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MTA Payroll Tax Case To Be Held In Nassau

Posted by
on September 12th, 2011 at 11:41 pm

The MTA Payroll Tax is one that has many detractors across the region, especially out here on Long Island where both counties joined others in a lawsuit to question the tax’s legality.

In what makes for an interesting turn before the case even begins is the ruling by an appellate division judge that the case remain being held in Nassau County. John Callegari of Long Island Business News has more:

A lawsuit challenging the legality of the MTA Payroll Tax will be heard in Nassau County, not Albany, the courts have ruled.

The lawsuit, filed by Nassau County, in conjunction with Suffolk and Westchester counties and various towns and villages, challenges the constitutionality of the MTA Payroll Tax, which taxes businesses in the New York metropolitan area for each employee on their payroll in order to supplement the Metropolitan Transit Authority. When the lawsuit was first filed in the Nassau, the New York State Attorney General’s office moved to change the venue to Albany, while Nassau County cross-moved to retain the venue on Long Island.

On Thursday, an appellate division judge denied the attorney general’s office’s motion and declared the lawsuit would proceed in Nassau.

Nassau County Attorney John Ciampoli said he will now be requesting the court for a conference date to get the suit underway.

However, a spokesperson for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office said the ruling at the appellate division did nothing to prevent the action from being held in Albany. Instead, the ruling simply denied any action that would come out of a trial in Nassau County from moving forward until it was decided what was the proper venue.

Click here for the complete report.

This is an interesting decision to continue holding the trial in Nassau County. I would be concerned about potential bias since the county is one of the leaders & most vocal critics of the tax. Wouldn’t it be fair to have this case in a neutral territory? I sure think so & won’t be surprised to see it moved to one soon.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 09-12-11

Posted by
on September 12th, 2011 at 5:01 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the weekend work that wrapped up a minute ago. The planned work for this week & beyond in some cases has been moved to the forefront.

I suggest printing out a copy before heading to your destination. If you have an internet capable handheld device, you can use it to access the mobile version of this site.

The diversions will have minor updates as scheduled ones drop off. Any minor updates will take place on the page as it is updated daily but will not be noted in an entry. The next complete update will be sometime on Thursday after I received the planned weekend diversions from the MTA directly.

While out traveling, if I notice or hear any changes, I will update them on the twitter feed so don’t forget to follow @TransitBlogger today which you can do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

As always, stay safe & have a wonderful week.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Women Bitten By Rat At Chambers Street Station

Posted by
on September 11th, 2011 at 9:44 am

A rat eating food left on a platform at the Chambers Street J Train station. Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann for the New York Daily News.

Whether you are a regular NYC Subway rider or not, chances are you have seen rats scurrying all over subway stations. Most times they are seen either running around on the tracks or at the back of platforms.

The only positive thing from a clearly negative situation is that rats usually stay away from people. Unfortunately this did not play out for a woman this past Monday who was bitten while waiting for a J Train train at the Chambers Street station. Pete Donohue & Joe Kemp of the New York Daily News has more:

A hungry rat chomped on a straphanger’s foot as she waited for a train in a downtown subway station, transit sources said.

The woman was sitting on a bench on a J train platform inside the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station about 9:30 a.m. Monday when the rodent skittered up to her and bit down on her flesh, the sources said.

Bleeding from the wound, the woman ran to a nearby service booth and asked for help – completely freaking out.

“She was pretty frantic and upset,” a transit worker said. “You could actually see the bite.”

The woman, who is in her 20s, was taken to New York Downtown Hospital, where she was treated and released, authorities said.

The subway rat attack was unusual, the sources said, particularly because the J train platform at the station has a low rodent population. The platforms in the station for the 4, 5, 6 trains, however, are a complete “rat fest,” one source said.

Click here for the complete report.

Honestly this attack comes as no surprise to me. One would have to be blind to not know that the NYC Subway has a huge rat problem. The agency has seemingly been attacking the issue forever but no real progress has been made.

With the cutback on cleaning over the last couple of years due to financial woes, the already losing battle to combat the rat population only became worse. Hopefully the woman does not suffer any long term effects from the bite. If I were her, I would file a lawsuit & I am sure she will.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

MNR To Run Buses At All Port Jervis Stations

Posted by
on September 11th, 2011 at 8:23 am

Almost 10 days ago, I posted an entry with plans by the MTA Metro-North Railroad to provide expanded bus service for Port Jervis line customers who lost service due to the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Irene.

Late Friday afternoon, the agency announced it will now be providing bus service from all stations along the Port Jervis line. Here are complete details courtesy of the press release I received:

MTA Metro-North Railroad will provide bus service instead of train service for the entire Port Jervis Line with the introduction of bus service at the Otisville and Campbell Hall stations on Monday, September 12.

The bus program will remain in effect, seven days a week, for several months until the line, damaged by flooding during Hurricane Irene, can be repaired.

Otisville and Campbell Hall customers will be taken to the Beacon Station for Hudson Line train service to Grand Central Terminal. For all available service alternatives and Port Jervis Line updates, see mta.info.

“In the two weeks since flooding crippled 14 miles of the Port Jervis Line, Metro-North has worked to provide buses to transport the 2,300 people who depend on the railroad each weekday. They will be taken to nearby stations in New Jersey and across the Hudson River in a complex and evolving plan to provide alternative public transportation,” said Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut. “It is the most extensive and complex busing program ever implemented by the railroad.”

“The full resources of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have been harnessed to help the Port Jervis Line recover. We are grateful to the MTA Bus Company, which has sent 40 buses from New York City to Orange County for this effort,” Permut added.

“Our service partner, NJTRANSIT, has been very helpful in accommodating the influx of our customers at its Ramsey/Route17 Station, including bus staging there,” Permut said. “Similarly, Leprechaun Lines of New Windsor pitched in and provided the first buses from Harriman just two days after the storm and continues to supply 15 buses each day.”

The effort has been extensive and complicated. Many local roads also were damaged by flooding and have just been reopened. Bus routes had to be mapped and test runs made from each station to either Ramsey/Route 17 or Beacon so that travel times could be compared. MTA Bus drivers had to familiarize themselves with Orange County roads. Metro-North planners had to develop bus schedules that take into account local traffic so that buses will meet train departures. Signs had to be posted at stations and Customer Service personnel mobilized in the field.

Some West of Hudson customers are being bused to the Hudson Line primarily to avoid confusion at the Ramsey/Route 17 Station in the afternoon when so many buses are lined up, each with a different Orange County destination. Also, there is better road access at Beacon. And ultimately the travel time is essentially the same via Beacon or Ramsey/Route17 to either midtown or downtown.

Otisville and Campbell Hall customers who wish to go to Hoboken or Penn Station can drive to the Salisbury Mills station, where there is ample parking and buses are going to the Ramsey/Route 17 station.

In addition, Metro-North has added about 80 parking spaces at Harriman by striping an unused, but paved area at the north end of the existing facility. All West-of-Hudson parking permits will be good at the Harriman Station, where buses will take customer to and from the Ramsey/Route17 Station.

Previously, Metro-North has provided shuttle buses during off-peak track or during temporary service disruptions. The current bus operation from all eight Port Jervis Line stations will be in operation seven days a week. Each scheduled train has a corresponding bus departure.

In addition, customers can use Port Jervis Line commutation tickets on the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry or the Newburgh-Beacon Shuttle Bus and on the Hudson Line.

Customers from stations from Port Jervis through Salisbury Mills with a valid LAZ parking permit can park at any West of Hudson station as well as at Beacon or Cortlandt stations on the Hudson Line. A permit does not guarantee a space.

To receive updates on the Port Jervis Line, customers should sign up for email alerts and call the Customer Information Center at 212-532-4900.

Meanwhile, AECOM of New York City is in the process of a conditions analysis of track and structures along 14 of the hardest hit miles of the right-of-way. A hydrology study also is being conducted. A sub-consultant, Systra of New York City, is assessing all railroad communications and signal systems, and M.G. McLaren of West Nyack, another sub-consultant, is assessing damage to the 16 rail bridges in the affected area. AECOM was granted an emergency contract not-to exceed $500,000.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Q2 & Q110 Resume Service To Belmont Park

Posted by
on September 11th, 2011 at 8:14 am

On Friday, MTA NYC Transit announced that the Q2 & Q110 have resumed service to Belmont Park for their fall racing season. Details from the press release:

MTA New York City Transit and MTA Bus announce that beginning Saturday, September 10 until Sunday, October 30, the Q2 and Q110 buses will again directly serve Belmont Park Racetrack. On days that the racetrack is open, the buses will discharge, layover and pick up customers at the Belmont bus terminal.

Eastbound (towards Belmont Park), the Q2 and Q110 will follow their regular route to the Cross Island Parkway northbound entrance ramp, then onto the racetrack turnaround via Lane #1. Customers will be discharged at the escalator leading to the LIRR/Racetrack overpass. The buses will continue to the layover area. Westbound (towards Jamaica), the buses will pull up to Lane #3 and pick up customers at the designated Q2 and Q110 bus stops, then continue on their regular routes.

These stops are only in effect when Belmont Park Racetrack is open. There is no racing on Mondays or Tuesdays, with the exception of Monday, October 10 (Columbus Day). In addition, Belmont Park will not be open on Wednesday, October 12.

So, get out ahead of the field and buy your MetroCards in advance and enjoy a day at the races!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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