Yesterday afternoon, lightning hit Long Island Rail Road operations near Jamaica, causing a signal problem that then cascaded into service suspensions across LIRR as well as a temporary closure of Penn Station due to crowding. Service eventually came back later in the evening... only for it to be suspended again. However, today, the MTA believes that the LIRR morning commute—after crews worked all night to restore service— will "operate near-normal morning rush hour service... However, customers are advised that there will be some canceled trains and some delays." more ›

How do you know you've had a wild and crazy Saturday night? Well, for one Brooklyn man, apparently it's when firefighters are removing your from subway tracks—after a train goes over you. The Post reports that Arshad Kahn, 25, "had been partying at a nightclub before stumbling onto Brooklyn-bound tracks at the 121st Street station in Jamaica at about 6 a.m." Kahn said, "I don't remember what happened. I was on the platform. The next thing I remember was the Fire Department pulling me out. How did I survive? I don't even know." more ›

Yesterday, a fire at a switching tower east of the Jamaica Station sent the Long Island Rail Road into chaos, suspending all lines (except the Port Wasington line) for much of yesterday. By the evening, service was delayed and limited: Usually about 100,000 commuters leave Manhattan during the evening rush, but many waited hours to crowd onto a train. Now the MTA says LIRR service is at "75% of normal capacity" and a return to normal service is "days away." more ›

Long Island Rail Road crews are still working around the clock to repair track and signals damaged when a train derailed at Jamaica Station on Sunday. Though the jackknifed train car was removed, Newsday reports, "LIRR officials say a wealth of damage was left behind, including to signal systems, wiring and hundreds of feet of track - some of which required exhaustive 'inch-by-inch precision' repairs." Like Monday and yesterday, the MTA is canceling a number of trains during the Wednesday AM rush, but will go ahead with the extra eastbound trains for afternoon customers heading home for the Thanksgiving holiday--here's the MTA's LIRR alert page. An LIRR spokesman said, "We're doing our best to make sure we can provide the most amount of service we can while keeping in mind that safety is our first priority." more ›

Around 7:30 a.m. this morning, two LIRR trains bumped at Track 1--the Port Jefferson train hit a Babylon train. According to WABC 7, this has resulted in "several minor injuries" (passengers were also evacuated from the trains) and WCBS 2 reports, "As a result, there is no service from Jamaica to Penn Station in either direction or from Flatbush to Penn Station in either direction," though some limited service may have resumed. There have also been some delays on the LIRR's mainline, due to signal problems in Queens Village.. more ›

Eastbound Long Island Rail Road Service is facing delays of at least an hour after the 9:35 a.m. train derailed at Jamaica Station. Eastbound service had been suspended out of Penn Station, but it was restored. more ›

Hundreds of thousands of commuters can breathe a sigh of relief today as a threatened strike by Amtrak workers has been avoided. A strike would have shut down Penn Station, diverting travelers on the Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak lines, and New Jersey Transit to subways and the PATH system. The city was already preparing contingency plans to have LIRR riders disembark in Brooklyn, and Jamaica Station and Woodside in Queens to take the subway. NJ Transit riders would be shunted to Hoboken, where they could board PATH trains to Manhattan. The chairman of a LIRR commuters group said "It is going to be worse than a nightmare - it will be a complete horror show." more ›

Eight separate unions representing Amtrak workers are threatening to go on strike as early as January 30th if they are not presented with new contracts, which they've worked without for years. A strike would hurt more than people taking the Acela between Washington D.C. and Boston. If Amtrak workers strike, it would close Penn Station and hundreds off thousands of daily commuters on the Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit, and Amtrak would be seriously inconvenienced. more ›

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• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: brush fires in Jamaica caused delays and suspensions on the LIRR west of Jamaica Station (it's okay, just booze up) - there may still be some delays; a water main break on 3rd Ave at 86th Street; and found DOA on the Belt Parkway.
• Being the head of a crime family isn't easy these days. Danny "The Lion" Leo, the reputed head of the Genovese crime family was arrested on charges of extortion and conspiracy yesterday. He pleaded not guilty while wearing a large white t-shirt worn over navy sweat pants and white sneakers. No, not a stereotype at all.
• The accused rapist of a Columbia grad student was arraigned today on 71 charges. Robert Williams allegedly forced his way into a woman's Hamilton Heights apartment and held the woman hostage for 19 hours.

Extra, extra - it's time to get your free NY Times tabloid, the MarketPlace Weekly, this afternoon! It will be full of "classified ads, supplemented by articles culled from The Times's Job Market, Real Estate, Automotive, Business and Dining Out sections, among others." Hmm, so it's like a reverse paper - mostly small type ads, with some content; we're officially in the bizarro world. The NY Times tells NY1, "We have an opportunity to reach an 18- to 34-year-old reader – or perhaps even a Times reader – with very specific information. It's very targeted toward those readers that are interested in finding a new job, purchasing a home or purchasing a new car." Well, Gothamist gets the need for job listings (sometimes scrolling through Monster gets tiring!), but purchasing a home or new car seems a little more...aspirational for the 18-34 year old reader. If there were listings for sample sales and concerts, not to mention free wine tastings at area wine merchants and free anything else, then you're talking. Anyway, here's the official word from the New York Times:

Street teams strategically positioned at over 250 commuter centers including Grand Central Terminal, WTC PATH, Pennsylvania Station, the Port Authority, the Staten Island Ferry, Jamaica Station and Hunters Point in Queens, Flatbush Avenue and the Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, and The Grand Concourse in The Bronx, will hand out the weekly during the peak afternoon travel times of 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. MarketPlace Weekly will be available every Thursday. The guide will also be given out at select college campuses in the city.