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Train Conductor Helps Deliver Baby Girl

Posted by
on June 11th, 2009 at 8:57 pm

I just love stories with a happy ending. Unfortunately this blog rarely contains those due to the main subject in question. So it is my pleasure to bring this story about a train conductor who helped deliver a baby girl on a Queens-bound R Train this afternoon via a press release e-mailed to me by the MTA this afternoon:

A Queens-bound R train briefly became a makeshift maternity ward as one future straphanger couldn’t wait any longer to enter the world. It was just after 1:20 p.m. that the train crew was alerted by customers that a female passenger was in active labor on board the train as it sat in the Whitehall Street subway station. The crew immediately sprung into action, alerting the Rail Control Center (RCC) and going to the subway car that the pregnant mother was in.

Shortly after the RCC notified Police and Paramedics, the passenger’s water broke. Conductor Bretta Sykes, waiting at the station to assume her duties onboard an incoming W train, saw the commotion and entered the train. After assessing the situation, she told the mother-to-be that EMS was on the way. Being a mother of two who had also taken birthing classes, she suggested that the mother-to-be take deep breaths to ease the pain and slow down the process. However, at 1:29 p.m., the baby was out in a flash and caught by Conductor Sykes. “There was no time to do anything but help,” said Sykes, who’s been a conductor at NYC Transit for more than three years. “My motherly instincts definitely helped me think and act quickly. I caught the baby and used my coat as well as the baby’s father’s jacket as blankets until EMS arrived.”

Soon after the baby was born, paramedics arrived and took mother and child to Downtown Beekman Hospital, where both are said to be resting comfortably.

NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr., when informed of this conductor’s act, said: “I am not surprised that the train crew went above and beyond their regular duties to ensure the safety and comfort of the mother and baby. The men and women of this organization usually swing into action when called upon. We are very proud that Conductor Sykes was able to assist in the safe delivery of the baby today.”

Let me take this time to congratulate the new parents & most importantly Conductor Bretta Sykes for going above & beyond the call of duty. I wish only the best for all involved in the future.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

1 In 4 Subway Payphones Do Not Fully Work

Posted by
on June 11th, 2009 at 8:27 pm

The Straphangers Campaign serves many roles for the millions that ride the NYC Subway. One of those roles is the creation of surveys/reports whether about service or actual items inside a station. Their latest survey/report tackles the latter in the form of payphones. According to their latest survey/report, 1 in 4 subway station payphones do not fully work. Before taking a look at the actual report, lets look at the press release issued by them:

Approximately one in four payphones in New York City Transit subway stations does not fully work, according to two surveys released today by the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign.

In one survey of 921 telephones at 100 randomly chosen subway stations, 26% were found to be “non-functioning,” with problems ranging from no dial tone to coin slot blocked (survey margin of error is +/- 4%). This finding is better than in our 2007 survey when an identical campaign survey rated 29% of phones non-functioning, a modest improvement.

In a second survey, the campaign tested 638 pay telephones in the 25 most-used New York City Transit subway stations and found 23% to be non-functioning (see Table One). This finding is consistent with our 2007 survey, which found 22% non-functioning.

“About a quarter of subway phones still do not fully work,” said Cate Contino, coordinator for the Straphangers Campaign. “And that’s a problem for many riders.”

Verizon’s current contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not require any minimum number of payphones be kept in working order. Previous contracts called for 95% of phones to be “fully operative and in service at all times.” But language changed in 2005 reads: “[Verizon] shall exercise good-faith effort to clear 95% of all known troubles within 24 hours.”

Underground stations do not allow for cell phone use. In addition, the MTA said in 2007 that as many as half of subway riders do not own cell phones.

Both surveys were conducted between June 30 and September 23, 2008. The release of findings was delayed until June 2009, after state officials resolved the MTA’s funding crisis.

Key findings of the survey include:

• The best of the most-used stations — with 100% of payphones functioning — is Flushing-Main Street (7);

• The worst of the most-used stations — with only 50% working phones — is 68th Street-Hunter College (6);

• The most improved of the most-used stations is Flushing-Main Street, which improved from 86% working payphones in 2007 to 100% in this survey;

• The most deteriorated most-used station between our 2007 and 2008 surveys is 68th Street-Hunter College, which fell from 88% functioning payphones to 50% in this survey;

• Among the 20 largest subway stations common to our 2007 report and this one, we found that payphone functioning rates improved in ten and grew worse in ten (see Table Two).

Telephones were deemed non-functioning if the handset was missing or unusable; there was no dial tone; surveyors were unable to connect a call to a 1-800 number; the coin slot was blocked; coins deposited did not register; or the telephone would not return a coin.

In the survey of the 921 phones in the 100 randomly selected stations, the leading reason for phones being rated as non-functioning was no dial tone (24%); followed by won’t return coin (23%); coin falls through (18%); bad handset (16%); cannot connect to a 1-800 test number (11%); and coin slot blocked (8%) (see Chart One).

One regularly scheduled survey conducted by or on behalf of the MTA found a better level of subway payphone performance, noted Jason Chin-Fatt, field organizer for the Straphangers Campaign. However, he noted that the survey used a different methodology, which might explain the difference in findings.

For example, in its Passenger Environment Survey (PES), New York City Transit’s Operations Planning Division found 93% of subway pay telephones to be in working order during the second half of 2008.

Chin-Fatt noted the discrepancy between Straphangers and PES survey might have arisen from three major differences. First, the PES surveys are less thorough. Surveyors do not perform a coin drop to test the phones, rating telephones as functioning if the surveyor notes an undamaged handset and is able to contact a specific 1-800 test number.

Second, the PES draws its sample from the entire subway station population (468 stations) and does not restrict itself to the most-used stations. Third, the PES survey was conducted over six months; ours for three months.

In addition, surveys were conducted for the MTA by an independent contractor during approximately the same time as the Campaign’s survey (July to September, 2008). It found 25% of payphones to have “service affecting troubles,” largely in line with the campaign’s methodology for classifying payphones as non-functioning.

The campaign believes these results to be consistent with the overall findings of the Straphangers Campaign.

Click here for the “Best to Worst: Percentage of Functioning Payphones in 25 Most-Used Stations”

Click here for the “Comparison of Functioning Payphones in 20 Most-Used Subway Stations, 2007-2008”

Click here for the “List of 100 Randomly Selected Subway Stations, 2008”

Click here for “Why Straphangers Campaign Rated 237 out of 921 Payphones as Non-Functioning”

The report did not contain any surprises. In this day & age, no one really expects payphones to really work in a subway station. Most times they clearly are broken or look so dirty & beat up, that the idea of using one grosses you out. However I will say the one thing that does bother me about the report or more accurately the results.

I think it is very telling that the best performing stations were all heavily used stops where the majority of riders would not need to use a payphone. While it is not always a good idea to start class warfare, one has to question why stations in less than desirable areas feature a lower percentage of working payphones. This is a problem that should be rectified by Verizon. I also feel the MTA needs to have a clause in the next contract that creates a minimum percentage of phones that must be in working condition.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Select Bus Service May Come To Queens

Posted by
on June 8th, 2009 at 4:10 pm

Based on entry views, one of the most popular topics from my blog is Select Bus Service. The service which debuted & proved to be a big hit on the Bx12 in the Bronx, is slated to possibly come to the transit deficient Queens. John Lauinger of the New York Daily News has more in this report:

Bus Rapid Transit – a system that allows buses to function more like a subway – is key to expanding the city’s mass transit, some advocates and transportation officials argue.

BRT was established in New York for the first time last year as a pilot program on the BX12 line along Fordham Road in the Bronx. By providing a separate right-of-way for buses and allowing for curbside fare payment, among other features, travel time dropped by 11 minutes – or 19% – from one end of the line to the other, city records show.

The city is now pushing BRT plans in Manhattan, Brooklyn and on Staten Island, but not in Queens, where local merchants previously opposed a Merrick Blvd. pilot, fearing it would remove on-street parking and hurt business.

But the city is proposing a second wave of BRT lines over the next decade. Whether this transit frontier will run through Queens – and if so, where – will depend on various factors, including input received at two public meetings in Jackson Heights and Jamaica last week, officials said.

The city Transportation Department has identified 31 potential BRT corridors, focusing largely on areas underserved by mass transit or targeted for growth.

Nine of those are in Queens, including southeastern Queens; Utopia/Fresh Meadows; Middle Village; the Long Island Expressway; the Long Island City waterfront and the Queens-Manhattan connections, where subways are jam-packed.

Joe Barr, director of transit development for the DOT, said eight to 12 corridors across the city will be selected this summer for further study. Projects that are ultimately selected will be built over the next decade.

The Bronx pilot was built in about a year, Barr noted. “If people are looking for short-term improvements to their transit service,” he said, “this is really a good way to deliver that.”

Click here for the complete report.

I sincerely hope this program reaches Queens. Excluding Staten Island, Queens is by far the most deficient borough in terms of quality mass transit options. The subway fails to serve enough areas & most bus routes run poorly and/or do not provide enough service.

As far as the argument used by local businesses about losing business due to less parking, they should really reconsider their position. A good business person understands that you can’t alienate potential customers via some preconceived bias. This is especially the case when it comes to mass transit riders.

The thinking that the majority of business comes from drivers is completely out of whack with reality. A better case could be made that if better transportation options were available, business would increase. Either way, personal or preconceived bias can not stand in the way of better mass transit regardless of the location.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Service Diversions 06-05

Posted by
on June 5th, 2009 at 10:22 am

I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest scheduled diversions for the weekend & upcoming week (and beyond in some cases). A reminder for those going to Belmont Park tomorrow for the Belmont Stakes program, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is providing extra service. Lastly don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Hemmerdinger’s Family Sues Him

Posted by
on June 3rd, 2009 at 11:36 pm

I have always said that the people one usually has to watch out for the most is their own family. This sentiment might not have been in the minds of some members of the Hemmerdinger clan previously, but it sure is presently. It turns out that two half brothers are suing the current MTA Board Chairman & others for “siphoning” millions from a building own by the chairman’s real estate company, ATCO Properties. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:

The man who runs New York’s transit system is at the center of a blue-blood battle over a Midtown high-rise his family claims he used as a personal piggy bank.

Dale Hemmerdinger’s half brothers, Charles and Monroe, claim in a new lawsuit that the MTA chairman and others “siphoned” more than $2.2 million from 555 Fifth Ave. by nickel-and-diming the building with management fees over the last four years.

The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, says Hemmerdinger enriched his son and daughter by appointing them to senior, well-paying posts at ATCO Properties – part of the real-estate conglomerate he heads.

ATCO also rented substantial space in the building at below-market rates, the suit alleges.

The building is owned by a limited partnership with dozens of investors, including the Hemmerdingers and ATCO.

Hemmerdinger “continues to use the limited partnership and assets of the limited partnership not only to enrich himself personally, but also to enrich his daughter and his son,” the lawsuit claims.

Click here for the complete report.

This should be a very interesting case for transit watchers to follow. This is not the first time ATCO Properties has been mentioned on this blog. The initial mention of them concerned the visible nepotism that was occurring with the rerouting of a bus route to serve a shopping mall owned by the company. Cases such as this do nothing to kill the notion that the people running the MTA are money grubbing individuals.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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