Author

Benjamin Kabak

Weekend work impacting 15 lines

by Benjamin Kabak September 8, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 8, 2012

Busy Friday. Sorry for the silence. Before I delve into this weekend’s service changes, note that the MTA says countdown clocks will be offline on Saturday. It’s strange to think of the subway without the clocks. Even though they’re a new-to-us technology, they’ve become an integral part of our daily commutes. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’ll often take the IRT over the BMT/IND just for the piece of mind of knowing when my train will arrive. How did we ever survive without them?

Meanwhile, the rest of this weekend’s goings-on:

From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 9, downtown 2 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street due to track panel installation south of Prospect Avenue.

From 6 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 9, there is no 3 train service between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue due to switch renewal south of New Lots Avenue and track panel installation at Sutter Avenue. 4 trains and free shuttle buses provide alternate service. 3 trains run between 148th Street and Franklin Avenue and via the 2 line between Franklin Avenue and Flatbush Avenue

Take 4 trains between Franklin Avenue and Utica Avenue (trains make local stops)
Transfer between the 3 and 4 trains at Franklin Avenue
Free shuttle buses operate between Utica Avenue and New Lots Avenue
Transfer between 4 trains and free shuttle buses at Utica Avenue

From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., the 3 operates between 148th Street and Times Square-42nd Street only.

From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 9, there are no 4 trains between Utica Avenue and New Lots Avenue due to switch renewal south of New Lots Avenue and track panel installation at Sutter Avenue. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service.

4 operates between Woodlawn and Utica Avenue, making local stops between Franklin Avenue and Utica Avenue
Transfer between trains and free shuttle buses at Utica Avenue

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, downtown 4 trains skip 138th Street-Grand Concourse due to station rehabilitation at 149th Street-Grand Concourse.

From 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9, there are no 5 trains between East 180th Street and Bowling Green due to track panel installation south of Prospect Avenue. 5 trains operate between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street.
For service between:

East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse, take the 2 instead.
149th Street-Grand Concourse and Bowling Green, take the 4 instead.

Downtown 2 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Sunday, September 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, uptown 6 trains run express from 3rd Avenue-138th Street to Parkchester due to ADA work at Hunts Point Avenue.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, Manhattan-bound A trains are rerouted via the F line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street, then run local to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to track work from High Street to Fulton Street.

From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., Monday, September 10, F trains replace A shuttle service between Euclid Avenue and Lefferts Blvd. due to Culver Viaduct rehabilitation work and tunnel lighting installation. Service to/from Far Rockaway is not affected.

From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9, there is no C train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn due to Culver Viaduct rehabilitation work and tunnel lighting installation.
C trains are rerouted via the F line between West 4th Street and 2nd Avenue, the last stop.

To/from Spring Street, Canal Street and Chambers Street, take the A or E instead.
To/from Brooklyn, take the A or F instead.
F trains are rerouted via the C between Jay Street-MetroTech and Euclid Avenue.
Uptown A trains are rerouted via the F from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, D trains run local in both directions between 36th Street (Brooklyn) and DeKalb Avenue due to Culver Viaduct rehabilitation work and tunnel lighting installation.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, there is no F train service between Jay Street-MetroTech and 18th Avenue due to Culver Viaduct rehabilitation work and tunnel lighting installation. F trains operate in two sections:

Between 179th Street and Jay Street-MetroTech and then rerouted via the C line to/from Euclid Avenue*
Between 18th Avenue and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue

Free shuttle buses operate in three sections:

Between Jay Street-MetroTech and 18th Avenue, making stops at Church Avenue and Ditmas Avenue only
Between Jay Street-MetroTech and 4th Avenue-9th Street, making stops at Bergen Street, Carroll Street and Smith-9th Sts
Between 4th Avenue-9th St and Church Avenue, making stops at 7th Avenue, 15th Street-Prospect Park and Ft. Hamilton Parkway

*From 12:01 a.m. to 6a.m. nightly, the F operates to/from Lefferts Blvd, replacing the A shuttle service.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, there are no G trains between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts and Church Avenue due to Culver Viaduct rehabilitation work and tunnel lighting installation. Customers may take the A or F for connecting service between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts and Jay Street-MetroTech. G trains operate in two sections:

Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Aves
Between Bedford-Nostrand Aves and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts, every 20 minutes

From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 9, there is no J train service between Crescent Street and Jamaica Center due to structural steel repair and painting north of Cypress Hills. J trains operate between Chambers Street and Crescent Street. Free shuttle buses and E trains provide alternate service. Free shuttle buses operate between Crescent Street and 121st Street, and connect with the E at Jamaica-Van Wyck, where service to/from Sutphin Blvd and Jamaica Center is available.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, M service is suspended due to station renewal work at Fresh Pond Road, Forest, Seneca, Knickerbocker and Central Avenues. Free shuttle buses operate between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue, making all station stops.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, downtown N trains run express from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to track work at 14th Street.

From 10 p.m. Friday, September 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 10, uptown Q trains run local from Canal Street to 34th Street-Herald Square due to electronic systems installation at Herald Square.

From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9, downtown R trains run express from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to track work at 14th Street.

September 8, 2012 11 comments

Asides Subway Cell Service

A new December date for underground cell service

by Benjamin Kabak September 6, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 6, 2012

A brief update on an ongoing project: After unveiling the next group of stations set for underground cell service nearly a year ago, Transit Wireless says the first set of these stations should start coming online next month. According to an an update on DNAInfo, Transit Wireless and the MTA will bring the service to Upper West Stations along the IND and IRT lines from 59th to 96th Sts. by the end of December with some stations receiving service as early as October. Along with Times Squares and Rockefeller Center, this group of stations is considered phase one of a seven-phase project.

While waiting for the subway at 14th St. recently, I had a few spare minutes and started playing around with the WiFi offerings. That the service was free over the summer was an added bonus, and although the signal is stronger at various points along the platform, it seemed pretty reliable when I was online.

The free WiFi is supposed to end tomorrow, and while Transit Wireless was working toward anther sponsor earlier this summer, they have yet to announce it. Furthermore, only AT&T and T-Mobile customers can use the cell network. Despite these limitations, it’s still a great improvement for New Yorkers who yearn to be plugged in as they while away the minutes until the next train arrives.

September 6, 2012 1 comment

Subway Advertising

A ride back in time with Julio and Marisol

by Benjamin Kabak September 6, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 6, 2012

For nearly 12 years, an AIDS awareness campaign was a familiar sight in the subways.

Old advertisements have the power to transport us back in time. An old jingle remembered only on YouTube or a glimpse at a magazine spread from decades past often scream out an era in history. Subway ads are no different. While Dr. Zizmor still survives as youthful as ever, subway car advertising has changed a lot over the past few decades. We no longer see cigarette billboards or anti-graffiti placards. Today, we see floor-to-ceiling ads for NBC’s fall lineup as we walk through Times Square, fully wrapped trains promoting London tourism or Swiss watches, or entire cars replete with of Budweiser placards.

Some ads though stick with you even as the years tick by. One that definitely lives on in the collective memories of New York’s straphangers was a serious campaign, aimed at a public health crisis that defined the era. It was a Department of Health PSA starring two Hispanic 20-somethings named Julio and Marisol. For many, just the names will bring back memories of The Decision or La Decision, as they started out first in Spanish. In 1990, these ads made their debut as the AIDS epidemic had reached a crisis. The first black-and-white strip involved a spat between Marisol and Julio when Julio balked a using a condom. From there, they took a darker turn as friends died and conversations grew more candid. This was heavy stuff for a subway ad campaign.

Over the years, Julio and Marisol garnered a fair amount of press in the city’s papers, and a Times article from 1993 offered up some background on the campaign. A $60,000 grant from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spurred on the PSAs in 1989, and the NYC Department of Health tabbed Connill Advertising to set the story. Targeted at first to higher-risk communities, the story seemed to resonate with the public at large.

After six years, though, a new MTA ad policy torpedoed the soap opera. It was then, 17 years ago, that the MTA announced a new policy that would see the vast majority of subway car ads limited to one major advertiser per side. The MTA figured to earn an extra $3 million per year, but the DOH wouldn’t be a part of it. They didn’t want their campaign lumped in with the Dr. Zizmor’s and toe carbuncle removal ads underground and couldn’t afford the higher rates.

The agency standoff lasted two years, and in 1997, Julio and Marisol made their triumphant return. “Many New Yorkers have told us that they appreciate the Decision series not only for the practical information about HIV/AIDS which it provides, but also for the deep emotional feelings, questions, and concerns expressed by the characters in the story,” then-Health Commissioner Benjamin Mojica said. “The situations in the story are the kinds which people may see themselves in, situations which people can relate to. The great value of the Decision campaign is that, because it is fun and because people can relate to it, they will read it and internalize the more detailed messages we target each issue to — especially the importance of safe sex and the alarming dangers of drug abuse.”

The second iteration of The Decision, not nearly as widespread as the first, lasted until the early 2000s when one of the characters died and another found out a previous lover was HIV positive. As a Daily News piece from 2002 notes, by then, AIDS deaths in the city had dropped from 7000 annually to 2000. In 2010, that figure stood at under 1700, and Julio and Marisol live in on the Smithsonian but not the subways, remnants of another era in New York City history.

September 6, 2012 7 comments

Rolling Stock

Report: Flushing line to poach East Side IRT rolling stock, eventually

by Benjamin Kabak September 5, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 5, 2012

The always-vigilant Dana Rubinstein has an interesting bit for the rolling stock fans among us who wish to plan ahead: When CBTC is finally ready for implementation along the Flushing Line, the 7 will be trading rolling stock with the East Side IRT. The deets:

By 2016, the year that the M.T.A. hopes to complete installation of a modern signaling system along the 7 line, the M.T.A. will have swapped out the line’s cars for newer ones from the Lexington Avenue line, Capital has learned.

Some Lexington Avenue riders, meanwhile, will get stuck with the old 7 train cars. (The newest 7 cars have been in use for about 25 years.) The M.T.A. has yet to determine which of the three Lexington Avenue lines—the 4, 5, or 6—will be affected.

“Sometime prior to when it is turned on in 2016, you will start seeing the cars on the 7 move to the Lex and the cars on the Lex move to the 7,” confirmed Adam Lisberg, a spokesman for the M.T.A.

Essentially, the R62As, which date from the mid-to-late 1980s, aren’t equipped for CBTC while the R142s are. So the MTA will swap rolling stock — and hopefully update the static FIND signs in the R142s — when the time is ripe. That time, of course, isn’t for another four years so I don’t think East Side riders should be holding their breaths. Meanwhile, for East Siders looking for a silver lining, I prefer the air conditioning on the R62As to that on the R142s, and the Second Ave. Subway might be nearing its revenue date by then as well.

September 5, 2012 52 comments

Brooklyn

The Pacific St. Edition of ‘What’s in a Name?’

by Benjamin Kabak September 5, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 5, 2012

A common sentiment, express on a t-shirt.

When it comes to names, New Yorkers are very possessive and adverse to change. A few years ago, some subway conductors starting adding “Top of the Rock” to their announcement at Rockefeller Center, and the corporate addition drew more than a few eyebrows. New Yorkers object to the placement of NYU’s name at the Christopher St. and 8th St. subway stops, and the Mets still play at Shea Stadium.

Nothing though has generated more angst than the corporate naming rights deal at the former Atlantic Ave.-Pacific St. subway stop. For $200,000 a year for 20 years, Barclays has appended the name of its sponsored arena to the station, and Transit has dropped poor neglected Pacific St. Although the arena doesn’t open until month’s end, the station signage has been updated, and the IRT FIND displays are sporting some decidedly low tech decals. Even as protest t-shirts spring up, the station is now, for better or worse, Atlantic Ave.-Barclays Center.

But is Pacific St. supposed to have been left to the dustbins of history? Tough to say, says Norman Oder in a recent post at his Atlantic Yards Report. Noting that the signage wasn’t supposed to debut until the arena actually opened, Oder questions the MTA’s handling of the name change:

It turns out, when the $200,000-a-year deal was approved 6/24/09, the MTA board was told of a different plan. As the … meeting transcript shows, then-CFO Gary Dellaverson stated, “[E]ven though it appears to be a single station, of course it is in essence two different stations and there is two different names, and, it will be Atlantic/Barclays Arena and the Pacific Street Barclays Arena. So that is how it would be named.”

…Dellaverson has left the MTA, and agency spokesman Adam Lisberg says staff aren’t sure why he said it. “Folks here now believe that it was always intended to be Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center,” he told me. The Pacific Street platform still has the name in a “beautiful mosaic [below], and we’re certainly not going to go in and chisel it out,” Lisberg said. Otherwise, the identifier is vanishing…

What’s the rationale? “If the sign on the map says Atlantic-Barclays,” said Lisberg, the sign at the station should match it. “Three names gets too long. Shorter is better.” “The decision to shorten it to ‘Atlantic-Barclays’ was made by the MTA purely for reasons of brevity and clarity, not as part of a conscious decision to commodify public space,” he added, in response to my suggestion that some people are concerned about such commodification. “For commuters, people reading the maps, for tourists… taking it to a concert, calling the station by two names instead of three is much simpler,” Lisberg added.

As Oder notes, the signs weren’t supposed to be revealed until the “Beneficial Use of the Subway Entrance is achieved.” In non-legalese, that essentially means that the date of the name change should have been the date the new subway entrance is available for public use. That clearly hasn’t happened yet. The signage, however, has changed, and the pre-recorded announcements trumpet “Atlantic Ave.-Barclays Center.” Consider it a few months of free advertising.

So the question I circle back around time and again concerns Pacific St. Should we mourn Pacific St.? While Lisberg noted to Oder that the Atlantic/Pacific complex is, technically, two different stations, that distinction has been lost to history since free transfers were instituted in 1967. Meanwhile, Pacific St. is a rather easy street to miss. Despite running parallel to Atlantic Ave., it’s not a destination; it’s quiet residential street. Anyone bound for Atlantic Ave. is far more likely to be looking for station’s namesake, the arena, 4th Ave. or Flatbush. It’s a name that could go without much fanfare, absent a naming rights controversy.

Yet, for the MTA to get it right with respect to naming rights, the authority can’t sacrifice the system’s identity. As I’ve said before, the new name can be appended to the old and should involve a reason — but not necessarily the reason — for traveling to such a station. It isn’t clear if the MTA gave away too much in renaming Atlantic Ave.-Pacific St., but dropping Pacific St. hasn’t gone over too well.

September 5, 2012 50 comments

PANYNJ

Tardy buses and an overtaxed Port Authority

by Benjamin Kabak September 4, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 4, 2012

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Heather Haddon welcomes the unofficial end of summer with an article on everyone’s most infuriating transit topic: late buses. She delives into the New Jersey Transit data and finds that one out of nine buses departed Port Authority at least five minutes later than scheduled. It is an ongoing problem that has vexed transit planners but leads to one conclusion: New York City needs more space for buses.

Overall, NJ Transit buses are getting tardier. More than one in 10 NJ Transit buses—12%—left the Port Authority Bus Terminal more than five minutes late in the first six months of 2012, according to NJ Transit records viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The numbers illustrate a continuing frustration for NJ Transit as bus ridership has grown: A system that brings nearly 100,000 commuters into New York City each day is running out of space in the world’s busiest bus terminal. “We’re bursting at the seams,” said Joyce Gallagher, NJ Transit’s vice president and general manager of bus operations. “We’re using every conceivable ounce of space that we can.”

NJ Transit defines a late departure as leaving five minutes late or more, but commuters say they often have to wait up to an hour for a bus with a seat, as the vehicles fill to capacity quickly. They then must fight through Lincoln Tunnel traffic, which averages about 120,000 vehicles a day, including 10,000 buses.

“The bus will come, but you are wrapped around in so many lines that you have to catch the third or fourth bus,” said Douglas Panchal, a 33-year-old Little Ferry, N.J., resident who works in the banking industry. He said he has waited nearly two hours for a bus.

The problem doesn’t look to improve any time soon. New Jersey Transit competes with long-haul buses, airport shuttles and a variety of other vehicles or space at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and PA officials anticipate a spike in demand by nearly one third over the next 25 years. New Jersey Transit is searching for solutions, but the obvious one requires some amount of political planning.

Essentially, New York City and New Jersey need to rethink their trans-Hudson plans. Another rail tunnel would be ideal, but in the absence of that dream, the city needs to start pondering a new, larger bus terminal and lanes through the Lincoln Tunnel that are truly dedicated to buses. It isn’t sexy, and it doesn’t completely help wean us off fossil fuels. But as part of the transportation infrastructure, these improvements deserve a serious conversation before bus congestion and delays get much worse.

September 4, 2012 136 comments

Taxis

For some, Tuesday brings a cab fare hike

by Benjamin Kabak September 3, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 3, 2012

Along with higher fares, New York City taxis will soon sport new exterior markings as well.

When the Taxi & Limousine Commission approved a cab fare hike in July, the board dropped a start date for the hike in an industry notice that otherwise drew little attention. Despite a dearth of press releases or public awareness campaigns trumpeting the increases, the fare hike can go into effect tonight if cab drivers are prepared for it.

As Matt Flegenheimer explains in The Times, the TLC finally decided to announce publicly that cabs that have been repapered and recalibrated can start charging the higher rates as soon as 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, September 4. Considering how drivers stand to benefit from the 17 percent hike — the first increase in the fare in years — I’d imagine many cabs will be sporting the proper markings as soon as possible. Flegenheimer has more:

The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission announced late Monday that operators of yellow taxis would be allowed to put the new fares — which increase rates by about 17 percent — into effect as of 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, once they have recalibrated their meters and updated external markings.

Operators will not be required to institute the fares until their first scheduled inspections after Sept. 30, meaning that the city’s taxi fleet will most likely include a mixture of old and new rates for the next several weeks.

“We anticipate that many taxicab operators will implement the new fare structure as of Sept. 4, so it is extremely important that taxi riders know and understand it,” David S. Yassky, the chairman of the taxi commission, said in a statement. “The taxi industry appears to be experiencing a smooth transition to the new structure, and we want passengers to experience a smooth transition as well.”

Drivers are thrilled with the increase, and they deserve it. The cost of living has gone up; the cost of gas has gone up; and, as we know, the cost of a subway ride has gone up numerous times. But cabbies haven’t seen their takehome pay go up since 2004. With a slightly lesser increase in rental fees, the drivers themselves stand to benefit.

And what of the riders? The $2.50 pick-up fee will remain the same, but a meter tick will jump from 40 cents to 50. A trip from JFK to Manhattan will cost $52 while the Newark Airport surcharge will rise to $17.50. For the benefit of taxi riders, the credit card surcharge on drivers will shift to a flat fee of $9 from its current five percent levy. The TLC believes this move will lead cabbies to be more accepting of plastic.

For now, though, we may see a few weeks of chaos and irate passengers. While subway hikes come down the pike with fanfare, public hearings and numerous signs in stations, the cab fare hike is arriving literally in the middle of the night. The only sign of the hikes comes on the industry page of the TLC website, and until September 30, it’ll be possible to pay two different fares for the same trip depending upon which cab one hails. Riders not clued into the hikes may not be too thrilled with playing New York City taxi version of Russian Roulette.

No matter how you slice or dice it though, cab fares are going up, and as cabs remain an integral part of the transportation scene in New York City, that’s hardly great news. I’m happy for the drivers who have a rough job and take home little pay, but with a subway fare hike on tap for March, getting around is just getting more expensive.

September 3, 2012 15 comments

Service Advisories

A long weekend of work as FASTRACK returns

by Benjamin Kabak August 31, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 31, 2012

Ah, the last gasp of the unofficial summer, as the city empties a bit and we enjoy a three-day weekend. The MTA is using the long weekend to get some extra work in, and on Monday night, everyone’s favorite work treatment program makes its return to the East Side. FASTRACK hits the Lexington Ave. IRT but only for three nights as the 4/5/6 will not run between 42nd St. and Atlantic Ave. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights only. The work doesn’t continue into Thursday this week because Madonna’s taking the stage at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, and we can’t leave her fans stranded.

The FASTRACK map is above, and the regular weekend service is below. I’m out of town for the long weekend so you’ll see me again on Monday night.

From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 2, downtown 2 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street due to track panel installation south of Prospect Avenue.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 3, downtown 4 trains skip 138th Street-Grand Concourse due to station rehabilitation at 149th Street-Grand Concourse.

From 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, there are no 5 trains between East 180th Street and Bowling Green due to track panel installation south of Prospect Avenue. 5 trains operate between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street.

For service between:

East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse, take the 2 instead.
149th Street-Grand Concourse and Bowling Green, take the 4 instead.

Note: Downtown 2 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street.

From 10 p.m. Sunday, September 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, September 3, service at the following stations may be affected due to the West Indian-American Day Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn:

Eastern Parkway 2, 3, 4
Church Avenue 2
Utica Avenue 3, 4

Customers should be prepared to use nearby stations if directed.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 1 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 4, Manhattan-bound A
Trains are rerouted via the F line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street, then run local to
59th Street-Columbus Circle due to track work from High Street to Fulton Street.

From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 1, Sunday, September 2 and Monday, September 3, uptown C trains are rerouted via the F line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street due to track work from High Street to Fulton Street.

From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 1, Sunday, September 2 and Monday, September 3, downtown C trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Spring Streets due to electrical and substation work at Jay Street-MetroTech.

From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., Monday, September 3, Bronx-bound D trains run express from 36th Street (Brooklyn) to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, skipping DeKalb Avenue due to completion of track work at DeKalb Avenue.

From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 1 to 10 p.m., Sunday, September 2, Bronx-bound D trains are rerouted via the N line form Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street (Brooklyn) due to switch renewal south of Bay 50th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 1 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 4, Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the A line from West 4th Street to Jay Street-MetroTech due to electrical and substation work at Jay Street-MetroTech.

From 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m., Saturday, September 1, Sunday, September 2, Monday, September 3 and Tuesday, September 4, F trains run local in both directions between 21st Street-Queensbridge and Roosevelt Avenue due to switch renewal south of 179th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., Monday, September 3, uptown N trains run express from 36th Street (Brooklyn) to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, then via the Manhattan Bridge, skipping DeKalb Avenue due to completion of track work at DeKalb Avenue.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 3, downtown N trains run express from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to track work at 14th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 3, Manhattan-bound Q trains are rerouted via the R from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to completion of track work at DeKalb Avenue. Q trains stop at Jay Street-MetroTech, Court Street, Whitehall Street, Rector Street, Cortlandt Street and City Hall.

From 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, Queens-bound R trains run express from 36th Street (Brooklyn) to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, then via the Manhattan Bridge, skipping DeKalb Avenue due to completion of track work at DeKalb Avenue. Note: Manhattan-bound Q trains replace the N and R. (See Q entry.)

From 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, downtown R trains run express from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to track work at 14th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., Monday, September 3 there are no R trains between 59th Street and 36th Street in Brooklyn due to completion of track work at DeKalb Avenue. R trains operate between Bay Ridge-95th Street and 59th Street. Customers should take the N instead.

August 31, 2012 1 comment

Asides View from Underground

Once more unto the MTA’s trash cans

by Benjamin Kabak August 31, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 31, 2012

The MTA’s announcement yesterday that they would be eliminating trash cans at eight more stations throughout the city was not exactly met with applause. Despite the fact that the pilot has apparently led to fewer rats and lower trash collection costs without a corresponding increase in litter or track fires, New Yorkers seem to fear counterintuitive change, and press coverage is replete with riders outraged at being asked to carry their garbage all the way up a flight of stairs to the nearest Department of Sanitation receptacle on the street. I can’t say I’m too surprised there.

What is surprising though are some of the excuses transit rider advocates are putting forward. In covering the story today, Matt Flegenheimer of The Times spoke with Straphangers’ head Gene Russianoff. As is the nature of his organization, Gene is very defensive of changes to the subway system that could impact riders whether these changes lead to a net gain or not. His take: “If you have a big, drippy ice cream cone, what are you going to do? Stuff it in your purse?”

Besides the fact that, as a long-time reader noted, one eats the container when devouring a big drippy ice cream cones, I had another question: What is anyone doing eating a big drippy ice cream cone on the subway in the first place? The subways — not exactly known for cleanliness — are hardly the spot for a meal, let alone something that’s going to cause a mess, and it’s debatable whether someone should be eating anything that requires much clean up while traveling around.

So perhaps we’re looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps the solution is to examine why people are eating underground, what they’re eating underground and whether we should continue to allow people to eat underground. Plenty of subway systems — DC, Singapore and even our own PATH system — don’t allow food and don’t have trash cans, or rodents, all over the place. No one yet has succumbed to a subway food ban-induced starvation.

August 31, 2012 42 comments

TWU

Amidst private negotiations, a public statement on OPTO

by Benjamin Kabak August 31, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 31, 2012

For months now, the MTA and TWU Local 100 — its largest union — have been coexisting in a steady state of unease. TWU members have been working without a contract since mid-January, and MTA CEO and Chairman Joseph J. Lhota has been working with TWU President John Samuelsen, in private, to hammer out a deal. After vowing to keep negotiations out of the press, though, Samuelsen broke that vow in a big way yesterday while bringing the issue of one-person train operations back into the open.

The details are sketchy, but apparently, the MTA recently broached the topic of OPTO with the TWU. In response, Samuelsen and, for some reason, two reverends from Brooklyn took to Huffington Post to voice their objections. While also speaking out against part-time bus drivers, Samuelsen voiced his objections to OPTO on the same old grounds we’ve been hearing for years:

While the MTA currently uses OPTO on shuttles and on the G train during nights and weekends, these trains only use four cars when in operation. Expanding OPTO to full length trains increases the risks to passengers while they are entering or exiting the trains, greatly raises the difficulties and hazards involved if a train has to be evacuated, and makes it harder for a passenger who needs assistance to get it. This is especially important at a time when crime on the subways is rising. We believe that the presence of uniformed conductors on our trains is vital for the safety and assistance of passengers, especially in our full-length trains.

In response, the MTA had nothing to say. Lhota offered up a statement while taking a shot at the union: “Unlike John, I’m going to honor my promise not to negotiate in the press.” I don’t blame him; penning an open letter and publishing it to the Huffington Post isn’t only a trite cliche but a rather public statement. But at least it gives us a glimpse into the negotiations, and it appears as though the MTA is at least trying to exact work-rule changes that most sensible transit agencies adopted years ago.

And what of Samuelsen’s arguments? First, let’s do away with his appeal to rising crime rates. The numbers are going up because people’s gadgets are getting lifted at a higher rate. With a strong sense of safety, straphangers are more willing to play it faster and looser with high-priced electronics than they should, and petty thieves can snatch and grap. No amount of on-train personnel will change that.

His other arguments are an appeal to personal fear. If a train has to be evacuated, having one person on board makes it that much harder. Of course, that’s true, but how often do trains have to be evacuated? The last time a train ran into such an emergency was during the blizzard of December 2010, and even then, having a train conductor and a train operator did little to get customers out of the system any faster. It’s a spurious argument at best and one that can be dismissed with a simple cost-benefit analysis. The cost of employing two people on every single train the MTA runs far outweighs the minor benefits of one extra person during an extremely rare evacuation.

And so we are left at an impasse. The MTA wants to enact a net-zero wage increase when this TWU contract is eventually renewed, and the TWU wants more jobs and more money for its employed union members. OPTO has been a sticking point for the better part of a decade, but it’s also a future that New York needs. A mess of public negotiating though doesn’t help anyone.

August 31, 2012 186 comments

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