Bad news for Staten Island commuters: Subway line at ferry terminal may close

[mark1447 685]

 

Staten Island commuters endured a frustrating trek to Manhattan's West Side for a year when the No. 1 and 9 subway lines were shut down after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack

 

They could be in for more of the same in the not-too-distant future.

 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expected tomorrow to recommend closing the No. 1 subway line south of Chambers Street, down to the South Ferry station, for a series of months, as early as summer, according to a report in the New York Observer, citing unnamed sources.

 

The closures are needed as part of the reconstruction of World Trade Center, under which run several subway lines, including the No. 1 and the PATH commuter train to New Jersey. That work is well over budget.

 

The Port Authority is to release a comprehensive report tomorrow on the Trade Center's redevelopment, that will likely have a new timetable and higher price tag.

 

The No. 1 subway station serves thousands of Staten Island commuters heading from the Staten Island Ferry to the West Side of Manhattan. The No. 9 train line has since been eliminated.

 

The entire 1/9 subway line was closed for a year after the terrorist attacks, forcing beleaguered Island straphangers to overcrowded and less-convenient N and R trains at Whitehall Street and the No. 4 and No. 5 lines at Bowling Green. In some cases, it added a half-hour onto already staggering commute times.

 

Calls to the Port Authority today were not immediately returned.

 

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority referred all inquires to the New York City Transit, where a spokeswoman declined comment.

 

Livingston attorney Allen P. Cappelli, Staten Island's MTA board member, said he heard the Port Authority is releasing a report tomorrow however, he did not have details on it.

 

But Cappelli said it would require "extraordinary rationale" to shut down the No. 1 for an extended period.

 

"Staten Island has limited mass-transit options," he said today.

 

City Councilman Michael McMahon (D-North Shore) sent a letter today to MTA executive director and CEO Elliot G. Sander blasting such a proposal.

 

"I urge you to reject this thoughtless plan and direct the Port Authority to come up with a solution that is not an undue [burden] upon the people whom I represent," McMahon wrote.

 

Source: Silive

[mark1447 685]

More here: http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5390

 

sry would of posted on first post but it got quoted =\

[R32 3348 11]

staten island has limited mass-transit options

No, REALLY?!?!?

[Paul P 0]

No way this can happen! What's gonna happen to the new SF terminal???