0

Off Duty Transit Cop Fires At Intruders…..

Posted by
on October 30th, 2007 at 2:27 pm

Today’s Newsday had a story about an off duty transit officer who fired shots at two armed intruders on his property in Elmont. The incident took place in the officer’s driveway where he encountered the intruders after hearing noise coming from that location. The officer whose identity has not been revealed went outside & found 2 armed men in his driveway. He ordered them to stop but they continued to proceed towards him. In response to that he fired 4 shots from his service weapon. The shots chased the intruders off of his property. He later found out that the intruders had stolen 4 tires off of his 2006 Infiniti.

Here is the Newsday’s article on the incident:
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0

MTA Police Dedicate New Headquarters To A Fallen Officer

Posted by
on October 30th, 2007 at 2:13 pm

This past Thursday, the MTA Police dedicated its new Jamaica headquarters to fallen officer Dennis McCarney. Mr. McCarney of Hicksville was the first Long Island Railroad police officer to die in the line of duty. His unfortunate death occurred 18 years ago on March 15, 1989.

He was killed while chasing a robbery suspect out of Penn Station. As Mr. McCarney approached, the suspect turned around & punched him several times in the chest. It is believed that the punches led to the fatal heart attack that took his life. Here are some comments about his death & the headquarters being named after him:

Retired officer & Mr. McCarney’s partner on March 15, 1989 Marc Catok – “In my opinion I’m not a doctor that killed him. Now his name will never be forgotten.”

Mr. McCarney’s widow Marilyn Duignan (has been remarried) – “It’s still very moving to see that the police department still remembers and thinks enough of Dennis to honor him with this kind of dedication. I hope no other police officer ever needs to have a building named after them.”

The MTA issued a press release & here is what it had to say:

MTA Police have a new home in Jamaica dedicated to a fallen police officer. A ceremony was held today marking the official opening of the MTA PD’s Third District Headquarters with local, MTA and LIRR officials in attendance including MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot Sander, LIRR President Helena Williams, MTA Deputy Executive Director of Security William Morange and members of the family of Officer Dennis McCarney.
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1

M Train Rider Report Card Breakdown

Posted by
on October 26th, 2007 at 12:03 pm

M train
Middle Village/Metropolitan Ave. bound M train leaving the Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves. station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

Earlier this morning I briefly wrote about the initial results for the M train rider report card. The MTA has released the full report card so it is time to get down to business!

Here are the M train riders top 10 priorities for improvement:

01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Station announcements that are easy to hear
04. Train announcements that are easy to hear
05. Cleanliness of stations
06. Adequate room on board at rush hour
07. Sense of security in stations
08. Sense of security on trains
09. Cleanliness of subway cars
10. Station announcements that are informative

Now here is the entire order of priorities according to M train riders:

01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Station announcements that are easy to hear
04. Train announcements that are easy to hear
05. Cleanliness of stations
06. Adequate room on board at rush hour
07. Sense of security in stations
08. Sense of security on trains
09. Cleanliness of subway cars
10. Station announcements that are informative
11. Working elevators and escalators in stations
12. Lack of scratchitti in subway car
13. Train announcements that are informative
14. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
15. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars
17. Lack of graffiti in stations
18. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines
19. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
21. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way

Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories:

Minimal delays during trips C
Reasonable wait times for trains D+
Adequate room on board at rush hour C
Sense of security in stations C
Sense of security on trains C
Working elevators and escalators in stations C-
Signs in stations that help riders find their way C
Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C
Cleanliness of stations C-
Cleanliness of subway cars C-
Station announcements that are easy to hear D
Station announcements that are informative D+
Train announcements that are easy to hear D+
Train announcements that are informative D+
Lack of graffiti in stations C
Lack of graffiti in subway cars C
Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C-
Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C
Comfortable temperature in subway cars C+
Ease of use of subway turnstiles B-
Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B-

After going through the top 10 list of priorities, I feel that some accurate choices made the cut. Like its fellow Nassau Street counterparts the J & Z, the M could use a huge improvement in wait times. Sometimes you feel like you are waiting forever for a train to show up when these 3 are involved. The train announcements choice clearly depends on what part of the fleet you are riding on. I am not surprised to see security be a huge issue as that was a big issue for the J & Z in its rider report card.

However I do question a couple of the selections. When I ride through the majority of stations on the J, M, or Z, I don’t really see many stations looking poorly cleaned. From the few stations I recall off hand, they were in decent condition considering some of the areas or characters surrounding it.

One of the other choices that is debatable is the “adequate room on board at rush hour”. If you were to believe some of the posters on forums such as the Rider Diaries or Subchat, you would think the M is a virtual ghost town. I have lost count over the years or how many different individuals I’ve read feel that the M should never serve Southern Brooklyn.

I for one think the M serves a huge purpose in Southern Brooklyn during rush hour. I have ridden the line during that stretch in the aforementioned area a lot over the years & feel it is utilized by a decent percentage of riders. The thing I wonder about is what portion of riders voted this category in the top 10. I don’t think it was the riders who utilize the line in Southern Brooklyn. In my times being out there on the D or M, I can’t recall ever seeing a sardine can atmosphere on the M. I assume the riders who voted this category into the top 10 are those riding it along Broadway in Northern Brooklyn.

Overall I feel most of the grades were accurate in this report card. Other than maybe an odd grade here or there, the riders were pretty accurate in grading the Nassau Street lines. Unfortunately the amount of riders giving out those grades were still way too low. The MTA said they received over 1,360 report cards from M train riders. You already know that I feel that is way too low!

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1

M + Straphangers = C-

Posted by
on October 26th, 2007 at 1:51 am

M Train
Middle Village/Metropolitan Ave. bound M entering Kings Highway during G.O. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

This math problem was brought to you commercial free by the straphangers via the 2007 rider report card. Getting back to the seriousness at hand, the riders have spoken & they were clearly not satisfied. Like its fellow Nassau St. counterparts the J & Z, the M earned an overall grade of a C- in its 2007 rider report card. The MTA has not posted the full report card on its website but some details have leaked. Lets look over what little we know so far courtesy of this morning’s upcoming edition of AMNY.

The M train earned its lowest grades in the same exact categories that the J & Z did. We also learn that the M earned a D for the category “reasonable wait time for trains”. MTA New York City Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr. had these comments to share about the M’s report card:

“Looking at the results for the M, our customers are placing a strong emphasis on service reliability & communications. We appreciate this feedback, as it helps us decide how to allocate our resources as they become available.”

I will have a full breakdown & personal analysis of the M’s report card as soon as the MTA releases the information on their website.

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5

F & G Train Riders To Suffer A Lengthy Loss

Posted by
on October 26th, 2007 at 1:22 am


Coney Island/Stillwell Ave. bound F train entering the Smith-9th Sts. station on the F & G. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

Yesterday’s edition of the Metro paper had a story sure to make riders on the F & G cringe. The MTA has announced that the Smith-9th Streets station will be closed up to 1 year as repairs made on the crumbling Culver Viaduct, which stretches over the Gowanus Canal. The repairs will also cause temporary platforms to be in use at the 4th Ave. station. No exact time frame has been given as to when the station will start being closed. Based on initial estimates, the initial guess is the closure will take up most of the year 2010.

Here are some comments about the project:

NYC Transit spokesperson Paul Fleuranges – “The bottom line is quite simple: The infrastructure work and system upgrades that comprise this project are necessary for the continued and future safe operation of the current F and G service.”

NYC Transit’s Connie Crawford – “We’ve talked to the community about that — they’re well aware. his is major, major work at that station.”

However Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman disagrees with Connie’s assessment which prompted him to say “We’ve jumped a step somewhere. We might have been blazed over. It would be an outrageous inconvenience.”

This is definitely a huge blow as that station is one of the most important stops the F makes in Brooklyn. I am sure local residents are not thrilled with this announcement. However I hope they understand that this is for everyone’s good & sometimes inconveniences are part of making things right.

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