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MTA Prepares For Hurricane Earl

Posted by
on September 3rd, 2010 at 3:13 am

The big story around our region is the potential severe weather that we could see stemming from Hurricane Earl which is making its way up the eastern seaboard. Many businesses & residents are taking extra precautions by stacking up on food, water, & other emergency supplies. The MTA is no different in preparing for the storm in terms of their service pattern. They issued a press release yesterday afternoon:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that it is preparing for any service-related issues that may arise from Hurricane Earl. The MTA is closely monitoring the storm and will work hard to ensure that customers get where they need to go.

Long Island Rail Road Service Changes:

MTA Long Island Rail Road will suspend train service east of Speonk on the Montauk Branch and east of Ronkonkoma on the Main Line, which normally takes customers to Greenport and Long Island’s North Fork. LIRR service west of Ronkonkoma and west of Speonk will operate on a normal schedule.

The last train traveling west to Penn Station is scheduled to leave Montauk at 5:39 AM and arrive at Penn Station at 8:32 AM. The last train leaving New York for Montauk is scheduled to depart from Penn Station at 12:39 AM Friday morning and arrive in Montauk at 3:57 AM. The last westbound train will leave Greenport at 5:30 AM Friday morning. The LIRR will assess any storm related damage late Friday night before deciding on when service can resume on Saturday.

Eight early getaway trains between 2:02 PM and 3:48 PM scheduled from Penn Station heading east on Friday will continue to operate to Babylon, Great Neck, Far Rockaway, Hicksville and Huntington.

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NYC Transit, MTA Bus, Long Island Bus:

Service on subways and buses is expected to remain normal but delays, disruptions and the rerouting of buses are possible if there is flooding underground and on city streets. Customers are urged to use caution, especially on stairs, outdoor platforms and at bus shelters.

The potential for service disruptions caused by flooding during periods of sustained heavy rains does exist so New York City Transit maintains three pump trains capable of pumping 300 gallons of water from the system every minute. The Track and Infrastructure Division also has a fleet of portable pumps, some with a pumping capacity of 600 gallons per minute. Crews will also be dispatched to cover sidewalk vent gratings in areas that are prone to flooding.

Inspections of the system’s drains and culverts have already begun to make certain that they are clear and free of debris. Transit workers will also survey outdoor train lines and construction areas to identify and secure any loose materials.

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Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road Preparedness:

The Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad are working closely with emergency officials on hurricane contingency plans. The railroads have mobilized their maintenance of way employees, gathering teams to respond to fallen trees, downed power lines, clogged culverts, mudslides, and washouts. In preparation for the storm, both railroads are ensuring that all equipment necessary to deal with the effects of the storm are ready to go – chain saws for clearing downed trees, pumps for flooded areas, and identifying locations and availability of replacement supplies for replacing damaged utility poles and crossing gates. Vehicle fuel tanks have been topped-off and generators are being tested and fueled.

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MTA Bridges & Tunnels:

MTA Bridges and Tunnels is part of the city’s Office of Emergency Management preparedness team and is involved in daily preparations and updates as the storm gets closer. B&T staff are readying equipment and working with contractors at our seven bridges and two tunnels, making sure that all work sites and equipment are secure in case of high winds.

Bridges and Tunnels personnel are also checking all storm drains at our facilities to ensure that they are free of debris. Wind restrictions will be in place at various B&T facilities if winds gusts rise to between 30 (wet conditions) and 39 m.p.h. (dry conditions), and motorists will be asked to reduce speeds. If winds reach 49 m.p.h., certain vehicles, including box trucks, step vans, and motorcycles would be banned.

The MTA urges all customers to give themselves extra travel time whenever there is inclement weather. Customers should visit the MTA’s website, www.mta.info, and monitor news media and traffic and transit reports for updated information on storm-related service. We also urge customers to sign up for email alerts by visiting MyMTAAlerts.com to begin receiving real-time status updates about your subway, bus, rail and/or bridge and tunnel route.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Darius McCollum Bus Theft Update

Posted by
on September 2nd, 2010 at 12:39 am

Darius McCollum
Darius McCollum being escorted out of the 103rd Precinct Tuesday night after his recent arrest. Photo courtesy of Kendall Rodriguez for the New York Post.

Almost 24 hours ago, I wrote about how notorious transit criminal Darius McCollum was once again busted. His latest crime involved the theft of a Trailways bus from a maintenance facility in Hoboken, New Jersey.

It seems there is more to the story that originally appeared in the New York Daily News. According to the report from Emily Ngo & Tom Namako of the New York Post, the bus theft over the weekend was not the first by Darius from this company & facility. 21 days earlier he allegedly stole another bus from the facility & drove it to Washington D.C.:

The mass-transit madman who yanked a bus from a Hoboken depot yesterday appears to have stolen yet another bus 21 days ago from the same spot and driven it to Washington D.C., police sources said.

Darius McCollum, 45, told officers after his arrest yesterday that he stole another bus nearly three weeks ago – and hasn’t yet been caught, law enforcement sources said.

Authorities in Washington D.C. are checking the fingerprints on the recovered Trailways bus to see if they match McCollum’s, sources said.

“It’s bizzarre. It’s around that time frame,” police sources said.

Officials from the MTA – who McCollum has terrorized for 30 years — confirmed that none of their buses were stolen three weeks ago.

His lawyer, Stephen Jackson, said, “He vehemently denies that. He has not been charged with any other incident and there’s no indication of him taking anything else than what was charged in this case.”

Trailways spokeswoman Anne Noonan was unavailable for comment. Her assistant said she was “out of the office for the rest of the day.”

McCollum, 45, who has a history of commandeering subways and slipping in to transit facilities with impeccable uniform fakes, is now being held on $100,000 bail after appearing in Queens criminal court this morning.

He went on a joy ride around Queens with a Trailways coach yesterday.

Click here for the complete report.

What else is left to be said about Darius. He clearly needs help as there is a clear obsession with public transportation & just being a fan is not enough. Has any agency ever considered hiring him for some sort of job? I know with this criminal record, no agency would hire him. However maybe a job is what it would take for him to stop these planned crimes.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Extra LIRR Service To Start Labor Day Weekend

Posted by
on September 2nd, 2010 at 12:26 am

I apologize for not posting this information earlier. With the recent fire at the Hall Tower east of Jamaica Station starting to distance itself in the rear view mirror in terms of effects on service, the LIRR as usual will be running extra service to start the Labor Day weekend. Here are the details courtesy of the release they sent me:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road will be providing additional service for customers getting an early start on the Labor Day Weekend on Friday, September 3. There will be eight additional eastbound trains from Penn Station between 2:02 PM and 3:48 PM. The extra service will include: three trains on the Babylon Branch, three on the Port Jefferson Branch, one on the Port Washington Branch and one on the Far Rockaway Branch.

The LIRR will be operating on a weekend schedule on Saturday, September 4th and Sunday, September 5th and a Sunday/holiday schedule on Monday, September 6th. Please note that the additional Sunday afternoon Montauk Branch westbound trains from Montauk and the Hamptons will not operate on September 5th, but instead operate on September 6th(Monday).

The extra trains from Penn Station on Friday, September 3 are as follows:

Port Jefferson Branch to Hicksville and Huntington:

• 2:03 PM stopping at Jamaica, Carle Place and all stops to Huntington

• 2:31 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

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Babylon Branch:

• 2:23 PM express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon

• 2:48 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

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

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Port Washington Branch to Great Neck:

• 3:40 PM stopping Woodside, Flushing Main St., then all stops to Great Neck

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Far Rockaway Branch:

• 3:48 PM stopping at Locust Manor, Laurelton, Rosedale, Valley Stream, then all stops to Far Rockaway

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Cars will also be added to selected regularly scheduled trains.

Labor Day, Monday, September 6:

On Monday, September 6, the LIRR will operate on a Sunday schedule.

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Darius McCollum Busted Again

Posted by
on September 1st, 2010 at 1:11 am

Darius McCollum
Darius McCollum being taken out of the 59th St.-Columbus Circle station by cops in June 2008. Photo courtesy of Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

For some people, bad habits are just too hard to break. This is especially true when it comes to Darius McCollum who has a long history of run-ins with the law involving his obsession with all things involving public transportation, especially the MTA.

He was the focus of 2 entries on here in 2008. The first was in June as he was busted for impersonating a track worker & entering a restricted area at the 59th St-Columbus Circle station. This was not the end of his run-ins with the law as in October, as he was busted for impersonating a federal agent when he flashed a bogus badge & id to a LIRR conductor after boarding a train at Penn Station.

The career criminal who became famous around the region for stealing an E train & driving it from 34th St-Penn Station to the World Trade Center when he was 15, has once again been arrested. His latest misdeed occurred on Tuesday morning after he stole a Trailways Bus from a maintenance facility in Hoboken, New Jersey. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more:

He’s back on the bus – and back under arrest.

Darius McCollum, whose mass transit misdeeds include 26 arrests over the last 30 years, was busted driving a stolen bus on the Van Wyck Expressway on Tuesday morning, police said.

McCollum, 45, of Harlem, was behind the wheel of the empty Trailways bus when he was stopped near Exit 10 in Queens by the NYPD at about 9:15 a.m., police said.

The cops were responding to a call from New York state police about a bus stolen from a maintenance facility in Hoboken, N.J.

A bus dispatcher checking the GPS found the vehicle was off-site and driving in New York City, said Trailways vice president Anne Noonan.

Police tracked the bus using its GPS, and McCollum was arrested without incident on the northbound Van Wyck. He was charged with grand larceny auto and possession of stolen property, police said.

City transit officials, well-acquainted with McCollum’s obsession, said its employees had been “on the lookout for this career transit worker wannabe,” said NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges.

“We applaud the NYPD’s recent arrest, and hope he is punished to the fullest extent of the law and kept far away from anything with wheels,” Fleuranges said.

Click here for the complete report.

It is a shame that Darius continues to do these things. As I stated 2 years ago, jail is the answer for him. He clearly needs help that for whatever reason he has not received. Whatever help he has received clearly failed him & needs to be reevaluated.

I also noted that it is a shame that he can’t get a job with the MTA. I know that they would never hire him with his past history. However he seems to clearly love transportation & has a lot of knowledge about the system. Maybe just maybe they could find a position that could keep him off the streets & from run-ins with the law.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA To Buy More Subway Cars w/ Cameras

Posted by
on September 1st, 2010 at 12:31 am

In what will surely get the attention of civil liberty groups around the tri-state area, the MTA has announced its plans to buy up to 340 subway cars that would be equipped with surveillance cameras. Ti-Hua Chang of MyFox NY has more in this report:

The MTA plans to buy 290 more subway trains and equip them with video surveillance cameras. The cameras, which would be hidden in the ceiling, would only record. They would not send out a live signal.

The MTA also has an option to purchase 50 more subway cars with cameras if the budget permits.

“Future cars will be camera-ready,” MTA spokesman Paul Fleuranges told the New York Post. “The hardest part of retrofitting old cars to run the lines is that it involved taking the car apart.”

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly considers video surveillance cameras on subways a move in the the right direction. He said it’s like chicken soup — it can’t hurt.

But the head of the New York Civil Liberties Union said there have to be guidelines before there is abuse of the video images. Donna Lieberman said that although the cameras are in public, people have a right to know how the images will be used, how long they will be kept, and who will have access to them.

Click here for the complete report.

Now here is a report with more information from Tom Namako of the New York Post:

The MTA is on track to create a subway ring of steel.

In an unprecedented security move, transit officials are ordering up 340 new subway cars that will come equipped for surveillance cameras, The Post has learned.

Instead of tearing up old subway cars and installing the wiring and hardware needed for security cameras — a costly process — the new cars will already have the technology built in, NYC Transit officials said.

The MTA will just have to pop in the cameras, and the cars will be ready to roll with their new surveillance equipment.

“Future cars will be camera-ready,” said MTA spokesman Paul Fleuranges. “The hardest part of retrofitting old cars to run the lines is that it involved taking the car apart.”

MTA documents peg the cost of the initial 290-car order, likely to be followed by a 50-car second order, at about $748 million.

It’s expected that the 60-foot cars — which will be joined together to make about 34 trains in total — will be on the tracks by 2015.

Click here for the complete report.

I am all for the MTA looking to improve the technology but not under the falsehood of security. This plan reeks of big brother & I am strongly against it. These cameras will not stop crime from happening as a determined criminal does not let these devices stop them. If they were completely reliable, we would not hear or read about robberies at banks, stores, etc….

It is a shame that the agency can’t just purchase newer equipment without the big brother aspect being included. Yes, I am grateful for much needed updates to our infrastructure & equipment but not if it has to be under the false pretense of ‘security”.

One can hope that this pilot does not expand as I stand behind the rights of privacy. I understand that we lose some natural rights to privacy due to being in public. However this does not mean we should have to deal with cameras at every turn in our public lives. This is not the freedom our country was founded on!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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