Results tagged “metronorth”

Life seemed so much simpler back in the days of Don Draper. You could get back home after a long day in the office on the commuter train, which according to Mad Men was never over-crowded, and highly encouraged relaxation methods like smoking cigarettes and reading the evening paper. Or you could just drive drunk back to Ossining. Choose your own adventure! Either way, the romanticized Grand Central of yesteryear is a far cry from the nightmarish reality of today.

A new list picking 50 foods and naming the best spots in the world for them finds that various locales around the five boroughs have the top burgers, ravioli, pork belly and pastrami sandwiches (at Katz's, natch). But if you're looking for the best slice, you're in the wrong town.

People, always check your bank statements. Eighteen-year-old Lydia Alcock was checking her Visa statement online when she saw that her off-peak Metro-North ticket from Grand Central to Goldens Bridge cost $23,148,855,308,184,500. Yesterday, the NY Times' Peter Abblebome wrote about the college student's amazement:

Ms. Alcock looked. She looked again. She gasped. She laughed. She shouted to her father: “Dad, you need to come here. Right now.” And then after realizing, to her chagrin, that she owed the staggering sum, not that she was the recipient of a tidy little windfall, she typed into Google: “How to say really big numbers,” and cut and pasted $23,148,855,308,184,500. It read: “twenty-three quadrillion, one hundred forty-eight trillion, eight hundred fifty-five billion, three hundred eight million, one hundred eighty-four thousand, five hundred dollars.”

The MTA's non-doomsday fare hikes start today, with higher fares on the Long Island Rail Road (fare table here) and Metro-North (table here). WCBS 2's Lou Young spoke to commuters at Grand Central and Penn Station. One woman, who travels from Yonkers into the city, said, "It's a big deal considering nobody has any money. Money is very scarce right now"; she faces an increase of $1.50 per roundtrip—about $30/month (and she rarely has the cash available to buy a monthly). A pair of brothers who commute from Babylon into Manhattan will have to pay another $21/month each on their monthly passes. Another commuter from White Plains was resigned, "It adds up. It adds up, especially when the fares go up all the time. They got a deficit. Wadda ya gonna do?"

The NYPD recommended that people visiting NYC for New Year's take public transportation, but early this morning, about some passengers on Metro-North got to welcome a little 2009 commuter frustration. The AP reports, "About 150 passengers have been rescued from two disabled commuter trains coming from New York that lost heat and electricity in a nearly three-hour ordeal" that started at 3:40 a.m. It's believed "several thousand feet of overhead wires that send power to the trains became entangled and torn, cutting off power" to the trains between Bridgeport and Stratford. And because it took some time to lift and secure the wires, the rescue didn't start until 6:25 a.m.

    

As we mentioned yesterday, the MTA's Transit Museum Annex opened its annual Holiday Train Show-- and this year there are the first-ever MTA-licensed NYC Subway Lionel Train Cars along with the recently released Metro-North Commuter Lionel Trains. A press release from Lionel Trains explains how the model subway train cars are extremely detailed:

"The R-27 Subway Car was first put into service by the MTA in 1960 and continued to serve New York City riders into the early 1990s. Lionel has created an exact replica of these trains all the way down to the kale green enamel finish, rooftop rivets and even the destination boards on the exterior of the train cars, along with opening doors and authentic subway sounds!"

A new study put out by City Councilman Daniel Garodnick hopes to save east side trains in Manhattan from suffering the ax that is likely coming to various lines around the city. The survey of the Lexington Avenue lines at rush hour discovered "130 riders kept off of each downtown 6 train at 77th Street during morning rush, ...on two days, the number was over 400." The MTA says that with trains running every two minutes during rush hours, there isn't much more they can do. The only relief they offer up is the building of the 2nd Avenue line--scheduled to open in 2015. Garodnick also highlighted how many passengers get stranded on platforms during weekday home games at Yankee Stadium and called for more bus lines to the Bronx. The MTA thinks that burden should be alleviated by the opening of a Metro-North station near the stadium next spring.

On Monday, a man driving in Bedford Hills made a right turn, just like his GPS told him. Or did it--because he drove onto Metro-North train tracks and into the path of a train. Luckily Jose Silva and his passengers got out before he was hit, but this is the second time a driver has blamed GPS for making them drive onto the tracks.

A pilot program to keep subway stations cleaner on the No. 7 and L lines was a success, but transit officials are balking at the cost of implementing it citywide, which would be approximately $100 million. The test run increased the number of cleaners at all stations on two subway lines, providing round the clock service; an MTA analysis found that those stations had heavy litter just 10% of the time, down from 33% before the pilot program. But NYC Transit would have to hire an additional 1,575 cleaners and spend nearly $230,000 per hub to meet those standards, the Daily News reports. And $100 million is no small potatoes in a time when the MTA is facing a nearly $1 billion budget deficit and considering service cuts. [Photo cred.]

Get ready for primal screams across the region, if the MTA decides to cut subway, bus, and rail service as it faces its nearly $1 billion-deficit next year. The Daily News reports that MTA CFO Gary Dellaverson said the agency "recently told its divisions to detail ways to cut spending by about 4.5% in the event the economy deteriorates beyond the MTA's latest budget projections - or if city and state funding isn't increased to levels sought by the MTA."

The MTA is planning extra service for July 4th--and today! There are more trains from Penn Station on the LIRR and from Grand Central on the Metro-North today--"getaway service." NJ Transit also has additional train service departing NY Penn Station, Newark Penn Station, and Hoboken terminal. Tomorrow, most service will be operating on a weekend/Sunday schedule.

First NBC announces it's starting a 24-hour local NYC news channel yesterday--a possible competitor to NY1-- and now Matt Lauer is invading the turf of NYC TV's Kelly Choi by heading to the "secret subway station" under the Waldorf-Astoria!

The Regional Planning Association released a map of what service and capital improvements tri-state riders can expect, even in the absence of approval for a congestion pricing plan. NYC Transit riders have a lot to be unhappy about following a fare hike, followed by the announcement that promised service improvements were off the table, followed by the prospect of yet another fare hike and even more service cuts. If Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan doesn't pass, it's uncertain how the MTA will be able to afford major capital improvements to the system, although a $1.5 billion windfall from the sale of the Hudson Yards should help.

There are some residual delays on Metro-North this morning after yesterday's East Harlem building collapse that led to the suspension of all service in and out of Grand Central. The trains' speed restrictions were lifted at 6:30 a.m. and there may be 5-10 delays.

A building collapse at 124th Street and Park Avenue has prompted the MTA to shut down all train service in and out of Grand Central Terminal. Metro-North's Dan Brucker told WCBS 880, "We don't know how long the closure will last. We have been told by the police not to have any trains run through the 125th Street station."

A 37-year-old man ended his train trip atop a Metro-North car at the Pelham station, where he fell or was pulled from the train's roof, while on fire and suffering from burns after coming into contact with a high voltage power cable. Accounts of the incident differ, but do agree on the fact that the adventurer was named Eric Chavez, he suffered burns on his body, and that it was somewhat of a miracle that he was alive.

There's nothing like hearing that a man suspected of rapes in Dutchess County ran from police and took a Metro-North train headed to Grand Central Terminal. The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that on both November 28 and December 6, there were incidents of a home invasion and then rape in the village of Pawling, and Flaviano Quintero was being questioned about them. As Dutchess County investigators were speaking with him yesterday, Quintero then "jumped out a...

Metro-North has announced a partnership with Enterprise that will likely appeal to anyone who's been gouged by New York City rental car companies. The New York Sun reports that Enterprise will soon have rental cars at 23 Metro North stations in five upstate counties: Westchester, Orange, Rockland, Dutchess, and Putnam. The program has the potential to encourage more budget-conscious New Yorkers to explore points north beyond the Metro North lines. It's not really much of...

Just weeks after the New York Post milked a week's worth of coverage out of a 26-year-old's nude romp in the middle of the afternoon through Times Square, the paper heads back to the bare-naked well with yet another mentally disturbed male who wanted to lap the Square sans clothing. 44-year-old Antonia Alicata caught a Metro North train down to the city Thursday and then rode the subway to Times Square. Somewhere along the way, he shed his clothes and was caught on West 42nd St. by cops, as Alicata traversed the crossroads of the world without any clothes on.

Back in January of 2004, those two gentleman you see at the right - Jonny Kaps and Nat Hays - started +1 (a PR, Management, Digital and Special Events company). On their roster are bands such as Editors, Ambulance LTD, Stellastarr* and Two Gallants. Tonight they'll be celebrating their 3 year anniversary just down the street from their office, at Luna Lounge. The party is private, sure to have some special musical guests...and they want to invite YOU. Check out details after the interview.

You know the conversation, the one that starts with “I never go above 14th Street”? Seems that for all its pretentiousness it can serve as decent advice when hunting for quality eats. Sure, many inhabitants of the upper stratosphere of the NYC restaurant world call “uptown” home, but it sure seems easier to find a casual yet professional, enjoyable yet tasty, food experience downtown. Of course places that fit this bill inhabit “uptown” also, just at a lower ratio – feel free so share some of your favorites in the comments below.

A train commute without a buzz? The MTA may look into banning alcohol sales on LIRR and Metro-North trains. The NY Sun reports MTA board member Mitchell Pally as saying, "They can have as many beers as they want as soon as they get home. I would prefer we don't let anyone drink alcohol on the train. If we're not ready to go that far … the least we can do is not make it easy for people to do it, which is, don't sell it."

The safety issue, according to Mr. Pally, is drunk driving when tipsy passengers head to their homes from train stations. Long Island Rail Road has been selling alcohol on platforms and aboard trains since the 1950s, and Metro-North has been serving it since 1976. No car accidents directly related to onboard drinking have been reported, and bartenders on the trains are not allowed to sell alcohol to passengers who seem to them to be inebriated.

A Bronx teenager was fatally hit by a Metro North train yesterday afternoon. Sixteen year old LaToya Jimenez was on her way to a job in White Plains when she somehow lost her balance, possibly fainting, and fell from the platform. Witnesses described her as seeming disoriented and that she did get up but fell again. Others believe she had been leaning over the platform.

This week, planning to go explore the 116th Street stop on the 6 train, we popped out of the subway on a chilly Saturday afternoon. After a few minutes walking around, scoping some West Indian shops, talking to locals and seeing the barren marketplace under the Metro North Viaduct above Park Avenue we decided to return there in the warmer months. We will probably wait till La Marqueta Internacional opens in the summer, all the better to include exploring what seems to be a great new project for a neighborhood whose diverse residents historically are quite proud their colorful heritages, and not shy about showing it off and sharing it with all. Really, after reading this how can we not be excited at the prospects.

Could it be? One year after some talk that the MTA was considering bringing smart card technology to roost here, the MTA is actually going to pilot test smart cards. So that $44 million put towards testing isn't going to waste! The goal is to have a "seamless fare card" that would be able to work against the MTA's systems (the subways, buses, Metro North), the PATH, and NJ Transit (buses and trains). Gothamist would love that idea - waiting on line at Penn Station for LIRR or NJ Transit tickets kills us, even at the machines. The Daily News says the agencies signed a "strategic alliance" to simply NYC metro area travel, which makes us yearn for a reality show with contestents from those agencies trying to navigate through their properties, The Amazing Race-meets-Survivor like. However, the pilot program won't begin until next year at the earliest...but then again, that's a few months for us to lobby the MTA to be part of the test.

Yesterday, a commuter train in western Japan derailed and crashed into an apartment building, injuring 340 and killing 73. Investigators suspect that the train's speed was a cause, because the conductor was trying to make up for a delay, since the train was running 90 seconds late. The 23 year old conductor had missed an earlier stop, had to go back, and then proceed again; the driver has not been found yet. West Japan Railway sources say that its president will resign over the accident.

At first, Gothamist was surprised such a little kid had her own potty, but apparently 18 months is an appropriate age to start potty training - which means having a potty around the house so the kid is comfortable around it. Who knew? And the FDNY said, "It's no embarrassment when it's an emergency. He [the father] called 911, and it turned out to be the best call he could make." Yes, Gothamist can't help but emphasize that - even when you're 28 and your head gets stuck on a plastic potty.

Girlynyc, Panty Blogger