NYC Pols to Cuomo & MTA: CLEAN THIS MESS UP!

[Deucey]

https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/gov-cuomo-urged-to-shut-down-nyc-subways-to-stop-coronavirus-spread/

Gov. Cuomo urged to shut down NYC subways to stop coronavirus spread

By Susan Edelman

Gov. Cuomo should temporarily shut down the NYC subways to help slam the brakes on the coronavirus outbreak, urge four City Council members.

“We believe that drastic measures must be taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our transit system,” the lawmakers — Robert Holden, Eric Ulrich, Mark Gonaj and Peter Koo — say in a letter to Cuomo.

With MTA workers still lacking protective gear, trains packed with passengers due to reduced service, and homeless people camping in the cars, the subways are fueling the crisis, the councilmen say.

”MTA employees are going to work every day with woefully inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE). They are given one mask and one pair of gloves for an entire week while continuing to work among the filth of the subway,” the letter says, citing complaints by TWU Local 100 members.

“As a result, MTA workers are dying at a faster rate than any other front-line workers.”

COVID-19 has killed 68 employees to date, spokeswoman Abbey Collins said Saturday.  A total 2,496 workers have tested positive, and 4,365 are currently quarantined due to illness or exposure. Another 4,127 have returned to work after quarantines.

The councilmen also cite news reports of crowded subway cars and buses when the MTA cut service due to lower ridership: “This crowding becomes a hotspot for COVID-19 transmission and presents an extreme danger to everyone on board,” the letter says.

Worsening the problem, “homeless New Yorkers are seeking refuge on the subways and taking over entire train cars, further endangering themselves and others,” it adds.

“Taking all of this information into account, we believe that the New York City transit system is a primary contributor to the spread of COVID-19, and we recommend a temporary closure of the system for at least one week for deep cleaning of trains, buses and stations.”

During the shutdown, the city and state can partner with for-hire services such as Uber and LYFT or the yellow cabs to give rides to essential workers, and lift all parking restrictions — except for no-standing zones, the councilmen suggest.

When service resumes, they say, the system should be shut down daily from midnight to 5 a.m. for deep cleaning, workers should get better PPE, and all commuters should be required to wear face coverings.

“It is time for a direct and coordinated approach from the city and state to bring this crisis to an end,” the letter says.

[Deucey]

It’s logical but unproven science that the subway tunnels (with drains clogged and dirty, subway cars’ push/pull of air in tunnels and stations, etc) could be spreading the virus (a Robert Ludlum Covert-One novel uses that same plot). But I wonder why they haven’t taken the time to unclog every drain these past 27 days, and/or power wash/dry the grime and mildew in between stations.

 is already hemorrhaging cash, and it’s gonna be bailed out at NYS taxpayer expense. May as well make sure as much deferred maintenance that doesn’t involve heavy reconstruction gets done by able and available staff. Folks might be upset with the coming fare hike, but if there’s fewer switch and faulty signal delays and less odorous smells, folks might not have as much to complain about.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Deucey

[darkstar8983]

7 minutes ago, Deucey said:

https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/gov-cuomo-urged-to-shut-down-nyc-subways-to-stop-coronavirus-spread/

 

 

The only way for this to work would require a city-wide (and surrounding county-wide) work schedule staggering to make sure that NO ONE's shifts begin or end between 10PM and 7AM to give ample time for people to get to work.

 

Also been noticing that A LOT more cars are on the road this week compared to last week, meaning that either more essential workers are driving to/from work, or too many people are already relaxing on social distancing. If its the latter, this is what will lead to further prolongation of this NY on PAUSE. 

[Collin]

That article is a bunch of BS.  The MTA did not cut service due to decreased ridership.  They cut service because they didn't have enough train crews.  Clearly they need to better protect their workers.  If they're asking passengers to wear masks while riding, then they need to provide them to workers too.  And asking all essential workers to take Uber, Lyft, and cabs will just create another problem of too much traffic, nevermind the fact that there are too many essential workers than that strategy could handle.  

[B35 via Church]

A primary contributor to the spread of Covid-19? Temporary closure of the system for at least a week? Partnering with taxi services in the meantime? Shutting the system down from 12am to 5am for further deep cleaning (after a said temporary full closure of the system)?

Man, get this shit out of here.... This is a passive & lazy attempt to try to use Covid-19 to push a pro-car narrative.... I especially don't want to hear anything from Ulrich; this is the same guy that feigned like he cared so much about bus riders along Woodhaven, in his true support of motorists during the whole SBS conversion of the Q52/53.... These guys say one thing & do another at the drop of a hat....

At least the MTA clapped back to this latest plea from these charlatans...

Quote

The MTA has responded to the council members claims in a statement.

“What these council members don't realize is that shutting down mass transit during this unprecedented crisis would be dangerous and could lead to even more deaths. Even with subway ridership down more than 90 percent, we are making it possible for doctors, nurses, first responders, grocery and pharmacy workers, and other essential personnel to get to work and save lives. The MTA has led the nation in its efforts to protect its employees and customers, disinfecting its stations and rolling stock daily and even breaking away from federal guidance and providing hundreds of thousands of masks to our heroic workforce before the CDC recommended it.”

Source: https://www.pix11.com/news/coronavirus/nyc-council-members-ask-cuomo-to-close-the-subways

[Wallyhorse]

By Members of City Council:

Don't these types realize there are those who MUST get to work using the subway and don't/can't drive?

(NOTE TO MODS: Delete if you want, I didn't see the other thread on this before I posted this one).

Edited April 19, 2020 by Wallyhorse

[Wallyhorse]

2 hours ago, Deucey said:

I’m fully expecting the rates of infection to increase because folks can’t be bothered to put the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the the one.

Not surprising.  Some say they need to reopen because they have no money while others think they are invincible and "The rules don't apply to them" OR NO ONE they know has gotten the virus.  That is a big problem.

As for shutting down the system, don't they realize that people NEED the subways to get to work? 

[Deucey]

FYI: I hit the wrong pop up and deleted the post @Wallyhorse quoted.

[NY1635]

This seems like a normal day in New York to me. I've been complaining that I can't really rely on my New York instincts to work and really need to plan things ahead of time thanks to a lot of rule changes made over the past 25-30 years. 

The Governor pretty much got flanked by a Queens Native, a Bronx Resident, a  South Brooklyn Native all running for office in Washington.

I didn't factor in John Liu becoming State Senator though. The point remains that New Yorkers are very hard workers and the concept of appealing to Albany (a capital city with a history of corruption) was never going to work. 

[N6 Limited]

Wouldn't something this be kind of "late"?

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, N6 Limited said:

Wouldn't something this be kind of "late"?

Take people off mass transit & have them utilizing cabs (under the guise of cleansing the buses, trains, and subway stations)? SMFH....The charade is even worse than subsidizing cabs to complement late night service....

Yeah, this "solution" from these councilmen is a day late & a dollar short.... It's posturing at its finest.

[bobtehpanda]

On 4/18/2020 at 3:10 PM, Deucey said:

May as well make sure as much deferred maintenance that doesn’t involve heavy reconstruction gets done by able and available staff. Folks might be upset with the coming fare hike, but if there’s fewer switch and faulty signal delays and less odorous smells, folks might not have as much to complain about.

Too many of staff are sick. And the trains are not running so infrequently that you could manage to do this and get much done.

[NY1635]

I've heard that there were protests in Buffalo this week among the Car People who want the Governor to lift the lockdown. This is despite Mayor Deblasio getting flanked for his tone deaf idea to hold a parade in NYC for Nurses. The Governor is too reliant on Trump to tell him what to do and the Mayor is a day late and a penny short of managing the city thru a crisis. 

[B35 via Church]

5 hours ago, NY1635 said:

I've heard that there were protests in Buffalo this week among the Car People who want the Governor to lift the lockdown. This is despite Mayor Deblasio getting flanked for his tone deaf idea to hold a parade in NYC for Nurses. The Governor is too reliant on Trump to tell him what to do and the Mayor is a day late and a penny short of managing the city thru a crisis. 

The Bills, the Sabres, or the Wild Wings?

[Lance]

On 4/20/2020 at 11:15 PM, B35 via Church said:

Take people off mass transit & have them utilizing cabs (under the guise of cleansing the buses, trains, and subway stations)? SMFH....The charade is even worse than subsidizing cabs to complement late night service....

Yeah, this "solution" from these councilmen is a day late & a dollar short.... It's posturing at its finest.

Exactly. And you know what I haven't heard in this proposal: who's paying to transport these people around. Is the city going to foot the bill for this partnership? The state? Or will the essential workers we've been thanking so much for keeping things running have to pay more just to get to/from work?

[Lex]

4 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

The Bills, the Sabres, or the Wild Wings?

Yes.

In all seriousness, I don't even want to know how that mess jumped from Buffalo to NYC, then somehow concluding that Cuomo's a lapdog for Trump...

[Deucey]

11 hours ago, NY1635 said:

The Governor is too reliant on Trump to tell him what to do...

Still making ____ up, eh?

Edited April 25, 2020 by Deucey

[B35 via Church]

6 hours ago, Lance said:

Exactly. And you know what I haven't heard in this proposal: who's paying to transport these people around. Is the city going to foot the bill for this partnership? The state? Or will the essential workers we've been thanking so much for keeping things running have to pay more just to get to/from work?

Well we know it won't be The same 4 Rhodes scholars that blurted out this marvelous idea - Robert Holden, Eric Ulrich, Mark Gjonaj, and Peter Koo

2 hours ago, Lex said:

Yes.

In all seriousness, I don't even want to know how that mess jumped from Buffalo to NYC, then somehow concluding that Cuomo's a lapdog for Trump...

So, that would be the right.... wing.

Aside from his complete incoherency, whatever "Car People" (note: capitalization) he's referencing up there, must consist of some pretty important people.....

Edited April 25, 2020 by B35 via Church

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

22 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Well we know it won't be The same 4 Rhodes scholars that blurted out this marvelous idea - Robert Holden, Eric Ulrich, Mark Gjonaj, and Peter Koo

So, that would be the right.... wing.

Aside from that complete incoherency, whatever "Car People" (note: capitalization) he's referencing up there, must consist of some pretty important people.....

He's the council member for my district...

I voted for him particularly because he actually appeared to run on a relatively decent platform in terms of improving the community, including transit. I had no trust in Crowley, especially when she went about talking about improving transportation. I remember sending countless inquiries regarding express bus service when the Queens Midtown Tunnel was doing the one-tube operation, and the last time I sent I never received a reply back. Yeah she wrote to the MTA and such, but she wrote back regarding a letter saying that there was nothing that could be done about the delays and that the QB Bridge was also traffic heavy (lies). 

I have to say, I have been disappointed with a lot of his positions with respect to public transit. He opposed (and probably still opposes) SBS and bus lanes on Woodhaven. He wasn't necessarily concerned when Cuomo stepped in and basically changed the  train project at the 11th hour. Express bus service for the most part (except the increase in QM25 service) has remain stagnant, without him making much noise about expanding service, and IIRC, he was also against that PM bus lane on Fresh Pond Road (EDIT: Yes he was, and he got the DOT to reduce the hours of the bus lanes). It's like he's been on the wrong side of most transit issues or position while in office (which contradicts what he ran on). 

Edited April 25, 2020 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[B35 via Church]

5 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

He's the council member for my district...

I voted for him particularly because he actually appeared to run on a relatively decent platform in terms of improving the community, including transit. I had no trust in Crowley, especially when she went about talking about improving transportation. I remember sending countless inquiries regarding express bus service when the Queens Midtown Tunnel was doing the one-tube operation, and the last time I sent I never received a reply back. Yeah she wrote to the MTA and such, but she wrote back regarding a letter saying that there was nothing that could be done about the delays and that the QB Bridge was also traffic heavy (lies). 

I have to say, I have been disappointed with a lot of his positions with respect to public transit. He opposed (and probably still opposes) SBS and bus lanes on Woodhaven. He wasn't necessarily concerned when Cuomo stepped in and basically changed the  train project at the 11th hour. Express bus service for the most part (except the increase in QM25 service) has remain stagnant, without him making much noise about expanding service, and IIRC, he was also against that PM bus lane on Fresh Pond Road (EDIT: Yes he was, and he got the DOT to reduce the hours of the bus lanes). It's like he's been on the wrong side of most transit issues or position while in office (which contradicts what he ran on). 

In general, any leader that explicitly tells me that nothing can be done, I immediately lose respect for.... Even if it's the case, it comes off like you're either a quitter (as in, not being diligent enough in the defense of your constituents), or someone that simply doesn't give a damn to begin with...

[Deucey]

24 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

In general, any leader that explicitly tells me that nothing can be done, I immediately lose respect for.... Even if it's the case, it comes off like you're either a quitter (as in, not being diligent enough in the defense of your constituents), or someone that simply doesn't give a damn to begin with...

Absolutely this. 
 

It’s a given in politics and life that if you really want something, you’ll figure out how to pay for it - whether a bike, new apartment, tax cuts or better social programs. To not even go beyond a “quick question” instead of - as was my favorite question when I was in Startup Life - “how do we make this happen” is the failure the person In charge and not the system.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 4/18/2020 at 7:33 PM, Collin said:

That article is a bunch of BS.  The MTA did not cut service due to decreased ridership.  They cut service because they didn't have enough train crews.  Clearly they need to better protect their workers.  If they're asking passengers to wear masks while riding, then they need to provide them to workers too.  And asking all essential workers to take Uber, Lyft, and cabs will just create another problem of too much traffic, nevermind the fact that there are too many essential workers than that strategy could handle.  

That is true in SOME cases. MNRR and LIRR was indeed reduced because of decreased ridership. The subways and buses are another story.

[CenSin]

On 4/18/2020 at 10:17 PM, Deucey said:

FYI: I hit the wrong pop up and deleted the post @Wallyhorse quoted.

Off-topic: i skimmed the posts and almost misread that as “I hit the wrong pop up and deleted @Wallyhorse.”

“We’d lost such an iconic member of the community,” I thought to myself before rereading the post.

[B35 via Church]

9 hours ago, CenSin said:

Off-topic: i skimmed the posts and almost misread that as “I hit the wrong pop up and deleted @Wallyhorse.”

“We’d lost such an iconic member of the community,” I thought to myself before rereading the post.

[mfs NJT459]

NYPD is stepping up

https://abc7ny.com/health/exclusive-new-action-taken-to-get-homeless-off-the-subways/6136851/