Service Diversions 06-09-13
I apologize for not having the Service Diversions up for this weekend. Unfortunately I ran into some server issues & did not get them resolved until late Saturday. However they are up for the upcoming week & beyond in some cases.
As a reminder, FASTRACK will be back on the 
& 
between 168th & 207th Streets so check the diversions for all pertinent information.
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 @SurgeFM as well.
Have a safe & wonderful week!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Plans Better Track Maintenance
Yesterday the MTA announced it will be planning better track maintenance after the Metro-North Railroad derailment in Bridgeport last month. News 12 Connecticut has more in this brief report:
Changes are in the works as a result of last month’s train derailment in Bridgeport.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said today it is planning better track maintenance and inspections, following a finding by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that an inspection before the derailment found problems with the tracks, but nothing was done.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal says the lack of action is unacceptable.
“There has to be a plan for the entire track system to make sure it is safe and reliable,” said Blumenthal. “That’s why Sen. Murphy and I will be pressing for strong measures.”
The NTSB plans to complete its investigation and release its final report on the derailment in about a year.
My initial question is why was nothing done after problems were found on the tracks prior to the derailment? Also why did it take a derailment to start planning for better track maintenance? Should heads roll for this? I can’t say for sure until a full report is released. However I am disturbed at the response as I would have assumed that such “better” plans were already in place!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA To Pay Nearly $1M For 2006 Bus Death
This past Thursday, a Bronx court ruled that the MTA must pay nearly $1 million dollars for the death of 51 year old Rachel Levy who was struck & dragged by a bus in 2006 while standing at a stop on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Rivderdale. Pedro Oliveira Jr. of the New York Post has more:
The MTA will fork over nearly $1 million to the military family of a 51-year-old Bronx woman who was mowed down by a city bus, a jury decided unanimously yesterday.
Rachel Levy, 51, was struck and dragged in 2006 while standing near a bus stop on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Riverdale.
The driver, Vincent Brady — who passed a Breathalyzer test — drove her over but never stopped, court records show.
Detectives tracked down his bus hours later while examining vehicles at a Manhattan depot.
They found Levy’s blood under Brady’s bus, but police later cleared him of the woman’s death after he told them none of the roughly 20 passengers aboard his bus realized it had struck someone.
Levy’s distraught family — daughter Miriam, an Army veteran, and the victim’s elderly mother, Hadassah Levy — sued in Bronx Supreme Court.
“This has been a long, grueling fight for the MTA to take responsibility for my sweet mother’s death,” Miriam Levy, who will receive a part of the $950,000 sum, told The Post.
“We are grateful to the jurors and our lawyers for bringing justice into our home and hearts.”
Click here for the complete report.
My condolences go out to Rachel Levy as no amount of money will bring her back. Hopefully her loved ones make good use of it to the best of their ability.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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TWU Still Wants To Bring Back Token Booths
Nearly 3 years after the MTA closed a number of token booths, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 continues to fight for the return of them. Jose Martinez of NY1 has more in this report:
They’re not giving up.
The MTA has closed almost 180 subway token booths since 2010, but the Transport Workers Union Local 100 wants them reopened and staffed with its members.
“Things go wrong, and who do you look for? The cops can’t be everywhere in the whole entire system and the public really does rely on us,” said TWU Local 100 Member Paul Flores.
On Thursday, the union and several politicians rallied to restore token booths at stations where they’ve been closed, saying the workers provide a needed service to straphangers and serve as the system’s eyes and ears.
“Machines can’t do the job that we do. They’re constantly out of service,” said TWU Local 100 Member Derick Echevarria.
The MTA says it has no plans to reopen any booths, and that at least one booth is staffed in each of the system’s 468 stations.
That didn’t stop transit workers from collecting signatures for a petition calling for the booths to be restored.
The union says station agents and token booth clerks serve a valuable purpose, and many New Yorkers seem to agree.
“It’s not the most pressing issue for me, to be honest. I think there needs to be more money invested in repairs, but I think it brings jobs,” said one straphanger.
Click here for the complete report.
To be honest, this is not a fight I see the TWU Local 100 winning as besides the financial costs involved, the time that has elapsed since their departure continues to grow. Personally I would like to see at least some of the booths return as not only would it help create some jobs, it will serve as a help to straphangers.
Personally I would love to see them back when it comes to being able to handle Metrocard issues. I have lost count on how many times I have run into having my fare taken off of my pay per ride Metrocard yet I could not go through due to the dreaded “Insufficient Fare” message. I & many others should not have to exit the station & walk up to 1-2 blocks away to an entrance with a staffed worker.
This is especially an issue at the 2nd Ave F station as the turnstiles on the 2nd Ave exit routinely eat fares which lead to many jumping the turnstiles. Honestly I do not blame them one bit for doing so especially when time is at a premium! For that reason alone (although others exist), I would like to see them come back. Also better maintenance of these turnstiles or better yet a better fare payment method that is with the times!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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G & R Service Loss Due To Sandy Repairs
Nearly 8 months after Hurricane Sandy ripped through our region, the repercussions of the storm are still being felt. A few days ago, the MTA announced that due to the severe damage sustained in the Montague Tube (links the 
between Manhattan & Brooklyn) it will be forced to shutdown service through it for up to 14 months.
Unfortunately the bad news does not end there as the Greenpoint Tube (connects the 
between Brooklyn & Queens) will close for 12 weekends through the rest of 2013 as well. Here is more courtesy of Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday outlined shutdown plans for later this year on the R and G trains, a result of repairs to tunnels damaged during Hurricane Sandy.
The Montague tube, which carries the R train between Brooklyn and Manhattan, will close for up to 14 months starting the first week of August, officials said, forcing as many as 65,000 daily riders to seek alternative routes.
The train will run in two sections on weekdays, from Forest Hills-71st Avenue in Queens to Whitehall Street in Manhattan, and from Court Street to Bay Ridge-95th Street in Brooklyn. On weekends, the R will be rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge, meaning it will not stop at Court Street or Jay Street-MetroTech in Brooklyn or City Hall, Cortlandt Street, Rector Street and Whitehall Street in Lower Manhattan. Overnight, the N train, which is typically rerouted through the tunnel to replace the R, will continue running over the Manhattan Bridge.
The G train’s Greenpoint tube will close for 12 weekends this year, forcing the closing of the three northernmost stops: Court Square, 21st Street and Greenpoint Avenue. But the trains will still run between Church and Nassau Avenues. The affected weekends are July 6, July 13, July 20, Aug. 3, Aug. 10, Aug. 17, Aug. 24, Sept. 7, Sept. 28, Oct. 5, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. There will also be a five-week shutdown in summer 2014, the authority said. A shuttle bus service will run between Brooklyn and Queens.
“Closing these two subway tubes is a difficult but necessary step to restore them to the condition they were in before Sandy struck,” Fernando Ferrer, the authority’s acting chairman, said in a statement. “The temporary repairs that returned these tubes to operation after Sandy are not enough to provide reliable service. This is unfortunately the reality of recovery from Sandy: The damage is insidious and continuing, and repairing it will take billions of dollars over several years.”
He added that there was “no alternative” to completing the work immediately.
Clcik here for the complete report.
Sadly these closures do not come as a surprise to me considering the damage I had heard about right after the storm. The only shock might have been the length in time to announce that such closures would be occurring.
As one would expect, some local officials took this opportunity to score some infamous “Constituent Brownie Points” by sharing their outrage at what the MTA is doing to their local residents. Honestly the idiots behind these sentiments do not deserve the publicity of having their names mentioned but they know exactly who they are.
What I will say is this to those individuals, grow the hell up! The MTA for all the wrong that it does is not at fault for having to repair damage from such a powerful storm that is rarely seen in our region. I rather they go all the way with their repairs versus doing patch work here & there even if it means lengthy closures as the end result will hopefully be worth it.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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