to THE CITY.

In the first five months of this year, there have been 449 reported incidents of people riding on top of or outside trains, MTA data shows — almost as many as the 461 in all of 2019.

That’s up from 97 for the same time period in 2020, when subway ridership plummeted by more than 90% during the peak of the pandemic and from 68 last year.

“We have hundreds of recorded incidents that this has occurred in our system in the last few months,” Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, said Monday during an MTA committee meeting. “I am going to implore anyone who is watching this to tell your kids, to tell your friends: Do not do this.”

The MTA provided the numbers to THE CITY last week amid a string of recent high-profile subway surfing incidents, several of which have been posted to social media.

On Thursday, a 15-year-old boy was critically injured after police said he hit his head against an unknown object while riding atop a No. 7 train as it approached the 111th Street station in Queens.

“Oh my God,” gasped Maritza Santos, 44, whose 14-year-son, Eric Rivera, was killed in November 2019 after striking something as he rode on top of a No. 7 train near Queensboro Plaza. “I can’t believe they don’t learn unless they didn’t see what happened to Eric.

“I’m just shocked that kids are still doing this,” she told THE CITY.

Santos, who has three other sons, said she was pulling for the unidentified teenager, who police said was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center after suffering severe head trauma.

“I pray that he gets well,” she said. “I understand what his family is going through.”

In a graphic video obtained by THE CITY, the teen’s legs dangle over the side of the train car while he lays bloodied on top.

The voice of a woman on the platform can be heard saying in Spanish, “I’m sorry, but this had to happen so that they stop doing this.”

One less friend at the QNS

 

 Queens Ledger

Former New York City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley has stepped down from her position as chairperson of the board of Friends of the QNS, a nonprofit organization that she founded to advocate for expanded commuter rail-based transit across the borough.

Crowley said her decision to step down was made in order to focus fully on her candidacy for New York State Senate District 17.

“It has been an honor to serve as the chair of Friends of the QNS,” Crowley said.

The “QNS” proposal was introduced by Crowley to improve transit within her former Council district. Specifically, the plan sought to revive the former Lower Montauk rail line, which stretches nine miles from Hunters Point in Long Island City, through central Queens neighborhoods including Middle Village, Glendale, and Ridgewood, to the Jamaica hub.

This portion of central Queens is commonly referred to as one of the City’s “transit deserts,” since no passenger rail currently serves many of these neighborhoods.

In a 2018 report from the Department of Transportation, it was confirmed that the defunct rail line could be converted to include passenger service at a fraction of the cost of other major expansion projects like Manhattan’s 2nd Avenue Subway.

The New York State Senate district seat that Crowley is currently running for would include a vast majority of the former Lower Montauk Line within its boundaries. It was recently created by state lawmakers following the 2020 Census and will include Glendale, Maspeth, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Ozone Park, and Greenpoint in Brooklyn within its boundaries.

But while Crowley is stepping down from her position as the board’s chair, she said she vows to continue to advocate not only for the QNS rail but for a greenway along the QNS line, if elected.

“Queens has been growing at a tremendous pace, especially Long Island City,” Crowley said. “For this borough to keep up with its growth, we need to provide better transit to our residents. It’s not ambitious, it’s common sense.”

This proposal to restore the former commuter rail is similar to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 14-mile IBX plan, which seeks to add a train line from Bay Ridge in Brooklyn to Woodside, Queens.

Both use existing, underused train rights-of-way, converting them to passenger service from strictly freight service.

Crowley also indicated that she would work to include a dedicated bike lane running parallel to QNS, because “an intolerable” number of bicycle accidents and fatalities have been occurring in recent years.

“If we want people to use alternative transportation, we want them to feel safe as they do so. A slightly revised QNS ‘rail and trail’ plan would help that goal,” Crowley said.

Trans Borough Express

  

NY Post

 

An underutilized 14-mile freight line would be converted into a new commuter “Interborough Express” service connecting neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens under a plan championed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday.

The new transit service would run from Bay Ridge in Brooklyn to Jackson Heights Heights in Queens.

During her first state of the state address, Hochul ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to conduct an environmental review and identify the best transit option for the corridor — heavy rail, light rail or bus rapid transit.

“This historic project would improve transit service and job access for underserved communities in Brooklyn and Queens, serving a corridor that is currently home to 900,000 residents and 260,000 jobs, with expected growth of at least 41,000 people and 15,000 jobs in the next 25 years,” Hochul said.

“Stronger rapid transit in Brooklyn and Queens is long overdue.”

The Blaz admits he was wrong about how unsafe the subway has become, sends more cops to the rails.

 

NY Daily News 

The city will deploy 250 extra police officers to the subways, bringing the number of cops patrolling the system to the highest level in the NYPD Transit Bureau’s 26-year history, Mayor de Blasio said Monday.

With the new increase, the mayor said there’ll be about 3,250 NYPD transit cops. That figure also includes desk cops or supervisors who aren’t in the field, an NYPD spokesman noted.

The 250 additional cops won’t work full eight-hour shifts on subway patrol. They’ll walk the system for a couple hours during the morning and evening rush, earning overtime on top of their regular shifts in some cases, the police spokesman said.

The expansion comes as 24/7 subway service resumed Monday for the first time since May 6, 2020, when Gov. Cuomo ordered the system closed to passengers overnight to remove homeless riders. Its announcement also follows a series of violent incidents, including a Friday rampage in which five straphangers were assaulted during a horrifying stabbing spree.

“Anyone who commits an offense on the subways will be found, will be prosecuted, will be held accountable,” de Blasio said at a press conference, adding: “We’re going to take officers and put them in right places in the subways at the right time, particularly at peak times of ridership.”

24

  

AP

New York City’s subway will begin rolling all night again and capacity restrictions for most types of businesses will end statewide in mid-May as COVID-19 infection rates continues to decline, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

City subway service will return to 24-hour operation on May 17 after being closed for cleaning during overnight hours since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic last year, the Democratic governor said.

Capacity restrictions on businesses — including restaurants, offices, beauty salons, gyms — will be lifted in New York and its neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut on May 19, Cuomo said.

Businesses in New York will still be required to operate in a way that guarantees that unvaccinated people can keep 6 feet of social distancing space, even after the occupancy limits go away, the governor said.

New York City’s subways, famous for all-night operation, were shut down between 1 to 5 a.m. on April 30, 2020, so trains and stations could be disinfected. The change was also intended to make it easier to remove homeless people from trains where many had been spending the night. The overnight closure was scaled back to 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. in February.

Subway trains aren't braking in time

 

NY1

On Sunday, the first car of a J train completely overshot the elevated station.

It was the second J train to do so that day.

It’s very serious," Aaron Morrison, a train operator and union representative. "And for it to have it happen twice in a day with that equipment, it’s not uncommon."

Morrison has driven every type of subway car on the MTA's lettered lines, including its latest model, the R179s, which have run on the A, C, and J lines for two years.

"The train has a serious braking issue," Morrison said. "Even on dry rail, on a sunny day, depending on the geography of the station that train can go out of the station at any time."

It was raining Sunday when the operator of a train heading toward Manhattan applied the brakes, entering the 121st Street station in Richmond Hill.

The train skidded on the rails, stopping only after the first car and half of the second shot past the platform.

A half hour earlier, a J train heading in the opposite direction skidded after the operator braked entering the 111th Street stop.

The MTA says both trains were inspected and no defects were found. It blames the operators.

"Station overruns happen on all car classes and are usually the result of operator input and any train operators with concerns should raise them immediately," MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said.

But Morrison says the R-179s are so troublesome, operators try to avoid them when choosing assignments.

“You want to feel the train grabbing the brake, you want to feel the train slowing down, and commonly with that equipment sometimes you don’t feel it right away and there’s a delay," Morrison said. "And if there’s inclement weather, forget about it.”

"They have a troubled history," transit advocate Andrew Albert said.

Albert has watched the R179's troubled history unfold from his seat on the  MTA board.

The cars were delivered late from manufacturer and have had welding problems and door malfunctions. One time, two train cars separated. The fleet has been pulled from service twice.

The cars have a worse performance record than some models built more than 30 years ago.

Hear my train a comin'

PIX News 

 

 The MTA will gradually restore overnight subway service in New York City beginning Feb. 22, officials announced Monday.

MTA chairman and CEO Pat Foye said trains will run daily from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m., then close for two hours for cleaning.

In an unprecedented move last May, subway service was shut down nightly between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to allow transit workers to clean and disinfect trains as the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed the city and state.

Now, nearly a year later and as the surge in the number of cases and hospitalization has slowed, Cuomo said the state-run agency was prepared to reopen service.

 

 

 

 

Blood on the tracks

THE CITY

A gruesome discovery by transit workers last week — an arm inside a subway tunnel — underscored a troubling trend: a growing number of people ending up on the tracks.

MTA statistics obtained by THE CITY show at least 720 instances of a “person on the roadbed” this year — including one Sunday morning in which police said a man survived after being shoved onto the tracks at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

That’s nearly as many as the 781 cases in all of 2019 and almost 200 more than five years ago — despite a steep pandemic-driven decline in ridership and the suspension of overnight passenger service.

Some transit workers and homeless advocates believe the overnight shutdown could be helping driving the roadbed incidents.

“When the system shuts down, [homeless New Yorkers] need someplace to go,” Eddie Muniz, a subway conductor, told THE CITY. “They can’t stay on the platforms, they can’t stay on the trains, so they go into the tunnels.”

In addition, the MTA has recorded more than 180 collisions between trains and people this year — creeping past the 182 incidents in all of 2015.

Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, said the figures point to problems that extend beyond the subway system.

“Sadly, these numbers continue to point to the mental health and housing crises we are experiencing in this city,” Feinberg told THE CITY.

The grim figures follow a week in which an E train fatally struck a 54-year-old man Friday inside a tunnel near the Woodhaven Boulevard station on the Queen Boulevard line. Meanwhile, a 40-year-old woman survived being pushed onto the tracks and passed over by two cars of a No. 5 train at 14th Street-Union Square during the Thursday morning rush.

 

Cuomo keeps LGA air train plan alive while the city trains don't run on time

 

NY Post

 Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday refused to back down from his $2 billion plans for an AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport — even while admitting the Big Apple’s transit system is facing an unprecedented financial crisis.

Cuomo insisted that the widely panned scheme was still “essential” for New York City, even as the Port Authority was forced to ax jobs and freeze other investments amid a coronavirus-induced downturn in travelers.

“It’ll be the single greatest economic boost that has been done in generations,” the governor insisted at a press briefing Sunday as he was challenged about sticking with the expensive project despite the cash crunch.

Here come the transit service cuts and fare hikes

 

THE CITY 

During the peak of the pandemic last spring, MTA buses became the workhorse of the transit system, shuttling more daily riders than the subway for the first time in decades.

Even after fare collection resumed in late August, the ridership decline on buses never fell nearly as steep as subway use.

But when the MTA unveiled its proposed “Doomsday” cuts Wednesday — potentially slashing service by 40% by next May and eliminating more than 9,000 jobs — bus workers were set to absorb close to two-thirds of the positions lost.

Riders who rely on buses, meanwhile, were left wondering how they’d get around a city still slowed by COVID-19.

“Believe me, it’s going to be ugly,” said Michelle Singleton, 55, a nurse from Harlem who, prior to the pandemic, commuted on the M11. “That’s why I won’t be riding the bus any more.”

At the agency’s monthly board meeting, MTA officials presented worst-case scenarios should the agency be unable to secure $12 billion in emergency federal funding to help close the enormous deficits created by the pandemic.

Without a bailout, the MTA faces a slew of unappetizing prospects — including higher-than-projected fare and toll increases, the elimination of seven-day and 30-day unlimited MetroCards and significant cuts to subway, bus and commuter rail frequency.

“We know that any reduction in service will hurt the city and the region, including customers who need us most,” Patrick Foye, the MTA chairperson said at the meeting. “But without the certainty of substantial federal dollars, there is no recourse.”

For buses, that could mean the elimination of entire lines, a slowdown on long-planned route redesigns in each borough, even the loss of a next-bus texting service and on-board WiFi.

 

NY Daily News

Transit fares in New York will go up next spring — and the MTA is considering eliminating unlimited ride MetroCards as a part of the hike.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on Wednesday voted to seek fare hikes that boost passenger revenue by 4%. Over the next two months, transit officials will review a slate of proposals to meet that target.

One idea is to keep the base subway and bus fare at $2.75 while eliminating the seven- and 30-day unlimited ride passes.

Another is to raise the base fare to $2.85. More options on the table include increasing the surcharge for new MetroCards from $1 to $3 and no longer allowing coin payments on buses.

Duh

QNS

After suffering $300,000 of damages in the subways from more than 400 cases of vandals smashing windows, the MTA says it is considering teaming up with NYPD to implement a “broken windows strategy” in order to bring the situation under control.

MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren said on Saturday that a tough-on-crime approach will be needed, in a supplement to their effort of increased surveillance, to end the repeated attacks on their infrastructure and their already enfeebled pocketbook from COVID-19.

“Let me tell you, if there’s any time that we think about maybe a broken windows strategy, this may be that moment in time and we certainly would like to continue and work with the NYPD on that strategy if they choose to take them,” Warren said. “We have to take a train out of service when we find broken windows in it because it’s a safety hazard. So for that period of time whether takes is a couple hours or three hours, whatever it takes us to repair those windows, that train’s out of service, which means at that point in time our customers are inconvenienced with long wait times and or potentially more crowding on the platform.”

This recent vexation, Warren said, takes the wind out of the MTA’s attempts to keep their systems running at full service at just a fraction of their operating budget and only about a quarter of their pre-pandemic ridership.

Not only that, but the MTA is running low on their stockpile of replacement windows.

Cuomo shuts down the subway at night to discourage homeless occupation

CBS News

The city that never sleeps is being forced to get some rest starting next week, when New York City's subway system will begin shutting down overnight. Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the unprecedented move Thursday, which they said is necessary to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. 

Starting Wednesday, May 6, New York City subways will shut down from 1-5 a.m. to clean the public transit system on a daily basis. Ridership has decreased by 92% during the pandemic, and those hours have the fewest number of riders, the governor said.

Currently, the MTA is cleaning its network of trains and buses every 72 hours — but Cuomo said it's not enough. The governor said disinfecting the transit system daily is necessary so essential workers can get to work safely, without fear of being infected during their commute. "This is going to be one of the most aggressive, creative, challenging undertakings that the MTA has done," he said during his daily press briefing.

Look at that imbecile, can't even hold the tank by himself. I suggest Cuomo do his hands on governor act at any nursing home and help push a gurney with a COVID-19 casualty on it.

You know the homeless can easily adapt and just roam or dwell on the streets for four hours then go back on the train at 5:01. The only people this affects are all the night shift workers. Another stupid reaction decision by the unreasonably lionized Governor and the loathsome Mayor.

The MTA was unprepared for a pandemic despite an early plan to defend against it

THE CITY

Preparations for a pandemic have been taking shape for years at New York City Transit, with the agency outlining plans to protect workers and riders while stockpiling supplies.

But as the coronavirus crisis escalates — with seven MTA employees among those to die from COVID-19 — transit union leaders say workers are deeply concerned over a shortage of protective equipment.

“It looks good on paper, but in a lot of cases, it’s not happening — I have no wipes, I can’t get N95 masks and it’s crazy,” said JP Patafio, a vice president for TWU Local 100. “What good is a plan if you’re not going to take stuff off the shelf when you need it?”

THE CITY obtained a 2012 copy of New York City Transit’s pandemic plan to “prevent or minimize illness among employees,” to limit service disruptions and maintain “an environment that is safe for both our employees and our customers.”

But a former MTA chief safety officer said the plan — similar to ones transit agencies across the country put in place after the 2009 swine flu pandemic — assumed a “rapid national response.”

“These plans don’t contemplate, nor were they required to contemplate, a sustained nationwide response with the associated shortages of supplies that we are currently seeing,” said David Mayer, the MTA’s chief safety officer from December 2014 to June 2018. “I don’t think these plans expected the level of service cuts, nor the duration of response that we are experiencing.”

The “Pandemic Plan Policy Instruction” maps out the need for subway and bus service reductions due to rising absenteeism, instructs transit workers to limit face-to-face contact with the public and not shake hands.

 The 2012 plan includes keeping a six-week supply of protective equipment. MTA officials say they maintained the stockpiles, but workers have complained they can’t get protective equipment.

WCBS 880 

 The MTA confirmed Monday that five more employees have died due to complications from COVID-19. 

"This is a devastating day," NYCT Interim President Sarah Feinberg told WCBS 880.

The employees were identified as Scott Elijah, a 15-year track worker with the Combined Action/Emergency Response Unit based in Long Island City; Caridad Santiago,a cleaner for 13 years assigned to the Stations Department in the Bronx; Ernesto Hernandez, a bus operator for 15 years most recently working out of the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot; Victor Zapana, a supervisor in the Stations Department who worked from various locations throughout the subway system for almost 30 years; and Warren Tucker, a bus mechanic for almost five years at the MTA Bus Company, assigned this year to the Central Maintenance Facility in East New York.

“We are heartbroken at the passing of five heroic members of the New York City Transit family. Scott, Caridad, Ernesto, Victor and Warren were all inspiring and valued colleagues, well-loved and well-respected by their co-workers," Feinberg and Acting MTA Bus Company President Craig Cipriano said in a joint statement. "They dedicated their lives to serving the public and keeping New Yorkers moving. This is a tragic loss for the city. Their families and friends are in our prayers during this incredibly difficult and painful time.”

Last week, two transit workers passed away due to coronavirus and a third died trying to evacuate a train that was on fire in Harlem.

LIRR platforms to be widened

From the Forest Hills Post:

The Long Island Railroad train platforms at the Forest Hills and Kew Gardens stations will be lengthened to accommodate two additional train cars, LIRR President Philip Eng announced yesterday.

The project will lengthen the platforms by 50 percent to allow six cars to meet the platform instead of the current four. LIRR trains can be up to 12 cars long, the railroad said.

The plan is intended to address crowding and reduce delays by helping customers to board and exit trains more easily, the LIRR said.

Both the north and south platforms at each station will be lengthened with fiberglass decking supported by steel scaffolding.

The Forest Hills and Kew Gardens stations have an average weekday ridership of 1,967 and 1,778 passengers, respectively. In recent years, Forest Hills has become a more popular destination for Forest Hills Stadium event attendees.

L train outage = M trains go to Upper East Side

"Here's one for you:

For the L Train Shutdown, the MTA is not planning on increasing M service to LIC/Court Square (where a huge influx of G train riders will be trying to transfer and continue to Manhattan).

Instead, they will be sending the M train to the Upper East Side late nights and weekends - cutting the service to Court Square in half.

This is also a continuation of their draconian cuts to Queens Blvd service when they killed the V train and cut the G back to Court Square.

This is purely a move born of cheapness - they can save a few pennies by not having to run the M all the way to Forest Hills.

Check out page 19 of their pdf for the proof.

No Queens representatives are doing anything about this of course. Literally no one cares about Queens commuters." - anonymous

Stink trains also a problem in Bayside

From the Queens Chronicle:

Sleeping while engines idle at the Long Island Rail Road’s yard in Bayside between 215th and 220th streets is not easy, some say.

“Our lives continue to be gravely affected by the Long Island Rail Road’s work yard, construction site junkyard and dump site,” neighborhood resident James Lollo said at last week’s Community Board 11 meeting.

“The stench” is so bad, he said, that it results in “eyes and sinuses irritated [and] throats sore.”

Lollo added that the LIRR officials responsible for the yard should be ashamed of themselves.

“I don’t know how they’re able to sleep at night,” he said.

Another Bayside resident irked by the idling engines also complained at the meeting.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) sent a letter to LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski two days after the meeting calling his attention to the matter.

“Residents state that diesel trains are left idling for hours during the day and evening hours sometimes until 1:00 a.m.,” the lawmaker wrote. “This has caused several environmental concerns for residents who state that the noise is unbearable and they are unable to open their windows due to the fumes that come from trains idling in the yard.”

The MTA’s LIRR press office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Feds report that train engineer fled after Maspeth train crash

From the Times Ledger:

A federal probe into a fiery train crash last year faults the railway operator, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D–Flushing) announced Sunday. The crash occurred July 8, 2015, when a freight train operated by New York and Atlantic Railway (NYA) slammed into a tractor-trailer at the railroad crossing at Maspeth Avenue and injured the truck’s driver.

The tractor-trailer was leaving a warehouse on Maspeth Avenue when the train clipped it. The truck’s cab then burst into flames as the train dragged it for nearly 200 feet. The driver jumped out of the cab before his truck caught fire, avoiding serious injury.

The Federal Railroad Administra­tion’s (FRA) investigation concluded that the locomotive engineer failed to follow NYA’s operating rules and special instructions for the grade-crossing. The FRA found that the conductor’s failure to take any action to bring the train under control contributed to the accident.

The investigation was further complicated by the disappearance of the train’s engineer.

“FRA was not able to interview the engineer involved in the accident as he went missing immediately after the accident,” the FRA’s Focused Safety Review stated. “In the aftermath of the accident, the locomotive engineer left the scene and did not return to the railway. NYA subsequently terminated his employment.”

The FRA was able to interview the train’s conductor, who was cooperative and raised safety concerns regarding whether he had been adequately trained. The FRA identified several safety issues that NYA needs to address, including its failure to provide and document adequate training as testing of locomotive engineers and conductors, failure to issue certificates for the engineer and conductor, faulty record-keeping software, and the need for several actions to improve grade-crossing safety for motor vehicle users.

Redbird may fly in a better location

DNA Info suggests 5 better places for the redbird tourism center than borough hall:

Long Island City, JFK, LaGuardia, Times Square and the Flushing Library

MTA adding more trains to overcrowded lines

From DNA Info:

The MTA has proposed adding more trains on its most crowded lines to decrease waiting times, the agency said Friday.

Additional service would be added on the 7, L, 2 and M lines, mostly during off-peak hours, which showed the highest ridership growth last year, according to the MTA. The agency plans to add the new trains in December.

The most significant service increase would come on the L line, as it experienced the greatest ridership growth at all hours in 2014, the MTA said.

Under the MTA proposal, seven additional L train round trips would be added on weekdays between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The 7 and 2 lines would also both get two additional round trips on weeknights under the plan. The new rides would be added between 8 p.m. and 10:20 p.m. on the 7 line, and between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on the 2 line.

The M line would also see one more round trip added on weekdays, bringing the wait time to roughly 7 minutes between trains running from 9 a.m. and 9.30 a.m., according to the agency's press release.

How's this for spooky?

From WPIX:

A giant drill bit narrowly missed drilling right through a packed subway car in Queens Thursday morning.

The machinery, being used for the East Side Access project, was being operated by a contractor above ground near the 21st St. Station in Long Island City.

The drill bit, measuring 10 inches in diameter, broke through the tunnel’s roof at about 11:45 a.m., grazing the top and side of an ‘F’ train with approximately 800 people aboard, according to the MTA.

No one was injured, and passengers were led to the station via a relief train.

Construction work has since been suspended in the area pending an investigation by the MTA.