It's 82 degrees and Tuesday—what better way to celebrate than by languishing on a sweltering subway platform for a train that never comes? If you're a masochist, or simply someone who believes that life in New York is about enduring adversity and showing up for work an hour late and soaking wet, the J/M lines have gotcha covered this morning.
A sick passenger on a train at the Myrtle Avenue station and a passenger requiring medical assistance at Kosciuszko St. ground service to a halt on the J/M lines during the height of this morning's rush hour.
@MTA it's not good here at Marcy for people trying to get to Mannthan.
— Duffee Marie Maddox (@Duffee12) June 19, 2018
What kind of nonsense service alternative is this @NYCTSubway: from Halsey, we should walk to Myrtle? The right info would be a Brooklyn-bound train to Bway Junction and take anything but a J pic.twitter.com/QV05G4FG0u
— Eva Kis (@thisiskis) June 19, 2018
@MTA @NYCTSubway Okay, you now have reached MAXIMUM BULLSHIT LEVEL when you announce you are taking a J train that has run from Jamaica Center to Kosciusko Street out of service at Myrtle/Broadway for A PREVIOUS MECHANICAL ISSUE. Why did you let the train to take passengers then?
— Fredrick Beondo (@Punx5570) June 19, 2018
While the MTA can't be blamed for passengers in need of medical assistance, this morning's delays do not bode well for the L train shutdown, when an unknown number of 225,000 daily L train commuters will be traipsing optimistically over to the J/M/Z line.
If this is the Marcy Avenue stop on a morning when the L is operational, what's it going to look like when there's a problem during the shutdown? How far will the line just to climb the Marcy subway stairs stretch around Havemeyer? Past the Have A Bagel? Beyond the Kabob Shack? The mind reels in dread.
Critics of the MTA's current L train contingency plan, which has yet to be finalized, fear the J/M/Z stations will not be able to meet demand during the shutdown, and the MTA revealed at a town hall meeting in May that they will only be able to run four additional M trains per hour. "It's really the maximum we can fit there," said Transit Operations Chief Peter Cafiero.
Transit advocates continue to call on the MTA to implement HOV-3 restrictions on the Williamsburg Bridge 24/7 during the shutdown, instead of the unspecified "peak hours" currently planned.
As of 8:49 a.m. the MTA says service has resumed on the J and M, but the delays continue. So do the signal problems.
Good morning. There is a stalled M train/signal problem in the area of 34 St holding back service at this time. ^JP
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) June 19, 2018
There were also signal problems on the B/C. And a busted door on the D.
Gotta love the @NYCTSubway. D train goes one stop, can't close the doors, and goes out of service mid-rush hour. Now it's stuck in the station. #thankscuomo pic.twitter.com/tPqUTdtUwy
— Ian Korn (@iankorn) June 19, 2018
If you found this commute frustrating, tell your state representatives and Governor Cuomo to stop robbing the MTA of badly needed funding and figure out a way to come up with more cash for a 21st Century transit system.