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Manhattan Bound 238th St Platform Reopens

Posted by
on June 23rd, 2011 at 5:18 pm

Almost a year ago, MTA NYC Transit announced that service on the northern end of the 1 Train would be affected until 2012 due to a $47M multi-station renovation project. The work which is taking place at the Dyckman, 207th, 215th, 225th, 238th and 242nd St stations would call for service disruptions & station closures.

One of the most recent phases of the project was taking place at the 238th Street station which had its Manhattan-bound platform closed due to station component work. Earlier today, the agency announced via a press release that the platform would reopen tomorrow:

MTA New York City Transit announced that the Manhattan-bound platform at the 238th Street 1 station is scheduled to reopen on Friday, June 24, 2011. The platform has been closed since May 23 for station component work: replacing the platform edge, installing tactile strips, replacing the canopy and making repairs to the platform.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Bartender Beaten Inside A PATH Train

Posted by
on June 23rd, 2011 at 6:37 am

One of the biggest fears of anyone who rides mass transit is to be attacked randomly during the trip. Unfortunately this nightmare scenario played out for a Christopher Street bartender who was not only attacked on a PATH train on his way home from work, but claims the Port Authority Police Department is not actively seeking the criminals responsible. Andrea Swalec of DNAinfo has more in this report:

A bartender and singer at the Greenwich Village piano bar Duplex was attacked inside a PATH train station on his commute home — and he says the Port Authority police department has done little to find those responsible.

Michael Dionne, 44, who works at the Duplex bar and cabaret on Christopher Street at Seventh Avenue South, said he suffered a broken nose, stitches under his left eye, bruises and cuts on his face and scratches on his arms during the attack by a group of men on June 10.

The incident began when Dionne — who said he has sung at piano bars in Greenwich Village since 1992 — boarded the PATH train at the 9th Street station around 4:30 a.m. June 10 to travel to his Jersey City home, he said.

He said a group of four or five men, one wearing a long black wig and sequined blouse, boarded at the Christopher Street PATH train stop and began to surround him on the train. He said they sprayed him with vanilla-scented body spray, but never addressed him directly.

“They were loud and obnoxious but they didn’t say anything to me,” he said, adding that he told them to stop spraying him, which they did. He thought the incident was over, and exited the train at the Journal Square station.

But nearly two weeks later, Dionne said he hasn’t received a call or a visit from police officers investigating the case, and said his repeated calls to the PAPD have not been returned.

Click here for the complete report.

Let me first thank Andrea for tipping me off to her report, I appreciate it.

I find this extremely disheartening for a number of reasons. For starters, I never want to hear of a fellow passenger being attacked for no legitimate reason. However as bad as that is, can the Port Authority Police Department explain how they are investigating the incident yet nearly 2 weeks after it occurred, they have yet to interview the victim?

This is the first person that should be accounted for in your investigation & yet he was not. What kind of ass backwards investigation are they running ? If I were him, I would seriously look into getting a lawyer & forcing the department to put some legitimate effort into bringing the criminals responsible for this cowardly act to justice. I will continue to follow this story as I am curious as to how it will end.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Teen Attacks Bronx Bus Driver

Posted by
on June 23rd, 2011 at 6:10 am

Marlene Bien-Aime
MTA NYC Transit bus driver Marlene Bien-Aime showing a bruise resulting from an attack by 17 tear old Steangeli Medina. Photo courtesy of Richard Harbus for the NY Daily News.

It seems every couple of months, I am writing an entry about a MTA bus driver being attacked. Every time I do so, it always brings back memories of how my dad who was a 29.5 year veteran MTA bus driver, was attacked when hit by a bottle.

The latest attack happened in the Bronx where 48 year old Marlene Bien-Aime was attacked by 17 year old Steangeli Medina due to not allowing her Chihuahua to board without being in a travel crate. Barry Paddock & Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:

Carrying a Chihuahua, Medina boarded the Bx9 bus on Fordham Road at Cambreleng Ave. in Belmont just before 6 p.m., police said. She became enraged when Bien-Aime said the pet had to be in a crate to travel.

“She said, ‘I’m gonna hit you,'” Bien-Aime said.

The driver responded, “It’s not me, it’s MTA.”

Seconds later, the first punch was thrown, said Bien-Aime, who spent Wednesday night at St. Barnabas Hospital.

Marlene Bien-Aime, 48, had turned her attention away from the disgruntled teenager at the front of the bus and faced the windshield when the brutal attack began Tuesday night, she said outside Bronx Criminal Court.

“When I turned my head, that’s when she hit me,” Bien-Aime said. “She punched me in my eyes while I was sitting. She hit me several times in my eyes. She hit me all over my head and on my back.”

As the blows landed, Bien-Aime struggled to remove her seat belt, she said. Good Samaritans managed to restrain the teenager – identified by police as Steangeli Medina – but Medina soon broke free.

She punched Bien-Aime some more and dragged her down the steps and off the bus – by her hair, the driver said.

“I rolled over and fell,” Bien-Aime said. “She was on top of me and she kept hitting me in the head. She was hitting me, hitting me, pulling my hair.”

Bien-Aime spoke briefly before going into the courthouse, where prosecutors are considering felony assault charges against Medina.

Removing her sunglasses, Bien-Aime revealed a badly swollen black eye. She also showed a large bruise on her upper left arm. She said her nose was broken and that she suffered from head and neck pain.

Click here for the complete report.

Once again this incident shows that bus driver safety is a highly important issue that has yet to have a solution put in place system wide. Back in December 2008, 46 year old MTA NYC Transit bus driver Edwin Thomas was fatally stabbed by a fare evader on his Brooklyn bus. This led to the agency announcing a fe weeks after that they would be testing bus driver protection partitions. Unfortunately the partitions did not debut until January 2010 & has yet to move past the initial test stage.

How many more drivers need to be injured or die before their safety is addressed on each & every bus in the agency’s fleet? Why have we not seen much of an advance in the use of the partitions? While it is understandable that the cost will be high, it is an expense that has complete merit & needs to be taken care of regardless of the financial state. Anything less is completely unacceptable to the thousands of drivers who put their life on the line everyday to move the people of NYC.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

NYC Subway July 4th Service Plan Info

Posted by
on June 23rd, 2011 at 4:55 am

With the Independence Day (July 4th) holiday weekend right around the corner, the MTA has released service plan information for it. Here is the NYC Subway plan via its press release:

On Monday, July 4, the New York City Subway will operate on a Saturday schedule with increased service following the Macy’s fireworks celebration. The fireworks display will originate from six barges located on the Hudson River between 20th and 55th Streets from 9:20 to 9:50 p.m. After the fireworks, there will be increased subway service on the 1 Train, 2 Train, 3 Train, A Train, C Train, E Train, L Train and 42nd Street S Train Shuttle.

As a reminder, on Saturdays, B Train and Z Train trains do not operate. The M Train train runs between Middle Village-Metropolitan Av. and Myrtle Av. The Q Train terminates and 57th St. in Manhattan and the J Train terminates at Chambers St. in Manhattan

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

LIRR July 4th Service Plan Info

Posted by
on June 23rd, 2011 at 4:50 am

With the Independence Day (July 4th) holiday weekend right around the corner, the MTA has released service plan information for it. Here is the Long Island Railroad’s (LIRR) plan via its press release:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road will provide additional early-afternoon service from Penn Station on Friday, July 1 for customers planning an early getaway for the start of the Independence Day holiday.
The LIRR will be operating on a weekend schedule on July 2nd and 3rd and a Sunday/holiday schedule on July 4th.

Please note that the additional Sunday afternoon Montauk Branch westbound trains from Montauk and the Hamptons will not operate on Sunday, July 3, but instead operate on Monday, July 4. The regular Monday-only return train from Montauk and the Hamptons will not run on Monday, July 4, but instead will operate on Tuesday, July 5.

The extra early-afternoon trains will depart Penn Station starting at 2:10 PM on July 1. The extra service will include: three trains on the Port Jefferson Branch; three on the Babylon Branch; two on the Port Washington Branch; one on the Far Rockaway Branch, and two trains to Jamaica for Montauk train connections. The eastbound afternoon train from Ronkonkoma to Yaphank gets extended to Greenport on Friday, as it normally does on Fridays during the summer.

Extra Train Service from Penn Station, Friday, July 1:

Port Jefferson Branch to Hicksville and Huntington:

● 2:10 PM stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, then all stops to Huntington.

● 2:29 PM stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all stops to Huntington.

● 3:24 PM stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury and Hicksville.

_____

Babylon Branch:

● 2:24 PM express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon.

● 3:00 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon.

● 3:31 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon.

_____

Port Washington Branch to Great Neck:

● 3:18 PM stopping at Woodside, Flushing-Main Street, then all stops to Port Washington

● 3:40 PM stopping at Woodside, Flushing-Main Street, then all stops to Great Neck.

_____

Far Rockaway Branch:

● 3:48 PM express to Locust Manor then all stops to Far Rockaway.

_____

Montauk Branch (Penn Station to Jamaica with Montauk Connections):

● 1:45 PM to Jamaica, with a Montauk train connection.

● 3:58 PM to Jamaica, with a Montauk train connection.

_____

Ronkonkoma Branch to Greenport:

● The 5:21 PM train from Ronkonkoma to Yaphank is extended on Friday making all stops to Greenport.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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