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Fulton Transit Center July Work Schedule

Posted by
on July 9th, 2010 at 4:13 pm

As has been the case for the last few months, MTA NYC Transit is releasing the planned monthly work schedule for the Fulton Transit Center. Here are the complete details courtesy of the press release I received within the last hour:

Due to ongoing construction of the Fulton Street Transit Center, the following service changes will be in effect for weekends in July:

July 10-11:

• A Train & C Train trains bypass Broadway-Nassau St. in both directions

• A Train & C Train platform closed, no transfers between the 2 Train, 3 Train, 4 Train & 5 Train trains

—-

July 17-18:

• Brooklyn-bound A Train & C Train trains skip Broadway-Nassau St.

—-

July 24-25:

• Brooklyn-bound A Train & C Train trains skip Broadway-Nassau St.

—-

July 31 – August 1:

• Brooklyn-bound A Train & C Train trains skip Broadway-Nassau St.

____________

MTA NYC Transit apologizes for any inconvenience to our customers. Service changes at Fulton Street-Broadway Nassau station complex will continue for most weekends through October. As weekends approach, customers should:

• Pick up brochures that detail alternate travel options

• Look for signs and service change posters in stations

• Visit the website at www.mta.info and click on “Planned Service Changes” and/or “Current Service Status”

• Sign up for free email or text message alerts at www.mta.info

• Follow changes on Twitter at nyctsubwayscoop

• Call Travel Information at 718-330-1234 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily

The Fulton Street Transit Center
Some of the work being done at Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau during these weekends include reinforcing girders over the AC platform. There will also be elevator work, which consists of digging the pits on the AC platform and at least partially constructing the shafts up through all levels of the station.

For more information on the construction project itself, log on to www.mta.info . Once at the home page, click on Capital Construction (under “MTA Agency Links”), then click on Fulton Street Transit Center under Programs.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Fulton Transit Center, Service Diversions
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LIRR Bay Shore Station Renovations Completed

Posted by
on July 9th, 2010 at 4:06 pm

Earlier this morning, the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) held a press event to showcase the completion of a renovation project at the Montauk Line’s Bay Shore station. Unfortunately I could not make the event due to prior commitments. Here is a press release I received shortly after the event:

Customers using the Bay Shore LIRR Station are enjoying a brighter commute thanks to a completed multi-phased renovation project. The work consisted of replacing the station’s underpass with a modern covered pedestrian overpass between the eastbound and westbound platforms. The station building was then rehabilitated and new platform lighting has been installed.

State Senator Owen Johnson was instrumental in obtaining funds for the work. He said,
“The Bay Shore train station services many daily commuters and is a gateway during the summer months for visitors who take the train from New York City to ride the ferries to and from the Fire Island communities. We can be proud of the new improvements which show LIRR patrons that we care about their comfort and safety.”
LIRR President Helena Williams said, “We appreciate Senator Johnson’s support of this project as well as the involvement of the local Bay Shore community. Their efforts played a key part in making these improvements possible.”

The station building renovations included installation of new windows, doors, two new handicapped accessible restrooms, a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, along with the painting of all exterior columns as well as the waiting areas on both platforms. The final stage of the work included replacement of the previous lighting with a new lighting system that included vintage-style light posts on both platforms and new perimeter lighting around the station building.

The cost of the project was $3.6 million with funding provided by a State Senate monetary allocation along with money from the MTA LIRR Capital Improvement Program. Approximately 1,600 customers use the Bay Shore Station daily. The station opened in 1912.

I am sure these renovations are a welcome site to the customers who use this station. My sister used to frequent this station while coming & going from her job. On many occasions, she would wonder if & when the underpass would be renovated or replaced. Most people who use that station could tell you how awful it smelled, especially of urine. During the summer, the smell would sometimes be extremely potent while on the platform. Thankfully that this should no long ber the case.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 07-09-10

Posted by
on July 9th, 2010 at 3:37 am

I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest weekend diversions. The remaining diversions scheduled to end by 11:59 PM Friday are still listed. The next update will be sometime after 12:01 AM Saturday when those diversions are officially over.

I suggest you print out a copy of the page to carry with you or use any mobile device to access the phone-friendly version of Transit Blogger. As always, have safe travels!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Editorial Shows No Grasp On MTA’s Full Problems

Posted by
on July 9th, 2010 at 12:31 am

It is no secret that the MTA is the midst of arguably its worst financial crisis ever. There is plenty of blame to go around whether it be elected officials, union workers, or the MTA itself. Thursday’s edition of the New York Post contained an editorial which squarely pushes the agenda of the financial woes being the fault of union members.

Here is what Manhattan Institute’s City Journal contributing editor Nicole Gelinas had to say:

At next week’s public MTA hearings on its proposed token-booth closings and other customer-service reduc tions, city and state lawmakers will talk tough about sticking up for the straphanger against the big, bad MTA. But none of the pols will say the obvious: Modest wage concessions from transit and railroad workers could save us from some of these cuts.

These workers took home an average of $69,500 last year — not counting health-care and pension benefits far more generous than the average New Yorker, let alone the average straphanger, enjoys.

Yes, the MTA is wasteful and inefficient, spends too much on lawyers and black cars and all the rest of the usual complaints. But big savings have to come from its workforce — or at the expense of its customers.

Two weeks ago, the MTA’s first round of cuts eliminated two subway lines and 37 bus routes, reduced frequency of other buses and trains — and cut basic cleaning. But much more is ahead.

These early cuts, including nearly 1,000 jobs, will save just $93 million — less than a quarter of the MTA’s $400 million budget shortfall.

And the budget hole is growing. The new tax on downstate payrolls, created in last year’s MTA bailout, was supposed to bring in $1.5 billion a year. But that didn’t allow for the continued stagnation of the local economy. Last month, the MTA had to slash its forecasted take from the tax by $56 million — on top of a $280 million writedown this spring. The agency’s revenues from taxes on real-estate transactions are $58 million short, too.

So we’ll see even more drastic plans in the next few months — less service and more trash, and a January fare hike that could bring a monthly MetroCard’s cost to $105, up from $89 now.

But service cuts are a losing game. They inflict pain on the riding public and area economy, without saving the MTA very much.

Consider: Even as it cuts trains, buses, maintenance and (probably) capital spending, the MTA’s huge payroll costs are still going up.

Click here for the complete editorial.

Nicole has some points especially in regards to the MTA needing to save money. However her editorial clearly shows a lack of true understanding with what is wrong overall & how it could be fixed. She clearly is touting an anti-union stance & echoing sentiments that workers are overpaid. Do some salaries need to be curbed? Sure, in some cases it is legitimate. However to attack the overall average salary is beyond ridiculous.

In her world, salaries should stay frozen or barely adjust compared to the current economic breakdown. Let’s take her example for subway maintainers & how the 2008 salary level of $65,200 should have occurred due to the amount of jobs it would save.

I would love to here her defend this logic in how one could be expected to realistically survive on that salary, especially if having to take care of a family. She seems to forget that living in this region is an expensive chore. The cost of living continues to rise yet salaries don’t or sometimes get reduced. Would she like it if I or others felt she should take a paycut? I doubt it very much. Yes, there needs to be labor savings but that is not the only problem here which she tries to push in her piece.

Now let’s focus on one of the real crippling issues hurting the MTA. For years, I have harped on how our elected officials are arguably the biggest culprit in this financial crisis. My feelings on that have not changed however I won’t tackle that in this entry. Instead, I would like to take this time to focus on of the other big culprits, the MTA’s “debt service”.

Nicole has the time to bash union member salaries yet ignores the MTA’s Capital Pogram which year after year is filled with bloat, waste, & severe mismanagement. If she was truly in tune with everything or not trying to push some anti-union agenda, she would acknowledge the waste & mismanagement on the majority if not all of the MTA’s Capital Program Projects.

Hmm, let’s see what parts are behind schedule & have showcased an increase in cost? Can anyone say, the Second Avenue Subway, Fulton Street Transit Center, Subway Car Purchases, Station Improvements, Line Structure Rehabilitation, etc. I could go on for a bit here but you get the picture. People like Nicole need to grasp the full picture before attempting to throw the blue-collar workforce under the bus.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Express Buses Return To Park Place

Posted by
on July 8th, 2010 at 11:58 pm

If you have ridden any express bus routes that travel via Park Place normally, you have known about the detours in place for the last year due to construction. Earlier today, the MTA announced that its express buses will return to Park Place. Here are the complete details courtesy of the press release I received:

Effective, Monday, July 12, 2010, Park Place will reopen after about a year of construction. As a result, the following express buses will return to their usual stops in the vicinity of Park Place:

The QM7, QM8, QM11 & QM25 will begin stopping on the south side of Park Place near Church Street; the BM1, BM2, BM3 & BM4 will stop on the south side of Park Place mid-block between Church Street and Broadway; and the X8 & X15 will stop on the south side of Park Place near Broadway.

The express stops on Warren Street between Church Street and Broadway, as well as the stop on Church Street at Murray Street, will be eliminated.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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