Results tagged “longislandrailroad”

The NYPD cop facing up to 15 years in prison for allegedly flashing his gun at rowdy Rangers fans on the LIRR is no longer talking to the press, after saying way too much to a local news crew. But the Nassau district attorney's office is talking, and tells Newsday, "The allegation is that he was not acting in any legal law enforcement capacity, and he allegedly used his weapon to menace the passengers, so it doesn't matter that he's licensed or a trained professional." But surely the jury will take into account that Officer David Hendrick's alleged targets were Rangers fans from Long Island?

An off-duty NYPD officer was arrested Sunday night after waving his gun at a group of rowdy, belligerent Rangers fans. For some reason, that's a crime, and Officer David Hendrick, a 16-year veteran assigned to the Manhattan Task Force, faces a felony charge of criminal possession of a weapon and a lesser charge of menacing. MTA cops stopped the Ronkonkoma-bound train in Mineola after several frightened passengers called 911 to report that a man had brandished a gun.

Last year, the NY Times revealed that almost all Long Island Rail Road employees who applied for disability got it—for instance, in 2004, 97% of employees who retired after the age of 50, applied for and received disability and some of those "disabled" retired employees are out on golf courses, hitting the links. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called it a "cottage industry" of fraud and the Railroad Retirement Board, which oversees claim approval, said it would use greater oversight. But it turns out that a staggeringly high number of LIRR employees are still getting approved for disability.

On the evening of August 5th, Long Island resident Lara Tepper was riding the train from Hicksville to Manhattan to meet friends for dinner. But her plans were seriously derailed after an LIRR conductor accused her of using a counterfeit ticket. Tepper says she purchased the 10-trip ticket for $66 in July, and had already used it four times, but when the conductor came to punch her ticket, "She looked at it, felt it for a couple of minutes, and said it's fake." That's because the ticket was missing the MTA logo hologram "Watch the gap" warning.

Now that a Long Island Rail Road engineer and passenger have been charged with reckless endangerment—the passenger, a court stenographer (pictured), was allegedly allowed to drive a 500-ton train 25 miles—Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is turning her attention to basic LIRR matters. Newsday reports that Rice's suggestions for the LIRR include "Improving event recorders - or 'black boxes' - on trains to make them record data about the use of the 'dead man pedal,' which must be constantly compressed for the train to operate; installing video and audio recording devices in the engineer's cab; and requiring engineers to wear identification badges and uniforms while on duty." Yes, LIRR engineers are not required to wear uniforms, though conductors and ticket takers are. Rice explains that uniforms "will enable the general public to quickly identify them, particularly when an emergency arises, or when there is some question about their conduct." The LIRR, which is reviewing the suggestions, says that the uniform issue will have to be taken up in collective bargaining with the engineers' union.

With his client facing charges of reckless endangerment in the second degree for allegedly operating a Long Island Rail Road train, LIRR passenger William Kutsch's lawyer said, "Mr. Kutsch is anxious to let this take its course. When the facts and circumstances are known, he is confident that he will be vindicated." Kutsch is accused of being behind the controls of a westbound LIRR train on July 2—and the engineer at the time, Ronald Cabrera, was also charged with second degree reckless endangerment as well as official misconduct.

[UPDATE BELOW] Would you let this man drive your train? Sure, why not—as long as he knows how to drive, which this man most certainly does not. Bill Kutsch, a court stenographer in Manhattan and a lifelong resident of Setauket, Long Island, turned himself in to Nassau County police today to face a felony charge of reckless endangerment for allegedly operating a westbound LIRR train on July 2nd. You'll recall that a witness blew the whistle on Kutsch's joyride after he allegedly operated the double-decker diesel train as it traveled 25 miles from Hicksville to Hunters Point Avenue in Queens.

Yesterday, a federal court documents were unsealed and revealed that a Long Island resident had transformed from an altar boy and Boy Scout to Al Qaeda trainee. Bryant Neal Vinas, who pleaded guilty to trying to "conspiring to murder United States nationals"—by way of a rocket attack at an army base—"providing material support to Al Qaeda and receiving military training from the group," admitted to discussing a plan to bomb a Long Island Rail Road train at Penn Station and a subway—hence the terrorist threat last November.

Yesterday, the MTA police revealed that, based on a witness's account, a Long Island Rail Road passenger was allegedly allowed to drive the 6:45 a.m. westbound train from Port Jefferson between Hicksville and Hunters Point Avenue. The engineer on duty, Ronald Cabrera, was suspended and that a criminal investigation was opened. Now the witness tells Newsday what he saw, "[The passenger] knocked on the engineer's door and the engineer let him in." When the passenger emerged from the engineer's cab, he asked another ride, "How'd I do?"

Uh oh: Newsday reports, "A Long Island Rail Road engineer has been suspended without pay following accusations that he allowed a passenger to operate a train as it traveled west of Hicksville earlier this month and law enforcement authorities are investigating." The MTA Police Chief, Michael Coan, said they are working on developing a criminal case against the engineer and passenger, "We know somebody was in the cab. We don't know what happened there. We also know that it ran smoothly and nobody was injured."

The Long Island Rail Road mechanics making upwards of $200K in annual overtime pay at one Queens yard are doing so because of a forty-year-old loophole, according to a new report. Hopefully the well-compensated LIRR workers have used their hefty paychecks for Times subscriptions because they might not like the treatment they're getting from the Post. The tabloid says that the "grease monkeys" are getting paid to "sleep on the job." The jackpot loophole they're referring to is a rule that states that vacant shifts at the Richmond Hills yard must be filled, no matter if any work needs to be done. The Post says this leads to "hundreds of instances last year when mechanics worked 24 to 32 hours straight, racking up time-and-a-half and double-time pay." After those extra-long shifts, the employees then get another eight hours mandatory pay to go home and sleep. The MTA is currently investigating schedule and pension rules. The Richmond Hills rule has been challenged in two previous negotiations by the LIRR, but an arbitrator upheld it both times.

They may be considered "grease monkeys" by the New York Post, but LIRR mechanics are cleaning up when it comes to overtime pay. One diesel yard in Richmond Hill, Queens saw six of its union mechanics take in $1.5 million in income, mostly from OT and other perks. Leading the way is Ronald Dunne, a car repairman, who made $220k of his $283k in income from overtime and puts him as the fifth highest breadwinner in the MTA. The paper calls the Richmond Hills yard a gold mine, reasonably enough since they mention that Dunne made so much last year that he purchased a set of gold-plated wrenches. A spokesman for the LIRR said, "Antiquated work rules in collective-bargaining agreements have led to excessive earnings at our Richmond Hill maintenance facility by some employees with high seniority," Last year it was revealed that mostly retired LIRR employees have made over $250 million in disability pay this decade.

After months of speculation, the MTA announced that the Long Island Rail Road improvements proposed at the Atlantic Yards development will be less grand than planned. Instead of nine rails, there will be seven, and the MTA is also expecting less money from developer Bruce Ratner. The Post reports that the MTA "allowed Ratner to renegotiate because the national credit crunch was making it difficult to finance the 22-acre plan to build an NBA arena and 16 office and residential towers in Prospect Heights." To refresh your memory, back in 2005, Ratner won the MTA's land—called the Vanderbilt Rail Yard—after bidding $100 million, which was $50 million less than a rival bid (the land is appraised at over $200 million). It's unclear how much Ratner will end up paying the MTA (rumor is $50 million!); Atlantic Yards Report has details of the State Senate meeting where MTA interim CEO Helena Williams spoke. And Ratner, who hopes to break ground later this year, is downsizing other parts of his plan.

Almost three years ago, a teenager visiting from Minnesota fell through a 6-8 inch gap at the Woodside Long Island Rail Road station. Natalie Smead (pictured) tried crawling across the tracks and was fatally hit by an oncoming train. Now, Newsday reports that Smead's mother Susan Perry committed suicide: "On April 5, three days before the LIRR and Metropolitan Transportation Authority were to cut a $1.5 million check to settle the family's lawsuit over Smead's death, Perry, 50, killed herself in Minnesota, her family has disclosed." While the incident raised concerns about the huge gaps at many LIRR stations, an NTSB report recently blamed Smead's death on her alcohol level (here's the report PDF), noting she had a 0.23 blood alcohol level and that she failed to listen to instructions to stay still. Family and friends say that after her daughter's death, Perry, who used to run triathlons, became depressed and upset. Her family decided to speak out on Perry's death to "highlight the damage they feel was caused by the NTSB report."

An eastbound Long Island Rail Road train struck a car on the tracks in Syosset. The driver was killed and Newsday reports, "The gate at the grade-crossing... was repaired one hour before the fatal crash in Syosset....Some witnesses indicated the gate was up at the time of the accident, but a preliminary investigation of an electronic recording device monitoring the gate at Robbins Lane indicated that the gates at the Syosset crossing were in the down position at the time of the crash, [LIRR spokesman Sam] Zambuto told Newsday." (There will be an investigation.) The train was the 8 a.m. from Penn Station, arriving in Huntington at 9:10 a.m.; none of the passengers were injured. Service was suspended between Hicksville and Huntington, but it has been restored to one set of the tracks.

An East Islip man with cerebral palsy is suing the Long Island Railroad because a conductor repeatedly announced over a public address system that he was in a wheelchair. The incident occurred last August when 22-year-old Anthony Faggiani (be mature; he's handicapped) was on his way home from a Yankees game with his father.

The NY Times follows up its look at how over 90% of Long Island Rail Road employees apply for—and get—disability payments with an examination of the federal Railroad Retirement Board that approves disability. Apparently LIRR president Helena Williams wanted to attend a meeting (after learning about the LIRR employees' alleged abuse of the system), but "The board, with about $34 billion in assets, had not met formally in nearly two years, and no new meeting was scheduled. The three board members, all full-time presidential appointees, rarely met even in private, employees of the agency say." Last year, the board approved 98% of applications. and the NY Times reports the doctor who is meant to monitor the disability grants never ordered capacity evaluations to see if the applicants are truly disabled: "And of the 120 cases she reviewed last year, how many disability decisions did she disagree with? According to board officials: zero."

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."

Long Island Rail Road riders will have to brace themselves for another day of screwed up service. Though MTA repair crews have been working nonstop since Sunday to fix damaged rails and switches after a train derailed just west of Jamaica Station-- forcing numerous cancellations during the morning and evening rush hours and delays (some riders' -- the damage is so extensive that there are also delays and cancelled service for today.

Yesterday, Long Island Rail Road train derailed west of the Jamaica Station, which Newsday reports "caus[ed] major damage to rails and switches"; luckily no one was hurt. Even though repair crews have been working on it through the night, the MTA has cancelled 12 westbound Monday morning trains into Penn Station and Flatbush Avenue and modified other services, telling customers they "should anticipate significant schedule changes and possible delays"--check the MTA's service alert. LIRR Riders Council chairman Gerry Bringmann said, "Thank God this happened on a weekend. The fact that we have two [accidents] within four or five days - that's scary stuff," referring to the Wednesday incident where two LIRR trains bumped at Jamaica Station. The MTA says yesterday's derailment is being investigated but it's "not related to the train sideswipe that occurred in Jamaica on November 19."

After the NY Times revealed a stunning number of recent Long Island Rail Road retirees retired with disability payments (as high as 97% one year), Attorney General Andrew Cuomo held a hearing yesterday about the matter. He was unsparing in his assessment of the disability program, "There appears to have been a cottage industry, if you will, that developed to expedite the granting of disability benefits. It was a bad program design to begin with, and it was totally flawed oversight by the Railroad Retirement Board, by the LIRR, by the MTA."

The NY congressional delegation had "very productive" talks with the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board to discuss reforms. Last month, the NY Times found that since 2000 virtually all LIRR employees applied for--and received--disability payments, raising questions about the USRRB's approval process (the board grants pensions). Newsday reports the USRRB is considering including "independent medical doctor to review disability claims; better oversight of the board's Long Island district office; and a re-evaluation of past LIRR retiree disability cases." Senator Charles Schumer said, "If somebody gets disability [benefits] and is then out playing golf five times a week, they ought to not have them," and added, "We all know something is rotten in Denmark."

Two weeks after the NY Times found that virtually most retired Long Island Rail Road employees since 2000 have successfully applied for disability payments--at a cost of $250 million in federal funds--the LIRR president Helena Williams announced she is creating a unit to review disability applications, requiring LIRR workers to undergo ethics training, and asking for legislation to overhaul the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, which approves disability requests.

Yesterday, the Westbury, Long Island office of the Railroad Retirement Board was was raided by federal agents who are investigating possible fraud in disability payments to Long Island Rail Road retirees. While the NY Times recently detailed how 90-97% of LIRR employees were applying for--and receiving--disability benefits upon retirement since 2000, it turns out the feds had been investigating the situation for the past six months.

After the NY Times' sprawling investigation showing many Long Island Rail Road employees apply for--and get--disability payments after reaching the retirement age of 50, Governor David Paterson is asking Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate the situation. The Times found that LIRRemployees have received $250 million in federal disability payments since 2000, while the MTA's other commuter railroad, Metro-North, has nowhere near those numbers of disability claims.

The NY Time has a huge, front page article on the curious "disability epidemic among" Long Island Rail Road retirees. In a nutshell, the article points out how many LIRR employees apply for disability after retiring...and they end up getting those federal payments. Back in 2004, 97% of employees who retired after the age of 50, applied for and received disability.

An assistant conductor noticed a man attacking a woman yesterday at the Freeport LIRR station, according to Newsday. Passengers thought they heard a child crying and when assistant conductor Eugene Chino lookd at the end of the platform, he saw the assault, which "occurred on the trackbed between the two tracks alongside the cement housing for the platform staircase." The 3:42 p.m. train from Babylon to Penn Station was stopped and the suspect apprehended.

The MTA's various fare hikes are starting to go into effect next month (aka tomorrow). Tomorrow, Long Island Railroad and Metro-North fares are going up. Bridge and tunnel tolls are going up on March 16. And the doozy will be the NYC Transit subway and bus fare hikes which go into effect on Sunday, March 2. Expect tons of confused riders and weary MTA workers on Monday and for the next few weeks.

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."

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.