LIRR To Stop At Mets-Willets Point This Weekend
Anyone who is involved or into the skateboarding scene knows about the big Maloof Money Cup happening this weekend. The MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has announced that its Port Washington line trains will be stopping at the Mets-Willets Point station this weekend due to the event. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release they sent out:
Big-time skateboarding comes to New York City the weekend of June 5-6 and the MTA Long Island Rail Road has the steel wheels to get you to where the urethane wheels are rolling. Additional train service to the Mets-Willets Point Station, just a short skate from the site of the Maloof Money Cup site at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, will be in effect all weekend long.
June 5:
Eastbound: Train service to Mets-Willets Point Station will begin with the 8:19 AM train from Penn Station and continue approximately every half hour through the 9:52 PM train from Penn Station
Westbound: Train service from Port Washington Station to Mets-Willets Point Station will begin with the 8:10 AM train and continue approximately every half hour through the 10:10 PM train from Port Washington Station.
June 6:
Eastbound: Train service to Mets-Willets Point Station will begin with the 8:19 AM train from Penn Station and continue approximately every half hour through the 7:19 PM train from Penn Station.
Westbound: Train service from Port Washington Station to Mets-Willets Point Station will begin with the 8:10 AM train and continue approximately every half hour through the 7:43 PM train from Port Washington Station.
Train service to Mets-Willets Point is available on eastbound Port Washington Branch trains from Penn Station and westbound trains from Great Neck and Port Washington. The train ride is just 19 minutes from Penn Station to Mets-Willets Point. For those traveling on the LIRR from Long Island, the ballpark is just seven minutes from Woodside, 17 minutes from Great Neck and 27 minutes from Port Washington. From Long Island, customers may travel directly to the stadium from Port Washington Branch stations. Customers from other branches should transfer at Woodside for service to Mets-Willets Point.
Skateboard fans traveling from branches other than Port Washington can reach Mets-Willets Point by taking a regularly scheduled train to Woodside Station, then changing to an eastbound Port Washington Branch train. Since Mets-Willets Point is located in Zone 1, tickets to that zone from outlying stations are valid to Mets-Willets Point. However, passengers must retain their ticket stubs and inform ticket collectors of their intention to travel to Mets-Willets Point Station. Customers must hold onto their tickets, which will be collected at Mets-Willets Point after they disembark.
The LIRR’s Mets-Willets Point Station is not handicapped accessible. The subway Flushing Line Mets-Willets Point station is accessible via the Queens-bound local platform, with an ADA ramp connecting to the sidewalk on the south side of Roosevelt Avenue. LIRR Customers with mobility impairments who are traveling to see the Mets should travel to Woodside Station. At Woodside Station, which has elevators, customers should transfer to a Flushing-bound #7 subway train to the Mets-Willets Point subway stop, and then use the ramp to reach Roosevelt Avenue, across from the ballpark.
To return to Woodside after the game, customers with mobility impairments should board the #7 subway and travel one stop east to its end point, the Flushing-Main Street Station. There, after a brief wait on the train, the train will head west to Woodside. This is necessary due to the location of the ramp, which will only permit access to the eastbound platform.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- LIRR To Offer Extra Service To Mets-Willets Point
- LIRR To Run Extra Trains For U.S. Open
- LIRR Service For Subway Series II
- LIRR Service To Dave Matthews Band At Citifield
- LIRR To Provide Service To Citi Field Opener
MTA Statement On Manhattan Institute Report
In the entry below, I wrote about how the average salaries of MTA workers rose by 2.4% in 2009 according to a report by The Manhattan Institute. Shortly after the report’s release, the MTA issued this statement which I received earlier:
“The payroll data released today show that over the past year the MTA reduced its workforce and held down costs by foregoing management raises. The 2.4 percent increase in salaries noted in today’s report reflects built-in raises provided under multi-year labor contracts. The MTA’s $800 million budget shortfall for 2010 — caused by State budget cuts and deteriorating tax revenues — means there’s much more work to be done. We are in the process of overhauling every aspect of our business, including the elimination of approximately 3,000 positions this year. One key part of this effort is a focus on the work rules, pension padding and management oversight that leads to some of the unnecessary overtime highlighted in today’s report.”
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- MTA Statement On 2011 Fare Hike
- MTA Statement On Budget Cuts
- MTA To Gain Money From Budget Amendments
- Not The Time For This Bloomberg
- MTA: No Money For Raises This Year
Average Salaries Rose At The MTA In 2009
The cost of employee wages (especially overtime) has dominated much of the transit landscape lately. The Manhattan Institute is continuing the cycle by releasing a report highlighting how average salaries at the MTA rose 2.4% in 2009. Here is some more courtesy of the press release they issued:
A searchable database of the complete Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) payroll for 2009 – including names, titles, base pay rates and total pay received by 74,708 individuals – shows an increase of 2.4 percent in the average total pay of MTA employees last year. The updated payroll file is now available at www.SeeThroughNY.net, the government transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for New York State Policy.
For the second consecutive year, more than 10 percent of the MTA’s workforce – 8,074 individuals – took home $100,000 or more in total pay, including overtime and other extra pay. The MTA’s six-figure club included:
* Six employees who earned more than $250,000;
* 44 employees who earned between $200,000 and $250,000;
* 511 employees who earned between $150,000 and $200,000; and
* 7,513 individuals who earned between $100,000 and $150,000.
Eleven of the 561 employees who earned more than $150,000 in 2009 were Long Island Railroad car repairmen who earned an average of $167,342 – which was $102,477 over their annual base pay rate of $64,865. Other popular titles in the $150,000-and-over category included:
* 65 Long Island Railroad and Metro-North Railroad conductors who averaged $86,837 over their base salaries which averaged $75,970;*
* 53 Bridge & Tunnel Sergeants and Lieutenants who averaged $94,962 over the average base pay of $82,594;
* 34 Long Island and Metro-North Railroad engineers who averaged $89,109 over their $77,953;*
* 28 MTA police officers; and
* 23 Long Island Railroad gang foremen averaging $81,718 over their base pay rate $82,249.
Most of the MTA’s unionized employees received a 4 percent base pay increase last year. Smaller average total pay increases in some units reflect, in part, the inclusion of non-unionized management employees, whose pay was frozen.
SeeThroughNY allows the public to examine government expenditures on the Internet. It includes the wages of most New York State government, public authorities, cities, counties, villages, towns and school districts. Also posted are teacher and administrator pensions, teacher and school superintendent employment contracts, state legislators’ office expenditures, pork barrel projects, and a benchmarking feature for comparing local government and school district spending. The site was launched July 31, 2008.
The Albany-based Empire Center is a project of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, one of the nation’s leading non-profit 501(c)3 think tanks.
(Click here for table showing both total and change in employees and payroll by MTA subagency between 2008 and 2009, and click here for table showing the 100 highest earning MTA employees in 2009.)
Note: *Metro-North Railroad pay data was supplied by that agency as an hourly rate only. For comparative purposes, average salaries for Metro-North employees assume a 40-hour base workweek.
Click here to view the entire report. Please note it is a .pdf so you need the necessary software installed to view it.
I found the chart in the report extremely interesting. As someone who personally knows a number of LIRR employees, I was not surprised to see a number of LIRR conductors being listed in the top 100 of salary earners. Of the top 100 earners, 5 went to LIRR conductors. The total 2009 salary of those 5 spots & their respective rank on the salary list are:
08th: $239,148
33rd: $209,414
56th: $198,269
64th: $194.611
80th: $187,008
What I found interesting is how not one of their Metro-North counterparts made the list. I find this very telling as the LIRR has been known to have some “overtime” experts who know how to make bank. This report will do nothing to calm the flames of those who feel too many workers abuse the overtime system. I have to admit it does seem to be quite a high salary for the position. It should be interesting to see what the media has to say about this report in the coming days.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Retired LIRR Worker Pads Salary With OT
- MTA Police Overtime Draining Budget
- MTA Set To Surpass Overtime Reduction Goals
- Ridiculous Ranting….
- MTA Statement On Targeting Overtime Costs
Depature Signs Come To Coney Island
Newly installed real time information board installed at the Coney Island-Stillwell Ave station. Photo courtesy of the MTA.
The MTA has continued to install real time information boards throughout the subway system. The latest location to receive them is the Coney Island-Stillwell Ave station in Brooklyn. Here is some info courtesy of their press release:
Beach goers and visitors to the new Luna Park will find getting home by subway at the Coney Island – Stillwell Ave Terminal a bit easier this weekend, courtesy of newly installed “Next Train Departure” screens on all four platforms of the busy terminal. The screens will take the guess work out of catching the right train on the right platform, especially for those riders who are unfamiliar or don’t use the busy terminal on a regular basis.
The screens, hung on platform columns, provide simple next train information to customers, informing them which train is leaving from which platform. For instance, a screen will display this information for the D Line: “West End Line, 6 Avenue Local,” with an arrow pointing toward the appropriate train and platform. The display uses the familiar train icons and colors in the display. This is Phase I of a larger pilot project that will ultimately provide train departure track and time information at the station, used by more than 15-thousand average weekday and around 39 thousand riders per weekend (Saturday and Sunday combined) during the summer months.
“Providing easy to understand travel information to our customers is one of our primary goals as we look to introduce cost effective new technology into the system,” said NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast. “While not as sophisticated as what we have in place on the Canarsie L line, or going in on the IRT, this next train departure information system is something our customers will come to rely on as they head home from a fun day at Coney Island,” added Prendergast.
The project was designed by in-house engineers and installed by in-house forces. Each platform has been outfitted with four 32″ high-definition, sun-readable LCD screens. Two screens per track are hung back to back about nine feet off the ground for easy viewing. Dispatchers for each line at the Stillwell Avenue Terminal will activate the train’s departure track information for display on the screens. The high definition screens are also capable of displaying Public Service Information (PSA) messaging like “See Something, Say Something,” and in the future can also display advertising. Over the next few months, the numbers of customer information screens will more than double and additional customer information messages and additional capabilities will be added to the system.
It is a shame they took so long for these signs to reach stations. However at this point, I’d take this over having none at all. One day it would be nice to see every station in the system updated to the latest technology at the time along with its cleanliness up to par. The sad part is I have a better chance of hitting the Mega Millions or Powerball as compared to seeing such a reality in our transit system.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- MTA Starts Video Screen Pilot Program On The L
- Countdown Clocks Come To E & G Lines
- Watch CNN While Waiting For A Train
- Subway Countdown Clocks Expand To Brooklyn
- NYC Transit Hopes To Fight Back Against Rider Skepticism
LIRR To Provide Service To Belmont Park
The much discussed cuts to Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) service included the suspension of it to Belmont Park. The only exceptions were for June 4th & June 5th due to the Belmont Stakes. Yesterday afternoon, the agency sent out a press release to talk about the upcoming service to the race track:
The MTA Long Island Rail Road will operate train service to Belmont Park, this Friday, June 4 and on Saturday, June 5 for the Belmont Stakes, when a special schedule will be in effect. Daily train service to Belmont was canceled as part of service reductions that went into effect May 17 required to address the MTA’s nearly $800-million budget shortfall for 2010.
The MTA Police will be enforcing a no alcohol policy on trains to Belmont Park. Bags and coolers are subject to search prior to boarding Belmont Park trains at Penn Station and at Jamaica Station. On Belmont Stakes Day, no alcoholic beverages of any kind will be permitted to be brought into Belmont Park. First race post time on Stakes Day is 11:35 AM.
Round trip LIRR Belmont package tickets should be purchased at ticket windows or from ticket machines prior to boarding the train. The round-trip fare from Penn Station is $12; from Jamaica, $9. The one-way fare from Penn Station and Woodside is $7; from Jamaica, $6. On Stakes Day, Belmont package tickets will not be sold on-board the train. Package tickets from Brooklyn and Woodside are also available with connections in Jamaica for trains to Belmont. Only Belmont Park tickets will be accepted for train service to and from Belmont Park. CityTicket, Monthly, Weekly and Ten-Trip Tickets are not valid on Belmont Park trains. Weekly and Monthly ticket holders can use their commuter tickets for travel to and from Jamaica, but must purchase a Belmont Park ticket prior to boarding at Jamaica to cover the fare between Jamaica and Belmont Park.
Round-trip fares from Long Island to Belmont, with a transfer at Jamaica are:
Zone 3 (Rosedale, St. Albans, Queens Village, Hollis) — $9
Zone 4 (Far Rockaway, Lynbrook, Hempstead, Mineola )– $11
Zone 7 (Long Beach, Massapequa, Hicksville, Oyster Bay) — $13
Zone 9 (Babylon, Deer Park, Huntington, Northport) — $16
Zone 10 (Bay Shore, Sayville, Ronkonkoma, Patchogue, Port Jefferson) — $20
Belmont Park tickets are available at LIRR Full Service Ticket Machines (grey, blue or green). Press the “Deals & Getaways” button on the first screen, select “Belmont Park,” pay with cash, ATM/debit or credit cards.
Special admission prices are in effect at Belmont Park for Stakes Day only. General Admission is $10 and Clubhouse admission is $20.
Belmont Stakes Service from Penn Station, June 5:
• 9:59 AM, stopping at Jamaica 10:18, arriving Belmont 10:32 AM.
• 10:07 AM, stopping at Jamaica 10:29 arriving Belmont 10:44 AM.
• 10:29 AM, stopping at Jamaica 10:50, arriving Belmont 11:06 AM.
• 10:58 AM, stopping at Jamaica 11:15, arriving Belmont 11:35 AM.
• 11:04 AM, stopping at Jamaica 11:21, arriving Belmont 11:40 AM.
• 11:30 AM, stopping at Jamaica 11:50, arriving Belmont 12:04 PM.
• 11:37 AM, stopping at Jamaica 12:00 PM, arriving Belmont 12:16 PM.
• 11:57 AM, stopping at Jamaica 12:17 PM, arriving Belmont 12:31 PM.
• 12:30 PM, stopping at Jamaica 12:50 PM, arriving Belmont 1:04 PM.
• 12:37 PM, stopping at Jamaica 12:58 PM, arriving Belmont 1:12 PM.
• 12:55 PM, stopping at Jamaica 1:15 PM, arriving Belmont 1:28 PM.
• 1:05 PM, stopping at Jamaica 1:27 PM, arriving Belmont 1:40 PM.
• 1:33 PM, stopping at Jamaica 1:54 PM, arriving Belmont 2:10 PM.
• 2:37 PM, stopping at Jamaica 2:59 PM, arriving Belmont 3:15 PM.
• 2:55 PM, stopping at Jamaica 3:17 PM, arriving Belmont 3:33 PM.
• 3:28 PM, stopping at Jamaica 3:47 PM, arriving Belmont 4:01 PM.
• 3:45 PM, change at Jamaica 4:06 PM, arriving Belmont 4:30 PM.
• 4:25 PM, change at Jamaica 4:45 PM, arriving Belmont 5:06 PM.
Customers traveling from Woodside, Atlantic Terminal, Nostrand Avenue and East New York, as well as from stations in Nassau and Suffolk can connect with Belmont trains at Jamaica. Customers may consult the special LIRR Belmont Stakes timetable available at stations, or the LIRR’s website at www.mta.info for full Belmont Stakes train schedules.
For the return trip, trains will depart Belmont beginning at 4:16 PM, then 4:54 PM, 5:16 PM, 5:53 PM and then approximately every 15 minutes from 6:30 PM to 9 PM to Jamaica, Brooklyn and Penn Station.
—-
June 4 Train Service:
The LIRR will operate regular Belmont Race Track train service on Friday, June 4. Two eastbound trains to Belmont Park will depart from Jamaica Station at 12:18 PM and 1:40 PM. Two westbound trains will depart from Belmont Park at 3:56 PM and 6:01 PM (or 30 minutes after the last race).
Accessibility:
Belmont is a special event station and therefore services are limited. The station is not wheelchair accessible, there are no elevators, and only limited escalator service. It is necessary to use stairs to and from most train platforms.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:
