Cuomo warns streets, public transit could be closed as potentially historic blizzard threaten

[CenSin]

apparently they are threatening summons to arrest

What a killjoy. They should let natural selection do its job. Anyone stupid enough to go outside after 11pm deserves death. Call 311, or even 911, for help if you're not going to make it. Anyone who's indoors, even if they're not where they want to be should stay there away from the storm.

[mfs NJT459]

travel ban in NJ

[161 New York]

Still a lot of buses on Staten Island as of 22:50.

 

There are no S79-SBS's on the road:

 

 

 

There are no x17's, but two X1's finishing their runs and an x10 on the VNB at 23:15.

[BreeddekalbL]

transit is pissed that cuomo closed everything down

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2015/01/26/after-cuomos-surprise-overnight-subway-service-continues-without-passengers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondAveSagas+%28Second+Ave.+Sagas+%7C+Blogging+the+NYC+Subways%29&utm_content=FaceBook

[Quill Depot]

It has nothing to do with that. It's about people being stranded due to buses or trains becoming stuck.  The doesn't want a liability.

 

Isn't efficiency better than liability. Just cause a train could get stuck in the snow, doesn't mean they shouldn't run.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Isn't efficiency better than liability. Just cause a train could get stuck in the snow, doesn't mean they shouldn't run.

There's a difference though.  We were told that we could receive a blizzard.  It would be irresponsible not to prepare for that and to have people possibly stranded and/or killed and face lawsuits which is what happened in 2010.  If we would've received more snow and passengers were stranded or people died then what? Cuomo would've been blasted and questioned as to why he didn't take precautions when he was given advanced notice.  Your position is like saying we're told that a tornado is coming but we're not sure where exactly it will hit so let's not do anything since it may not hit us. 

 

You can never predict what will happen with Mother Nature, and that's a beautiful thing.  We have all of this technology, but in the end, Mother Nature decides what she will do, and we have to sit back and let her do her thing.

[QM1to6Ave]

I firmly believe Cuomo made the right call. Out here in my part of Queens, we have a good foot of snow, but the plows were able to get the roads into passable conditions overnight largely because there was almost no one on the road. There was no need for non-essential people to be traveling between 11 pm and 7 am. Could they have ended the ban and shutdown an hour or two earlier? Perhaps, but they did a pretty damn good job anyway.  

[Javier]

I firmly believe Cuomo made the right call. Out here in my part of Queens, we have a good foot of snow, but the plows were able to get the roads into passable conditions overnight largely because there was almost no one on the road. There was no need for non-essential people to be traveling between 11 pm and 7 am. Could they have ended the ban and shutdown an hour or two earlier? Perhaps, but they did a pretty damn good job anyway.

 

not here in Yonkers, I had to fall 5 times on my face to get out of my driveway and 2 times on my butt.

[Orion VII 4 Life]

Here in Manhattan it's just a few inches.

 

I'm happy the governor prepared as he should when you have predictions like that. People did listen for the most part around here except for a few people walking around.

[QM1to6Ave]

not here in Yonkers, I had to fall 5 times on my face to get out of my driveway and 2 times on my butt.

You mean the streets were not plowed in Yonkers? Isn't Yonkers outside of DSNY's territory? I can't speak for Westchester's snow cleaning operations lol, but DSNY seems to have done a fairly good job overall.

[CenSin]

transit is pissed that cuomo closed everything down

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2015/01/26/after-cuomos-surprise-overnight-subway-service-continues-without-passengers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondAveSagas+(Second+Ave.+Sagas+|+Blogging+the+NYC+Subways)&utm_content=FaceBook

I just noticed WallyHorse has been pelting the blog post with comments all day under the name Walt Gekko. I guess that means he's home too.

 

There was at least one comment that voiced their displeasure of the spam, but I guess it got deleted since I don't see it anymore.

[Lance]

I know and it's annoying. I hope Ben puts a stop to it sooner rather than later.

 

I'm going to post this here rather than do so in several sections.

 

So the news of the day was about the storm that really wasn't for most. That means all the Monday morning quarterbacks are out in force saying the regional leaders should have handled this differently. You know what, with the way the forecasts were predicting the track of the storm, state and local officials had little choice other than shut down the regional transit systems. All of the forecast models were predicting a monster of a storm with very hazardous travel conditions. While the majority of the city subway could have probably run, riders wouldn't be able to get far away from the station according to the evening forecast. It would appear that we have a short-term memory of recent storms. Take for instance the 2010 blizzard. I seem to recall the only subway line running at the height of the storm was the 4th Avenue underground. Bus routes were also suspended because of the weather, which forced riders to hike through treacherous conditions with limited mass transit. Rather than a repeat of that situation, officials made the call, the right one in my opinion, to completely suspend mass transit, including the subway. It's not entirely about the ability to run the trains and maintain optimal service, but rather whether it's safe enough for riders to be out in this kind of weather.

 

Obviously, with the track of the storm pushing out further east, most of the area dodged a bullet and didn't get the high totals and dangerous conditions originally predicted. That happens and will likely continue to happen. Weather forecasting, even with all of the improved technology, is still an inexact science. There will be times when they will track differently than expected. Sometimes, they'll wind up like this non-event and sometimes, they'll become the recipe for Hurricane Sandy. Officials can only react to what they're given, and they were given predictions for a wallop of a blizzard and had to react accordingly. They didn't want a repeat, where people were trapped on stranded trains and buses or stuck in cars on untreated highways.

 

As for the claim there was some kind of political motivation for the shutdown of the city subway, get real. What could possibly be gained by needlessly shutting down the subway? Cuomo's not going to get any brownie points for that kind of move, mainly because it's too temporary to get much media coverage beyond a week at best. Let me put this in perspective. When people think of former governor Patterson, they don't think of people stuck on the A train. Besides, even if the subways were running and riders did get trapped as they did in 2010, most people, even those in the NYC area, wouldn't blame Cuomo. Most people believe the city's transit system is run by the city, so DeBlasio, along with Prendergast, would get the blame, even if that isn't the case. You know, there's a reason Gov. Christie was so applauded for his handling of Hurricane Sandy and it had nothing to do with him shutting down NJ Transit or the local transit systems in the state. It's because of how he handled the aftermath of the storm and people appreciated his no-nonsense, get-it-done approach.

 

Cuomo is not going to get any lawsuits from any big-wigs because, let's face it, this is 2015. We have the technology available to trade stocks without actually being on the floor of the NYSE.The same applies to conducting international business. Had this turn out to be the storm originally predicted, nobody would be going anywhere anyhow. In fact, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation, but that's how it usually goes.

[MysteriousBtrain]

Not that this is major, but look at this article:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Long-Island-Teen-Dies-Sledding-Accident-Massive-Blizzard-Police-289891391.html

[Wallyhorse]

I know and it's annoying. I hope Ben puts a stop to it sooner rather than later.

 

I'm going to post this here rather than do so in several sections.

 

So the news of the day was about the storm that really wasn't for most. That means all the Monday morning quarterbacks are out in force saying the regional leaders should have handled this differently. You know what, with the way the forecasts were predicting the track of the storm, state and local officials had little choice other than shut down the regional transit systems. All of the forecast models were predicting a monster of a storm with very hazardous travel conditions. While the majority of the city subway could have probably run, riders wouldn't be able to get far away from the station according to the evening forecast. It would appear that we have a short-term memory of recent storms. Take for instance the 2010 blizzard. I seem to recall the only subway line running at the height of the storm was the 4th Avenue underground. Bus routes were also suspended because of the weather, which forced riders to hike through treacherous conditions with limited mass transit. Rather than a repeat of that situation, officials made the call, the right one in my opinion, to completely suspend mass transit, including the subway. It's not entirely about the ability to run the trains and maintain optimal service, but rather whether it's safe enough for riders to be out in this kind of weather.

 

Obviously, with the track of the storm pushing out further east, most of the area dodged a bullet and didn't get the high totals and dangerous conditions originally predicted. That happens and will likely continue to happen. Weather forecasting, even with all of the improved technology, is still an inexact science. There will be times when they will track differently than expected. Sometimes, they'll wind up like this non-event and sometimes, they'll become the recipe for Hurricane Sandy. Officials can only react to what they're given, and they were given predictions for a wallop of a blizzard and had to react accordingly. They didn't want a repeat, where people were trapped on stranded trains and buses or stuck in cars on untreated highways.

 

As for the claim there was some kind of political motivation for the shutdown of the city subway, get real. What could possibly be gained by needlessly shutting down the subway? Cuomo's not going to get any brownie points for that kind of move, mainly because it's too temporary to get much media coverage beyond a week at best. Let me put this in perspective. When people think of former governor Patterson, they don't think of people stuck on the A train. Besides, even if the subways were running and riders did get trapped as they did in 2010, most people, even those in the NYC area, wouldn't blame Cuomo. Most people believe the city's transit system is run by the city, so DeBlasio, along with Prendergast, would get the blame, even if that isn't the case. You know, there's a reason Gov. Christie was so applauded for his handling of Hurricane Sandy and it had nothing to do with him shutting down NJ Transit or the local transit systems in the state. It's because of how he handled the aftermath of the storm and people appreciated his no-nonsense, get-it-done approach.

 

Cuomo is not going to get any lawsuits from any big-wigs because, let's face it, this is 2015. We have the technology available to trade stocks without actually being on the floor of the NYSE.The same applies to conducting international business. Had this turn out to be the storm originally predicted, nobody would be going anywhere anyhow. In fact, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation, but that's how it usually goes.

Christie did a great job with Sandy as did Cuomo, but if Christie runs for President as many expect in 2016, his being in Florida when the 2010 blizzard hit will be used against him in attack ads.  That is the nature of politics. 

 

The FACT is, Wall Street got EXTREMELY PISSED OFF and they will not forget it anytime soon.  Cuomo violated Rule #1 of politics with this shutdown in doing that.

 

And yes, there will be blowback as noted elsewhere with Wall Street doubling down to keep the GOP in power AND also in my view (if Cuomo isn't indicted or worse by then as some think will happen) have a well-funded by Wall Street candidate put up against him in 2018   We may not see the blowback right away or even in the next year.  It will happen over time because to where it's not easily noticable because Wall Street does not forget and will bank this for use at a later time when its to their benefit.

 

I am concerned about the ripple effects of this that may go WAY beyond New York and into national politics.  Some Democrats that were hoping to help get control of the legislative branches back from the GOP now face a battle made more difficult by influential people who clearly are PO'ed at Cuomo for shutting down the subways and will use it against him where they can, in this case, "doubling down" on GOP candidates in states where they are vulnerable or the Democratic incumbent is (and anyone who has seen some of the views of some in the GOP that are very backwards, and especially with the Tea Party understands this much better).

 

That's what I mean by Cuomo unleashing blowback and not PO'ing Wall Street is rule #1.  And is why I said what I did.  In this age of cutthroat politics, it's something most people simply don't understand OR take the time to,  Politics truly is "dog eat dog" now in ways we never saw even 10 years ago.

[T to Dyre Avenue]

Christie did a great job with Sandy as did Cuomo, but if Christie runs for President as many expect in 2016, his being in Florida when the 2010 blizzard hit will be used against him in attack ads. That is the nature of politics.

 

The FACT is, Wall Street got EXTREMELY PISSED OFF and they will not forget it anytime soon. Cuomo violated Rule #1 of politics with this shutdown in doing that.

 

And yes, there will be blowback as noted elsewhere with Wall Street doubling down to keep the GOP in power AND also in my view (if Cuomo isn't indicted or worse by then as some think will happen) have a well-funded by Wall Street candidate put up against him in 2018 We may not see the blowback right away or even in the next year. It will happen over time because to where it's not easily noticable because Wall Street does not forget and will bank this for use at a later time when its to their benefit.

 

I am concerned about the ripple effects of this that may go WAY beyond New York and into national politics. Some Democrats that were hoping to help get control of the legislative branches back from the GOP now face a battle made more difficult by influential people who clearly are PO'ed at Cuomo for shutting down the subways and will use it against him where they can, in this case, "doubling down" on GOP candidates in states where they are vulnerable or the Democratic incumbent is (and anyone who has seen some of the views of some in the GOP that are very backwards, and especially with the Tea Party understands this much better).

 

That's what I mean by Cuomo unleashing blowback and not PO'ing Wall Street is rule #1. And is why I said what I did. In this age of cutthroat politics, it's something most people simply don't understand OR take the time to, Politics truly is "dog eat dog" now in ways we never saw even 10 years ago.

Give it a rest, Wallyhorse. Just give it a rest. You know deep down Cuomo and the Democrats aren't going to pay for this in 2016, much less 2020 or 2024. Except for a few wealthy, self-centered people with a sense of entitlement, no one is going to care about this. Just let it go. You're wrong. Just like you were about the Mets and Major League Baseball regarding last year's line weekend shutdowns.

[Wallyhorse]

Give it a rest, Wallyhorse. Just give it a rest. You know deep down Cuomo and the Democrats aren't going to pay for this in 2016, much less 2020 or 2024. Except for a few wealthy, self-centered people with a sense of entitlement, no one is going to care about this. Just let it go. You're wrong. Just like you were about the Mets and Major League Baseball regarding last year's line weekend shutdowns.

Except those few, self-centered wealthy with a sense of entitlement have the money to fund candidates who will do what THEY want.  It already IS a big problem in politics that may now get WORSE as a result of what Cuomo did.  That is what I meant.

 

As a Democrat who follows this closely (and others far more closely than me), ANYTHING that could potentially hurt the Democrats in 2016 is a MAJOR concern.  PO'ing Wall Street over something likely is worrying the Democrats who likely have to now overcome this,  That is why I have been the way I have on this.

 

This is the last I intend to say on this.  I had already apologized privately to Lance and explained why I went off as I did on this.

[Lance]

I know I just said I wasn't touching this topic again, but I keep getting dragged in.

 

You're really reaching this time Wally. When it comes to the 2016 presidential election, or any other one for that matter. if Cuomo ever decides to run for the presidency, and that's a pretty big if all in its own, nobody and I mean nobody, is going to care about a 12-hour shutdown of the subway system, even if it is the NYC subway. You keep mentioning that Cuomo's potential bigwig donors will bring this up and possibly hold this against him. You're actually missing the point as this shutdown didn't even affect them. When the subway was suspended, it was 11pm, well after the normal trading day ended. That suspension was lifted at 9am, before NYSE trading began on Tuesday. And even if the Wall St bigwigs were affected by the loss of subway service, they could easily arrange for car service to the stock exchange. Stop making this more than it is.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I know I just said I wasn't touching this topic again, but I keep getting dragged in.

 

You're really reaching this time Wally. When it comes to the 2016 presidential election, or any other one for that matter. if Cuomo ever decides to run for the presidency, and that's a pretty big if all in its own, nobody and I mean nobody, is going to care about a 12-hour shutdown of the subway system, even if it is the NYC subway. You keep mentioning that Cuomo's potential bigwig donors will bring this up and possibly hold this against him. You're actually missing the point as this shutdown didn't even affect them. When the subway was suspended, it was 11pm, well after the normal trading day ended. That suspension was lifted at 9am, before NYSE trading began on Tuesday. And even if the Wall St bigwigs were affected by the loss of subway service, they could easily arrange for car service to the stock exchange. Stop making this more than it is.

I wouldn't go that far...  I work close to and with numerous international financial institutions and see the drivers parked outside of the big banking institutions (i.e. JP Morgan, Société Générale, UBS, etc.), and while car service is used, it isn't always done.  These days companies are cutting back, including the financial institutions.  

[HarvestmanMan]

Oh no!

[Lance]

I wouldn't go that far...  I work close to and with numerous international financial institutions and see the drivers parked outside of the big banking institutions (i.e. JP Morgan, Société Générale, UBS, etc.), and while car service is used, it isn't always done.  These days companies are cutting back, including the financial institutions.  

Psst. I'm sure they'll still manage to find a way to work.