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Benjamin Kabak

TWU, MTA square off over pay for Sandy days

by Benjamin Kabak November 8, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 8, 2012

As the region’s transit network struggles to regain its footing now ten days after Sandy swept through the area, the MTA and TWU are squaring off over employee pay for the hurricane days. With the transit network down last week, few New Yorkers could get to work, according to a missing from TWU President John Samuelsen, the MTA promised to pay workers who could not get to their jobs on October 29 and 30. Now though, Samuelsen alleges that the MTA is reneging on its deal.

In a statement, the TWU head had some harsh words for his Transit counterparts.

Today the MTA reneged on the agreement they made with TWU Local 100. They have thoroughly demonstrated that their word means nothing, and that they do not know the meaning of good faith.

In some departments, we were outright told to stay home with pay for Monday and Tuesday. We were not given the option of coming into work. In every department, we were prevented from getting into work because of the decision of the Governor to shut the system down. The decision was not ours and we should not have to bear the cost.

By this decision, management shows what they truly think of the round the clock effort we have made to get the bus and subway system back running after Hurricane Sandy. They show how little respect they have for their workforce. During the hurricane, and then during the mammoth effort to restore service, the MTA praised local 100 for the incredibly difficult work we performed. But actions speak louder than words, and we must never forget this assault on our paychecks. Every worker at the TA, OA and MTA Bus should remember this when asked to make an extra effort “for the good of the service”. Unfortunately, the MTA does not deserve our “extra effort”.

New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast though had a different take on the matter. Transit has promised to pay everyone who came to work and those who could not as long as the latter group phoned in to explain their absence. In the much the same way that you or I must call my supervisors if I can’t make it to work, so too did Transit expect their workers to do. “If someone never called in, never let us know what they were going to do, and never came into work, we’re not going to pay them,” Prendergast said to The Daily News. Transit officials do not want to set a precedent of paying workers who “shirk[ed] their responsibilities” during the storm because it could lead future employees to do the same during the next emergency.

Don’t forget: It’s now been nearly 11 full months since the last TWU contract expired, and labor negotiations have no been progressing quickly or steadily. This is but the latest salvo in a key battle over the MTA’s short- and long-term budgetary future.

November 8, 2012 22 comments

Queens

Scenes from Sandy: The A line destruction in photos

by Benjamin Kabak November 8, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 8, 2012

Washouts from Sandy have exposed old LIRR infrastructure (left) along the A train near the Rockaways.

A SAS tipster sent in some dramatic photos of the damage Hurricane Sandy caused to the A train line. These photos show the approach to the Broad Channel station, and in many photos, old Long Island Rail Road infrastructure has been exposed. As you’ll see, it’s going to take some work to restore these tracks, and service between the Rockaways and the rest of the subway system will likely be suspended for a while.

Tracks over water.

Old LIRR infrastructure underneath newer NYC Transit tracks.

Washout.

New rolling stock for the A train includes a boat.

Debris on the tracks.

Warped tracks.

The long view.

November 8, 2012 33 comments

Asides Service Advisories

The G train returns, with eight cars and a longer wait

by Benjamin Kabak November 7, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 7, 2012

A few days after more subway service settled into some pattern of normalcy, the G train has finally returned, Transit announced this morning. The IND Crosstown, often referred to as the Ghost Train and considered by many of its loyal riders to be the forgotten stepchild of the system, will run from Church Ave. to Court Square, and due to damage from the flooding, the train sets will consist of eight cars. There is, however, a twist. As Transit said via Twitter, trains will run “with extended waits due to ongoing signal repairs.”

In a subsequent press release, Transit offered up a bit more info: Due to severe damage in the Greenpoint tube under Newtown Creek, G trains will run at no more than 10 mph through just that tube, and trains will operate every 12 minutes instead of every eight. Transit is warning on delays and “possible crowding.”

“We are working day and night to restore service as quickly as possible to give customers more travel options after the storm each day,” MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota said in the statement. “We will continue to add service incrementally, only when it is absolutely safe to do so and doesn’t overcharge the system. Given the strain on the system, we still encourage our customers to allow extra time for their commutes.”

November 7, 2012 28 comments

New York City Transit

Link: Repairing the subways quickly

by Benjamin Kabak November 6, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 6, 2012

Yesterday afternoon, one of the MTA’s pump trains worked on the L train’s 14th St. tunnel. (Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin)

For the past week, we’ve seen photo after photo of flooded tunnels, wrecked stations and eroded trainbeds. Yet, somehow, when we all leave work today, most of the city’s subway lines will be running, and service will be sufficient enough to get us all home. Considering the Governor and MTA officials were warning of historic destruction in the subway system just seven days ago, many subway riders are probably wondering how everything got fixed so quickly.

To answer just that question, New York Magazine’s Robert Kolker went underground to profile the service restoration efforts. In a way, it’s a story of how everything went right shortly after everything had gone horribly wrong. I’ll excerpt, but do yourself a favor and read the whole thing.

Half of the subway system’s fourteen under-river tubes flooded. A few filled up end to end, much like the MTA’s Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. They couldn’t even send workers out to assess them until after the second surge at the next high tide Tuesday morning.

Pumping began soon after — or “dewatering,” as the pumping industry calls it. Other city agencies had to rely on outside contractors to pump their tunnels. But it happens that the subway system already had its own toys. Each of the system’s under-river tunnels has a sump to deal with everyday seepage, and each also has a tube fixed to the side called a discharge line. Starting Tuesday, the system sent in its “pump trains” — diesel powered trains with five or six cars, run by just five or six workers. Underneath the trains are pumps, moving hundreds of gallons of water back into the river every minute. “You take the pump train and you bury the first car up to the floor level so it’s underwater,” Prendergast says, “and you hook it up to the discharge line and you start pumping the tunnel dry.”

The only problem was the MTA had seven flooded tunnels and just three pump trains. It can take up to 100 hours to pump the largest tubes, fully loaded with water, or as little as five or six hours for those that are smaller or less fully flooded. It was time to prioritize. “If you let the size of the effort overcome you, you can’t get started,” Prendergast says. “So you just take on the most important tunnels first. It’s like the old story: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” The highest priority was the 4, 5, and 6 Lexington line — the highest capacity line in the United States in terms of customers carried — which connects to the Joraleman Street tunnel. Then there was Clark Street tunnel, which connects to the West Side IRT 2 and 3 trains. Those lines were luckily not completely flooded. The Army Corps of Engineers helped out with some crucial work on the Montague Street tunnel, but Prendergast says the MTA handled the majority of the effort.

After pumping, the MTA had to inspect the tunnels and begin the desalination process. With the power out in Lower Manhattan, they enjoyed something of a grace period where they could work uninterrupted and without as much pressure from above. Until ConEd turned the juice on, after all, the MTA couldn’t run trains.

We know the endings: Services are coming back where damage was not too severe, and other sections will be waiting a while longer. Meanwhile, as NYC Transit President Tom Prendergast said of the MTA’s remedial measures, “If the bus bridge did anything, it helped underscore for people how our rail system has a lot more utility than our bus system.” Will we carry these lessons onward into the future?

November 6, 2012 18 comments

Service Advisories

Sandy Update: Even more rush hour service but still no L, G

by Benjamin Kabak November 6, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 6, 2012

As of Monday morning, the L train tubes were still flooded with water. (Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin)

The ride home for millions of workers on Monday night was among the more painful in recent memories. Heading west of the city, New Jersey-bound travelers found hours-long lines at Port Authority as the buses couldn’t handle the masses of folks who usually take New Jersey Transit. Heading southeast out of Manhattan was a challenge too as an accident at Atlantic Avenue snarled IRT service and led to crush conditions on the BMT. With service still far from 100 percent, New Yorkers had to show patience in their travels.

As Tuesday — Election Day — dawns, ever so slowly, things are improving. Today, the A, B, C and Q trains will see even more service. The A will again make stops to 207th St. in Manhattan, and the C will terminate at 168th St. The B train will be revived, running between Bedford Park Boulevard in the Bronx and Kings Highway in Brooklyn, and the Q will terminate as far south as Brighton Beach.

Additionally, Transit is looking for ways to improve 1 train service as well. With switches being called into heavy duty, the agency says it is “studying ways to adjust signals for the 1 train in lower Manhattan that will allow them to turn around faster, improving the frequency of service and reducing crowding.” On Monday morning, trains were very full, and with South Ferry out of commission for the foreseeable future, adjusting service levels is a priority. Now, all that is the good news.

The bad news is that L and G trains — missing on Monday — will not return quite yet. The MTA again stressed tonight that “the top subway priority is now restoring service on the G and L trains through northwest Brooklyn, where alternate service on the J and M trains was extremely crowded.” Earlier in the day, in an interview on WNYC cut short by a call from the governor, MTA Chairman Joe Lhota voiced similar sentiments and promised trains “soon.” “You’ll get the G soon,” he said. “I can’t tell you when, but you’ll get the G real soon.”

Hope and vague timelines aside, the MTA says that the G train has been cleared of water from Newtown Creek. With so much potentially polluted and damaging floodwaters in the tunnel though, crews have to inspect and repair the signal system before trains can run again. The L train tunnel, as the above photo shows, is still under water. Extra B62 buses will run tomorrow until services are restored, but that’s a small consolation for a neighborhood largely cut off from its transit connections.

And so we’ll do it again this morning as things inch slowly toward a new normal, if not an equilibrium, before the long-term repairs kick off. Limited PATH service returns in a few hours, and hopefully, those L and G trains won’t be too far behind.

November 6, 2012 29 comments

Asides PANYNJ

Limited PATH service set to restart Tuesday morning

by Benjamin Kabak November 5, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 5, 2012

Although trains between Newark and the World Trade Center are still out of service, PATH trains will run from Midtown to Journal Square starting tomorrow morning at 5 a.m., the Port Authority announced this afternoon. PATH will run only a limited service with station stops at 33rd, 23rd and 14th Sts. in Manhattan and Newport, Grove St. and Journal Square in New Jersey, and trains will operate only from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Stations at 9th St. and Christopher St. in the West Village will not open due to concerns over capacity crowds.

For the first time in a few days, the Port Authority also revealed some details on the extent of damage sustained by the system. Hoboken Station suffered extensive damage to the signaling and train control equipment while floodwaters damaged substation equipment at both Newark and Journal Square. PATH engineers are working to restore additional service, but there is no timeline for such work.

Meanwhile, the WTC-Newark line seemed to bear the brunt of the floods as well. In a statement, PATH explained, “Exchange Place and World Trade Center stations both experienced an unprecedented amount of flooding, damaging multiple types of equipment, including those for signaling and train control. PATH engineers are repairing or replacing this equipment as quickly as safely possible. Hurricane Sandy caused more flooding in the tunnels than the terrorist attacks of 9/11.” It may still be a while yet for Exchange Place and Hoboken service to return to normal.

November 5, 2012 19 comments

Brooklyn Service Advisories

Sandy Update: Where are the L and G trains?

by Benjamin Kabak November 5, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 5, 2012

As the Monday morning rush hour has come and gone, we’ve quickly learned that northern Brooklyn and parts of Queens are struggling under the demands of less than 100 percent transit service. With the L and G trains still shuttered due to flooding, residents of areas served by these trains were left with packed M and J trains, very long lines for buses and a growing sense that the MTA views them as second class subway citizens. When, they ask, will service be restored or alternate transportation options be available?

With a crowd swell of voices calling for the restoration of service, the MTA has stressed the attention it will pay to the L and G trains. In a statement this morning on Twitter, the MTA said that getting the G and L back up is “our highest priority.” They offered up more in a subsequent statement:

The MTA is very much aware of the difficult commute for our customers who usually take the G and L trains, as well as the crowding at the Marcy Avenue station. Getting the G and L running again is our highest priority, and crews are working around the clock on both. Pumping the water from those flooded tunnels is only the first step; signals must be fixed or replaced and then tested, among other restorations, before we can safely start service again. We know this is an inconvenience for our customers in the affected neighborhoods, and the entire agency is focused on getting those lines running again.

In other statements, though, MTA officials let slip their on takes on the G train. To The Observer, Adam Lisberg, the MTA’s head spokesperson, talked of ridership. “The answer on the L is that it’s impossible to turn trains around easily mid-route for a Brooklyn shuttle service,” he said. “[It’s] very difficult to set up because of the track layout. They may try now that other lines are getting better service, but that’s just a discussion at this point. As for the G, enough of it is parallel to other lines—plus the naturally low ridership.”

(Later, Lisberg offered up some sympathy and an explanation for G train riders though. “Water that has sloshed in by way of Newtown Creek is obviously going to be more of concern,” he said to Capital New York. “The signal damage in the G tunnel, I’m told, is very severe.”)

Brooklyn politicians though have objected to the MTA’s approach. “The G train is not a second class line,” City Council Member Steve Levin said to The Observer. “It’s essential for the MTA to recognize that. For the last couple of years, ridership has been way up on the line, as many new businesses and residents have become reliant on the G train on a daily basis—not only to get into Manhattan but to travel within Brooklyn and to Queens.”

He continued: “I understand the constraints the MTA is working under, and it’s enormous constraints, what I expect them to do is provide the fullest service possible. I’m not an engineer, and I appreciate how complex the system is, but I expect that my constituents are treated the same as subway riders in every other neighborhood.”

Council Member Diana Reyna issued a similar call: “The task before the MTA is difficult but not impossible, and alternatives must be provided to those commuting to work.” Are the J and M trains — plus subsequent transfers — sufficient alternatives? Riders trying to get to work and school are saying no, and L and G train service may not return for a few days yet. It’s a bad situation made worse right now.

November 5, 2012 37 comments

Service Advisories

Sandy Update: A slow and crowded Monday awaits

by Benjamin Kabak November 5, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 5, 2012

In the aftermath of Sandy, debris mars the mezzanine of the new South Ferry Station. (Photo MTA New York City Transit / Leonard Wiggins)

For me, Sunday marked the seventh day in a row that I haven’t set foot in Manhattan. Since living outside of New York City for college, that’s a personal record borne out of necessity. I could work from home for the past week and, far from the waterfront, never lost power. I consider myself quite lucky as I see the city coming together to help those in the Rockaways, Coney Island and Red Hook who will have to rebuild their lives, homes and businesses.

As Monday dawns, my enforced isolation in Brooklyn comes to an end, and the same is true for many New Yorkers the city over. Subway service is operating amongst the borough again, and although service will be far from perfect, it’s enough to lead us all back to our offices. But just how bad should we expect that Monday morning commute to be? That’s the key question.

State officials are hedging their bets. On Sunday afternoon, nearly a full day before Monday’s rush hour commute, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota issued public pleas for patience. “Progress has been very good. As of [Sunday] morning, trains were running between Brooklyn and Manhattan through the two tunnels and two bridges,” Governor Cuomo said. “South Ferry, which at one time was a large fish tank, has now been pumped dry. This is not to say that service will be normal tomorrow. Service will not be normal tomorrow, and we need you to understand that before you enter the system.”

The MTA was even more strident. While 80 percent of the subway network is back in service, MTA officials warned that the system will carry less than 80 percent of its normal capacity. And with gas supplies running low and schools open again, the subways will be quite crowded come the morning. “We are in uncharted territory here in bringing the system back,” Lhota said. “It’s very different from what we had in Irene because of the amount of damage and the saltwater in our system. We will do everything we can to get everyone there. I just ask everyone to be understanding, and also try to think about flex time and try to leave a little bit earlier or a little bit later.”

Specifically, the MTA has found that “the system suffered more corrosion than was apparent on first inspection, and problems that appear when the system is re-energized are being addressed as necessary.” Low-capacity switches are being asked to carry more of a load than they were designed to, and trains may run less frequently than usual. Rush hour may be messy.

Still, as of Sunday evening, service offerings for the Monday rush hour were coming into view. Late in the day, the MTA resumed running Q trains from Ditmars Boulevard, local in Manhattan, over the Manhattan Bridge and via the BMT Brighton Line to Kings Highway. E trains resumed service from World Trade Center to Parson/Archer via 53rd St. a little less than an hour ago. For the morning, 1 trains, which are currently terminating at 14th St., are likely to be extended to Rector St. They can use the old South Ferry loop to turn around but will not be stopping at that station. With trains now operating over the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges and through three of the six East River tunnels between Brooklyn and Manhattan, straphangers can get to their destinations one way or another.

But there is still some bad news. The South Ferry station appears to be heavily damaged, and there is no timetable for service restoration there. Similarly, the R via Whitehall isn’t an option right now. The L train tunnel was flooded “wall to wall,” according to Lhota, and the G train has suffered a similar fate. There is no estimated time for service to resume.

In the Rockaways, the A train connection is down for the count as well. The North Channel Bridge sustained serious damage, and the tracks and infrastructure in Broad Channel were severely damaged too. The MTA is going to truck 20 subway cars to the Rockaways in order to run limited shuttles from Beach 116th to Mott Ave. where shuttle buses will carry customers to the Howard Beach station, but again, no timeline has been established for this service.

So that’s where we are. The system is slowly coming back, but Monday is going to be a big test as millions head back to work. Leave extra time for travel, and be prepared for a slow journey to Manhattan and beyond.

November 5, 2012 39 comments

Service Advisories

Sandy Update: Service returns between Brooklyn and Manhattan

by Benjamin Kabak November 3, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 3, 2012

The IND’s Cranberry St. tunnel looked more like a canal. (Photo by MTA New York City Transit / Leonard Wiggins)

In what Governor Andrew Cuomo has termed an “unprecedented engineering feat,” the MTA plans to restore nearly 80 percent of subway service by the end of the day today. Currently, 4 and 5 trains are running between Brooklyn and Manhattan with the 5 making express stops in Manhattan. The 6 is running to Brooklyn Bridge as well, and the F, D, J and M trains will return to full service later today. The 7 is now operating between 42nd St./Times Square and Flushing-Main St.

Furthermore, service within Brooklyn should be restored as well. The Q train is expected back later today, and the 2 and 3 trains should be back in service by tonight or tomorrow. The Staten Island Rail Road has returned with limited hourly service as well. The MTA tells me that the Brooklyn Bus Bridge will run “just until people know subways are working again.”

By Monday morning, A train service between Lefferts Boulevard and 168th St. will resume. Additionally, the 1 will run to Rector St., and the E will be in service as well. The N will run to 59th St. in Brooklyn as the Sea Beach line remains flooded.

Not all the news was good however for subway riders as the L train, in particular, is still out of service. According to MTA Chairman Joe Lhota the tunnel was flooded “wall to wall and ceiling to ceiling,” and there is no timeline for this key train’s return. The G train is not expected back until later in the week either, andthe M is likely to be more crowded in the coming days.

The MTA has updated the recovery map (pdf) and will continue to do so as more train lines come back online.

November 3, 2012 67 comments

Service Advisories

Sandy Update: Fares return at midnight, sadly

by Benjamin Kabak November 2, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on November 2, 2012

A brief late-day update: The MTA issued what has become simultaneously a sad and light-hearted message on fares this afternoon.

Yep, the rumors are true: MTA fares coming back tonight after midnight. 🙁

— MTA (@MTAInsider) November 2, 2012

Beginning at 12:01 a.m., fares will again be collected on city buses and subways and on the commuter rail network, and that emoticon makes it all better. Off-peak fares will be in effect on LIRR and Metro-North until further notice. Meanwhile, as parts of the Manhattan power grid come back online, the subways inch closer to a return. We still need the Lower Manhattan grid to come back, and after that, the MTA can restore subway service within around two hours.

November 2, 2012 14 comments

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