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Two Officers Shot At 21st Street-Queensbridge Subway Station

Posted by
on October 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 am

Station sign on the downtown platform at the 21st Street-Queensbridge station.Station sign on the downtown platform at the 21st Street-Queensbridge station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.

Around 5:15pm yesterday, two officers were shot & seriously injured by an illegal immigrant who tried to use a Student Metrocard to enter the subway the 21st Street-Queensbridge station on the F Train line. Al Baker & Sewell Chan of the New York Times have more in this report:

Updated, 10:35 p.m. | A gunman who tried to improperly enter a subway station in Long Island City, Queens, shot and seriously injured two police officers around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as they tried to arrest him, the authorities said. The injured officers were taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center. The gunman, who was shot four times by a lieutenant as he tried to escape, was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he admitted his role in the shooting, the police said.

The shootings occurred inside the 21st Street-Queensbridge subway station on the F line. Well into the night, F trains bypassed the subway station in both directions as the police investigation continued. As of 10:29 p.m. the Metropolitan Transportation Authority continue to warn passengers of delays in service along the line, which travels between Jamaica, Queens, and Coney Island, Brooklyn, via Manhattan.

The two officers, identified as Shane Farina, 38, and Jason Maass, 28, were assigned to the Transit Bureau.

Click here for the complete report.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Permanent Citizens Advisory Commitee Releases New ADA Accessibily Report

Posted by
on October 21st, 2008 at 1:34 pm

The P.C.A.C., better known as the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, has released a new report on ADA Accessibility at the MTA. The new report which is 116 pages long praises the Long Island Rail Road & Metro-North when they said both agencies “have few issues with respect to accessibility.” Here is a sample of the findings listed within the report:

• LIRR, out of 124 stations, has 20 fully accessible stations of which 18 are key stations and two additional stations.

• LIRR trains employees on how to assist passengers with disabilities including: using bridge plates for customers in wheelchairs; assistance on boarding and detraining; emergency evacuation; and, “disability etiquette” issues.

• MNR, out of 84 stations in New York State, has 13 designated key stations and another 18 that are also fully accessible. An additional 24 stations are wheelchair accessible.

• MNR’s Training Department provides training for train crews and front line employees including providing assistance to persons with disabilities, emergency evacuation procedures, instruction on bridge plate use and boarding procedures, and operating rules (for train crews) that affect customers with disabilities such as rules for service animals, priority seating, reduced fares, etc.

• NYCT, out of 468 stations, has 67 key subway stations which have been made accessible. Another 33 must be made accessible by 2020. There are an additional 16 non-key stations that are wheelchair accessible, five of which are fully ADA accessible.

• The entire fleet of MTA/NYCT buses is lift-equipped, has kneeling features, wheelchair securement devices, public address systems, and seating spaces reserved for persons with disabilities. The 2007 reduced-fare ridership was approximately 3% of subway trips and over 10% of total bus trips.

Now here is a sample of some of the recommendations contained in the report:

• Add “Elevator/Escalator Outages” as a separate tab on the top of the MTA website homepage along with “Schedules”, “Maps” and “Service Advisories”. Elevator/escalator information must be front and center, easy to access, and include those elevators/escalators maintained by other parties than MTA/NYCT. Further, this outage information should be linked throughout the website: accessibility information pages, station pages, etc.

• Create a single webpage of elevator and escalator disruptions across the entire system — subway, commuter rail, bus, ferry — in a simple grid format. This presentation is used very effectively on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) website.

• Create website pages for all NYCT subway stations (similar to those for LIRR and MNR stations) with development priority given to all ADA accessible stations. Any information related to accessibility at a specific station should be included on that page, including the location of elevators and escalators within the station.

• Incorporate elevator and escalator information in the forthcoming MTA service diversion alert system. This service could be similar to WMATA’s Electronic Elevator Notification (ELLEN) system, where an online form allows a customer to create a list of notification preferences, including elevator status and route disruptions.

• Post floor plans in all key stations with the location of the elevators at that station. They should be placed at the entrance to the station near other maps or passenger information centers and on platforms.

• Accelerate implementation of technologies that provide automated audible and visible stop announcements to reduce the impact of operators failing to make announcements. All new buses should have this feature.

• Check the working condition of the bus public address equipment and lifts daily. Current inspections are too infrequent. Procedures must ensure that operators report faulty public address systems and lifts promptly.

I have only had the time to skim through the report. Later on tonight if not tomorrow, I will take the time to read through all 116 pages & provide my opinion on it. In the meantime, I urge all of you to read the report yourself. You can access the .pdf by clicking here.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Agrees To Disability Reforms

Posted by
on October 21st, 2008 at 1:30 pm

The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, which has come under intense scrutiny for their possible role in helping former LIRR employees collect fraudulent disability benefits, has agreed to disability reforms proposed by federal lawmakers. Alfonso A. Castillo has more in this report for Newsday:

The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board has “unanimously agreed” to adopt a number of reforms proposed by federal lawmakers aimed at curbing possible abuses of federal disability benefits by Long Island Rail Road retirees, said a memo obtained by Newsday yesterday.

The memo, sent to members of New York’s congressional delegation yesterday, outlines five reforms the retirement board has agreed to implement relating “solely to the Long Island Rail Road and its employees,” including measures that could potentially cut off some LIRR retirees currently receiving disability benefits.

While saying the changes will be “beneficial” to the system, LIRR president Helena Williams said yesterday that they “appear to unfairly single out LIRR retirees and do not go far enough to address what is a nationwide issue.”

The retirement board has come under fire following reports that it approves, nationally, 98 percent of railroad disability claims. An unusually high number of claims come from LIRR retirees, board members have said. More than 90 percent of LIRR retirees, it was reported last month, have received disability benefits.

Click here for the complete report.

Seriously did the board really think they could do anything but publicly agree to these reforms? The real test is to see if they get implemented & seriously enforced to prevent possible fraud in the future. So the jury will be out on this issue for quite awhile.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR Pension Agency Failed To Act Years Ago

Posted by
on October 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm

This is the opinion of New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo after it was revealed that the pension agency received a complaint about potential fraud 5 years ago. Robert E. Kessler has more in his report for Newsday:

The government agency that oversees the LIRR pension system had a complaint about possible pension abuses as far back as 2003, but did not act, according to a letter from the New York State attorney general’s office.

In fact, one attorney for the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board replied to a whistle-blower that “the LIRR’s experience with disability is probably right in the ballpark with other railroads,” State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

“We believe that the [railroad board] provided misleading information to the LIRR about this issue, thereby forestalling by years this inquiry,” Cuomo wrote in the letter.

LIRR management backed Cuomo’s position Friday. Joseph Calderone, an LIRR spokesman, issued a statement that said, “The LIRR raised this issue in 2003 with the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, but it appears we were given misleading information by the board in response to our queries.”

Cuomo’s letter was not sent to the railroad retirement board directly, but rather to the inspector general’s office of the retirement board.

Click here for the complete report.

As with most articles on Newsday, this contained some responses from readers. The most interesting response came from “Carl” who said:

Attorney General Cuomo and also Newsday are both doing great jobs in uncovering all that is going on at the LIRR. No matter what the cost this should be continued to be looked at and the more the LIRR retirees dismiss it as “no bid deal”, the more it should be looked at for all the fraud and corruption that has been going on there for many years. Leave no stone unturned and prosecute where appropriate as all decent, honest and law abiding citizens want done.

They all have lawyers now but they did nothing wrong, all 98% of them.

Yeah right.

I happen to agree with him that no stone should be left unturned in this investigation. While it will come at taxpayers expense, it is clear that their are much worse things that have received assistance from tax payer dollars. What are the chances that every single disability benefits case is legit especially when most are collecting for the same exact reasons? I say the chances of all of these claims being legitimate is slim to none. I also wouldn’t hire a lawyer if I knew I was completely innocent unless I had no choice to do so.

I truly think some of these retirees are worried that the gravy train is coming to an end & it is about damn time. Each & every person found to be guilty of fraud should be forced to pay back every cent collected & face federal jail time!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR President Helena Williams Editorial

Posted by
on October 21st, 2008 at 12:47 pm

4 days ago Long Island Railroad President Helena Williams penned an editorial for Newsday. She talks about the LIRR’s proud history & her attempts to combat the huge disability benefits scandal that has shined a negative light on the agency. Here is a brief sample of her editorial:

‘Change at Jamaica.” It’s a familiar refrain to anyone who rides the Long Island Rail Road. But in recent weeks, it’s taken on a whole new meaning for the 6,800 employees who keep America’s oldest and largest commuter line running.

Our organization finds itself under fire, facing understandable public outrage at news that nearly all LIRR retirees in recent years have received a disability pension from the federal government. At Gov. David Paterson’s urging, we are aggressively pursuing reform to safeguard taxpayer funds. It’s no longer business as usual at the LIRR on this issue.

In August, we referred this matter to the inspectors general of the MTA and the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, a little- known federal agency based in Chicago that approves 98 percent of all disability pension applications nationwide without any meaningful input from the LIRR or other railroads. Last month, Paterson asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate, and the LIRR is cooperating fully.

Meanwhile, on Oct. 2, we urged members of Congress to issue a series of reforms at the federal level, designed to weed out frivolous claims – including independent medical reviews of disability applications, a more stringent review of applications from those in white-collar jobs and a requirement that claimants undergo rehab if they can return to work.

Last week, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-Southampton) and representatives from other Congressional offices summoned members of the Railroad Retirement Board to New York to get them to agree in principle to significant reforms. We must all remain vigilant and watch for the adoption of new regulations by the board.

Click here for the complete report.

I have been a fan of Helena’s work since she became LIRR President. I would like to believe she is truly in a tough place here as she did not know the fraud that was going on. However the same sentiment is not shared by the few people who commented on the editorial. As usual with these responses, you have to take most with a grain of salt because the responses can be filled with utter trash or childish nonsense.

Lets look at the response from “Huh” who had this to say:

Clean? did I actually read that the trains are clean? They are FILTHY and God forbid a conductor or anyone that works for the LIRR actually picked up trash. Yes, the riders leave trash and makes a mess, but only because the thing has never been clean in the last 20 years. You treat people like animals, they behave like animals.

I’ve never met a courteous LIRR employee. IN fact, if you read posts on Newsday from former/current LIRR employess they have the audacity to write how they deserve to be fraudalent and get disability. They cannot even acknowledge it is fraud, they can only say “they paid into the system and they should be able to get it back out”. Typical of a UNION worker.

Half the reason I don’t want to work in the city is I know how incovenient the 33 minute ride is. NO one wants to stop at Jaimaca or even slow down.

The entire system could get rid of conducters if they wanted to, see other systems where electronic turnstyles take the place of humans. It is not like they do ANYTHING else on the train.

This person has a point about the trains being filthy. I have ridden the LIRR for years & have noticed this same problem. However I can’t help but feel the line of thinking here is idiotic in terms of passing the buck. So you admit that the riders themselves are responsible for leaving the trash. However you get angry because a conductor won’t pick it up. Last I check that is not part of their job description although I have seen some pick up newspapers & discard them.

The kicker is that you turn around & justify the pig style action of riders because conductors or other employees don’t clean it up & this has been going on for 20 years? Since the LIRR treats us all like animals, we as riders have the right to literally trash the system. This has to go down as one of the dumbest LIRR rants I have ever read. Let me break it down to you, when the cars first were available to be used for passenger service, they were not dirty & trashed up. This did not happen until the riding public destroyed the property themselves. So in the end it still comes down to the riders & this is a fact that an idiot like this can’t possibly refute.

Someone named “Metro-North Rider” specifically responded to “Huh” with a comment which from my experience has some truth to it:

The problem is you long Islanders suck . You are rude , noisy and dirty. You should ride a metro north train and see the different type of people. you guys are like thugs on the trains. thank god again i dont live in Long Island or I should say Wrong Island…..

While I have ridden the LIRR considerably more than the Metro-North, I must say I do notice a huge behavioral difference between the riders. I can’t recall ever being on a Metro-North train where I encountered super loud people or a rowdy pack of people drunk off their asses. While I am sure it does occur, I’m confident in saying it doesn’t happen as often. I usually hate taking the LIRR coming back to the island as those rides seem to always be considerably worse than the rides in. Either way I think the original comment has a lot of truth to it as I have heard the same sentiment echoed by others. After awhile you would think it is not a coincidence that these opinions are out there.

In the end, I hope Helena continues to do what she can to make the LIRR a strong & efficient railroad operation. It not only would benefit her to do so but the riders as well.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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