Results tagged “subway”

Yesterday, the NY Times reported on a 13-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome who hid in the subway system nearly two weeks. Francisco Hernandez didn't want to go home, because he had gotten into trouble at school and was afraid of his parents' reaction, so he rode three different subway lines in four boroughs for 11 days in October. His mother says the police didn't do enough to find him, but a conductor told WCBS 2, "Supposedly this kid did not want to be found. It's pretty easy to elude us for quite a while. I'm not surprised."

A 13-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome—a form of autism that often causes difficulty with social interaction—spent 11 days in the subway system last month. In a heartbreaking Times article, Francisco Hernandez Jr. tells how he took refuge in the subway for over a week because he got in trouble in class and "didn't want anyone to scream at me" at home. He says nobody spoke to him the entire time he rode the trains, and when the reporter asked him if he "saw any larger meaning in that," Hernandez replied, "Nobody really cares about the world and about people."

Is there anything more horrifying than being locked on the subway with a knife-toting murderer? About two dozen commuters found themselves in that hellish situation early on Saturday, when they were locked on in the first car of an uptown D train with suspect Gerardo Sanchez, who according to witnesses had just stabbed a passenger to death in an argument over a seat.

If you've had to cut the gym from your budget, Urlesque reminds us that we're all already paying for an on-the-go workout space: the subway. They've compiled some videos of subway exercise methods from cities all over — the best and most comprehensive one can be found here.

The 37-year-old suspected of slaying a straphanger in a grisly murder on the D train was not provoked before the vicious attack on Saturday, according to prosecutors. When suspect Gerardo Sanchez boarded the first car of the northbound train at around 2 am at Rockefeller Center, he seemed "disorganized and disoriented before and after the shocking violence," a witness told police, according to the Post.

A tipster described his morning commute on the F as screwy (Manhattan-bound F rerouted to Hoyt-Schermerhorn, to pick up the A/C) —and NYC Transit workers chalked it up to a broken rail. The MTA's service alert page says, "Due to a rail condition at the 14th Street Station, 168th Street-bound C trains are running on the express track between the Canal Street Station and the 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station. Jamaica-bound E trains are running on the express track between the Canal Street Station and the 42nd Street Station. Please expect delays on the A, C, E, F and V trains at this time."

Today, NYPD Chief James P. Hall, who heads the department's Transit Bureau, told the City Council that sexual harassment was the "No. 1 quality of life offense on the subway," according to City Room. Hall added, "This should not be a part of commuting in New York. t's an under-reported crime." (Nothing, unfortunately, new there.)

Service from the 7th Avenue subway station in Park Slope was stopped for a police investigation. It turns out that one person was fatally struck by a Queens-bound G train.

The Radio City Rockettes are definitely busy these days—this morning, they will be on a Nostalgia Train! NYC Transit says the 1930's era IND Nostalgia Train will leave the Chambers Street E platform at about 10 a.m. and "will make stops enroute to the D line at West 4th Street, arriving at 47-50 St/Rockefeller Center station." Well, naturally the destination is Rockefeller Center, which is right by Radio City Music Hall, where the Christmas Spectacular is playing.

The MTA's $200 million plan to install countdown clocks at all numbered train line stations is moving forward, though it's already running slightly behind schedule, the Times reports. By the end of next month, MTA NYC Transit will start the clocks at the Longwood Avenue, Brook Avenue and East 149th Street 6 train stations in the Bronx, but the installation of the timepieces in the remaining 152 numbered stations won't be completed until April 2011 — despite previous reports of a December 2010 finish.

It's amazing that anyone wants to celebrate the G train, but the NY Post is reporting that Williamsburg's City Reliquary is hosting a pageant to do just that. They report that the museum and civic organization will hold the pageant on November 19th in conjunction a photography exhibit documenting past Miss Subways winners.

      

Because kids respond to safety pitches only when there is an MC Skat Kat-esque mascot involved, the Department of Buildings is using "Safe-T Rider," the elevator safety cat (courtesy the Alabama-based Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation) to emphasize elevator—and escalator and moving walkway—safety to young New Yorkers during Elevator Safety Week!

Anecdotal evidence suggests that transit police have been cracking down on musicians and other performers busking in the subway system—even though the MTA's own rules permit low-volume performance under certain conditions. A number of musicians and a busker advocacy group tell amNY that "police harassment has grown to disturbing levels in recent months."

A man suspected in 14 subway robberies since January was arrested yesterday in North Carolina. Rasheem Williams, 37, who had been one of the NYPD's most wanted criminals, was apprehended, as were two other fugitives wanted by the cops, in Rocky Mount, N.C.

Traveling by subway may be an overpriced headache (especially on weekends!) but at least now you can use Google Maps to plan your treacherous trip through it. They've just improved their NYC subway system mapping in their "Transit" layer, making it easier to plot a subway commute to the address or neighborhood of your choice.

It's like white noise at this point — the NY Post's headline reads: "Expect subway service disaster this weekend." Shocking, shocking news. The good news, however, is that the Transit Riders Council, an MTA watchdog group, is finishing up their underground study (results of which will be available in early 2010). For weeks they've "monitored trouble spots and found stations without adequate signs as well as seriously delayed trains."

Howard Roberts Jr., president of NYC Transit for the past 2 1/2 years, resigned today, leading many to suspect more resignations will come, as new MTA head Jay Walder wants to leave his own stamp on the agency.

It was only a matter of time before the Swine Flu hysteria escalated to the next level and what better place for it to heat up than New York City on the D train. The Business Insider's Lawrence Delevingne caught a glimpse and an earful of the first reported swine flu-induced subway altercation this morning while nearing the 42nd St Street- Bryant Park stop.

Having to cram into a crowded subway car has been one thing these past few weekends as the MTA got to work on station and track renovations decreasing service on 18 of its 20 subway lines. But this weekend should be interesting, what with Halloween and the NYC Marathon in the mix.

Okay, fine—this story makes us feel a little more guilty for complaining about the subway's seemingly slower service (seriously, what's been going on?): Before Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee dominated the Yankees during Game 1 of the World Series, he took the subway to Yankee Stadium because traffic from Manhattan to the Bronx was terrible.

The Manhattan Bridge has been plagued with problems since it was constructed 100 years ago... and the ol' gal still isn't perfect after all this time. The NY Times reports that a $150 million project will soon be underway to replace all of the vertical suspension cables on the bridge, causing disruptions in weekend subway service (B, D, N and Q lines), closing the bikeway and even shutting down some traffic lanes... for the next four years. (The cyclists will have to share a pedestrian walkway.)

In February, NYC Transit installed video screens on the platform in the Myrtle-Wyckoff station in Brooklyn, showing the locations of every L train on the line, updated every 15 seconds. And now we know from the Twitter machine that the screens have arrived at Bedford Avenue. NYC Transit posted these photos, and we're told the screens have been installed at various points throughout the station.

Subway managers on the No. 4 line have enlisted college interns to pose as subway riders and grade token booth clerks on their courtesy levels. It's unclear why the study, which was called "Operation Courtesy," was restricted to the 4 line, but NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton says, "It's like a mystery shopper program," in which storeowners' send fake shoppers to review staff. It's also unclear why the MTA needs to conduct an undercover sting to verify that workers can be gruff. But to be fair, we've found many of booth clerks to be exceptionally pleasant, considering they spend their days underground in a tiny box.

While it lacks the visceral intensity of the San Francisco bus fight video masterpiece, in some ways this audio recording of a nasty argument on the D train is even more enthralling, because it leaves something to the imagination. (We're picturing Edith Bunker vs. Rachel Dratch.) Commuter Joellen Nicholson, who published the video on YouTube, calls it "just another night on the D train comin' home from work. Kudos to the subway Samaritan, who I've named 'Father Subway,' for taking control of the situation."

It's not surprising that MyFox News has a four part series (so far) dedicated to broken subway escalators (though perhaps they should also shame the MTA for lack of elevators for the disabled). This time around they report from two locations, including 53rd Street, which sports a lovely escalator behind a glass wall that's been "under repairs" for months. To make matters worse, they even closed off the stairs. Watch to find out how straphangers work that puzzle out:

The new MTA chief is pushing a plan to offer discounts for bus and subway riders on weekends and late nights. MTA CEO Jay Walder has been making a big splash since taking over the job earlier this month, talking to the media about a number of big ideas, such as installing cameras on buses to bust bus lane blockers and introducing a no-swipe MetroCard that would double as a debit card. In an exclusive interview with the Times yesterday, he revealed his latest crazy scheme.

NYC Transit has been running the Nostalgia Train to Yankees post-season games lately—maybe the throwback fever has been spreading! A reader spotted that the old skip-stop 9 line, last in service back in 2005, appears on the MTA's website when you click on the subway map's Times Square stop.

A 28-year old man was charged with public lewdness on October 9th after masturbating on the G train at 10:30 a.m. The Brooklyn Paper reports that cops responded to calls from horrified mid-morning commuters at the Smith-Ninth Street station, after spotting him “naked with an erect penis out on public view."

Unbelievable: An anonymous donor is spending $25,000 to plaster the subway system with ads promoting atheism. Which seems like a waste of money, because didn't God give up on the subway system long ago? Starting next Monday, the monthlong advertising campaign will saturate a dozen Manhattan subway stations with the slogan "A Million New Yorkers Are Good Without God. Are You?" Besides advertising Godlessness, the campaign is also promoting a new book called Good Without God, by Greg Epstein.

Folks using the 1, 2 or 3 trains, start praying that NYC Transit is able to fix issues at Park Place by the evening rush. A reader had mentioned that a train derailed at Park Place earlier today and now the MTA's NYCT Service Alert page says:

"Due to a train with ongoing mechanical problems at the Park Place Station, 2 train service is running on the 5 line between the 149th Street-Grand Concourse Station and the Nevins Street Station in both directions.

Continue reading "Subway Delays Expected After "Minor" 2 Train Derailment"