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Minimum Of 21 Bedbug Subway Sightings

Posted by
on September 3rd, 2014 at 10:24 am

The bedbug problem on the NYC Subway does not seem to be going away anytime soon if August is any indication. As I wrote about last week, a Brooklyn-bound N train was taken out of service after a conductor was bit by one while on duty.

Days later we got a report that the agency had at least 21 reported sightings in August. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more:

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have been very reluctant to talk about bedbugs in the transit system. It’s a story they wish would just go away.

So we’ll rely on undercover transit sources to bring you the first-ever BugStat.

There were at least 21 reported bedbug sightings or encounters in the subway in August — including a few incidents in which a bloodsucker bit a conductor or a rider, sources said.

According to these transit insiders, there were nine sightings on N trains, three on Q trains and two on No. 6 trains.

The itch-inducing insects also were spotted once each on Nos. 3, 4, 5 and L trains, the sources said.

In addition to riding the rails, bedbugs were found in transit worker crew rooms and subway offices in Astoria, Queens, and Coney Island, Brooklyn (N and Q lines), and Euclid Ave., East New York, also in Brooklyn (A line).

Click here for the complete report.

Like I mentioned last week, I am surprised this had not become a big issue in the past considering how NYC has a problem with them. The MTA has downplayed the issue which is to be expected from their PR aspect. However they clearly are taking the issue seriously when you look at the internal reactions to the sightings.

I do feel the agency should keep an official list of sightings & make it available to the riding public. It is a shame they seem more concerned about their image versus getting the word out. Thankfully some insiders are doing the right thing & letting people know.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Business Owner Rips Off The MTA

Posted by
on September 3rd, 2014 at 10:12 am

Admittedly I have always had a skeptical eye on the contracts awarded by the MTA to businesses as I figured a decent percentage if not a majority were sweetheart deals or flat out ripoffs.

The latter turned out to be the case as 61 year old Joseph Ioia admitted to ripping off the MTA by providing low-grade fluid for city buses yet charging the agency for the high-quality version. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:

Joseph Ioia, 61, also will cut a check to cover $863,618.25 as part of a plea deal formalized in court with Manhattan prosecutors Thursday.

As the owner New York Commercial Lubricants on Arlington Ave., Staten Island, Ioia won a contract to provide high-quality transmission fluid for Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses.But he delivered a lower-grade lubricant in 2010 and 2011, he admitted in court.

Click here for the complete report.

I am upset the agency got ripped off yet it is not my biggest complaint of the whole situation. What really rubs me the wrong way is how he gets off so easy to the point of getting weekend only jail time. If that was any average person with a lack of wealth & contacts, I am sure we would have to serve a 24×7 jail sentence for however many years we were convicted for.

I see zero incentive for him or others in similar positions to not try & rip off the MTA again as all you will get if caught is a slap in the wrist of repayment & minimal jail time. You have to love our criminal justice system as they once again give out one more win for the good guys!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Greenpoint Tubes Restortation Complete

Posted by
on September 2nd, 2014 at 1:53 pm


MTA crews working on repairs in the Greenpoint Tubes on August 22, 2014. Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit

G Train line riders finally rejoiced earlier this morning when service was fully restored in the Greepoint Tubes after being closed for months due to Hurricane Sandy related repairs. Here is more courtesy of a MTA press release:

Regular weekday G service resumed between Court Sq and Nassau Av this morning, following a full-phased closure of the Greenpoint Tubes that began on July 25th to allow crews to make Fix&Fortify resiliency repairs to the damaged tubes, which were flooded during Superstorm Sandy nearly two years ago.

“Superstorm Sandy’s devastating impact on our Subway network posed a challenge never before faced by our organization, however we rose to this challenge and are rebuilding our system better and stronger than before,” said NYC Transit President Carmen Bianco. “The dedication of Transit personnel in rebuilding the Greenpoint Tubes and ensuring safe, reliable G train service for our customers is part of our continuing efforts to reinforce the system’s infrastructure and safeguard the most vulnerable areas of our subway system for decades to come.”

While Shuttle Buses ferried customers between Long Island City and Greenpoint, crews from every major division of the Department of Subways performed necessary repairs that included installing communication lines, laying down new track and third rail, repositioning signals, rebuilding tunnel infrastructure and performing station rehabilitation work.

“The timely restoration of G service and the infrastructure improvements completed during the shutdown is a testament to our team’s hard work,” said Joe Leader, Senior Vice President Department of Subways. “I thank each and every one of the hundreds of employees who worked so hard over the past five weeks to get the job done.”

The tubes suffered extensive damage during Superstorm Sandy when three million gallons of salt water flooded the tunnel at the height of the storm. Tracks and equipment were totally submerged, and the tunnel’s pump controls, electrical, communications, fan control and signal equipment all incurred serious damage.

Power cables immersed in salt water corroded from the inside, while corrosion on rails and fasteners increased the potential for delay-causing failures. The controls for ventilation, lighting and communication systems were all destroyed and have yet to be restored to their level of pre-Sandy reliability. While the MTA worked tirelessly to restore service as quickly as possible after the storm, it was immediately clear that future, more extensive work would be necessary to repair and rebuild these vital systems in order to ensure safe and reliable service.

Fix&Fortify work to return these and other components to pre-Sandy condition, while providing for improved resiliency and reliability, touched every aspect of the tunnel and its operations. Among the work completed prior to this morning’s restoration of service:

Track:

• Installed over 14,000 feet of continuous welded rails (CWRs)

• Cleaned 9,000 feet of track

Third Rail Operations:

• Replaced 1,125 insulators

• Cleaned 9,000 feet of third rail

Electrical:

• Installed about 128,000 feet of cable and wire

• Removed about 27,000 feet of cables and wire

• Supported relocation of five signal locations in the flood zone and eight signal heads

Electronic Maintenance Division:

• Installed 17 new emergency alarms and telephones with diverse routing for improved reliability and survivability

• Installed 44 new telephone jacks

• Replaced integrated fiber optic cable

Infrastructure:

• Installed all new tunnel lighting and power receptacles between Greenpoint Av and 21 St – Van Alst Stations

• Completed over 2,500 feet of structural repairs

• Demolished and rebuilt 970 feet of duct bank

Stations:

• Scraped and painted 43,580 square feet at 21 St – Van Alst

• Completed total rehabilitation of 14 stairways at 21 St – Van Alst

• Scraped and painted 52,700 square feet at Greenpoint Av

• Completed total rehabilitation of 14 stairways at Greenpoint Av

Rapid Transit Operations:

• Provided over 4,000 hours of construction flagging support

• Provided over 28,100 hours of work train operation support

• 602 work trains deployed

During the work, resiliency program management had the herculean challenge of scheduling and coordinating all the various work crews to ensure that not only did the work plan get completed, but that it was done so in as safe a manner as possible.

Sandy’s damage to the subway system was historic. The Fix&Fortify project is designed to restore and rebuild damaged infrastructure and the delicate equipment that was submerged, while reducing the system’s vulnerability in the event of future severe weather.

Overall, the MTA has been allocated nearly $3.8 billion in funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for repair, resiliency, and disaster relief work. In addition to the work inside the Greenpoint Tubes, the MTA’s Fix&Fortify campaign will also address issues in other under river tubes to make the system more resilient. Planning and design work is also underway for flood mitigation at NYC Transit facilities in low-lying areas of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens as well as similar flood prevention and mitigation work at the entrances to several stations in Lower Manhattan.

Hopefully this work will stand up when the next major storm hits us as loss of service is a blow NYC can’t really handle for long periods of time.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Service Diversions 08-29-14

Posted by
on August 29th, 2014 at 3:28 pm

Get a head start on the unofficial last weekend of summer plans as I have just updated the Service Diversions through all of next week.

Make sure to follow @TransitBlogger on Twitter by clicking the button in the sidebar as I am using it more often. Also if you are into indie music make sure to follow @IndMusicReview & @SurgeFM!

Have an awesome Labor Day weekend!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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NYC Transit Labor Day 2014 Service Plan

Posted by
on August 26th, 2014 at 6:42 pm

Here is the Labor Day 2014 service plan for NYC Transit Buses & Subways:

MTA New York City Transit subways and buses and MTA Bus Company buses will operate on a Sunday schedule on Labor Day, Monday, September 1.

Because of the J’Ouvert Parade on Monday, September 1, from 2 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Brooklyn, the Church Av 2 station will be closed and bypassed from 11 p.m. Sunday, August 31, to 4 a.m. Monday, September 1. Buses in the area will be rerouted.

Because of the West Indian-American Day Parade on Monday, September 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, certain subway entrances in the parade area may be affected and buses in the area will be rerouted. The Eastern Pakwy- Brooklyn Museum 234 station will be closed and bypassed from 12 noon to 7 p.m. Monday, September 1. At the Crown Hts-Utica Av 34 station, certain staircases will be designated entrance/exit only. 4 trains will make local stops in Brooklyn.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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