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Wedding Blues For One MTA Station Agent

Posted by
on May 4th, 2010 at 1:09 am

The end of the line for hundreds of MTA workers inches closer & closer with each passing day. With a budget deficit that continues to eat away at the MTA, the much maligned transit agency has had their hand forced by a city & state that continues to show no desire to come up with sustainable funding solutions.

The prospect of having no job has really hit home for one worker in particular, Jhesky Vega. Mr. Vega is a station agent who will work his last shift on Wednesday. As if losing his job was not bad enough, it happens at a time when he & his fiancee were preparing for their October wedding in Puerto Rico. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report from Sunday:

There’s no good time to get laid off from work – but for token booth clerk Jhesky Vega, the timing couldn’t be worse.

Vega and his fiancée were in the midst of planning their October wedding in Puerto Rico when he received a pink slip from NYC Transit last week.

Vega, 31, will work his last shift Wednesday.

“I’m feeling lost and dazed,” the Queens man said. “I’m walking around like a zombie.”

Vega is among about 450 station agents getting laid off or reassigned, despite their expectations that their civil-service positions granted life-long job security.

To the very end, many agents believed they might be spared from the budget ax.

Veteran workers assured younger colleagues the MTA always cried wolf, Vega said, but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s fiscal woes proved too severe.

“The older clerks said, ‘It’s never going to happen.’ … And it actually did,” Vega said. And while he’ll file for unemployment and look for another job, he knows how little work is available.

“How am I going to get the money for the wedding?” he fretted. “My girlfriend already put a deposit on the dress. I feel like my gut’s being ripped out.”

Click here for the complete report.

My condolences go out not only to Jhesky Vega & all of the workers being laid off but to the loved ones of these workers as well. I am sure the New York Daily News could do stories like this on all ofthe workers who are losing their jobs.

Back in the day, getting a job with the MTA was considered something big to shoot for as the pay was good & it offered a legitimate chance at a long career. However nowadays, the harsh reality is that you could bust your ass for them for years & be out the door the very next day.

While the financial woes of the MTA are not all their fault, I do find it completely disheartening & disgusting how the blue-collar workforce of the MTA is the first to get pinched during these tough times, yet the redundant layers of management continue to stay the course. Seriously, this just not right!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

7 Line Extension Will Be A Colossal Mistake

Posted by
on May 4th, 2010 at 12:52 am

The 7 line extension is a topic I have covered in great detail since 2007. As longtime readers would know, I have been a vocal critic about the whole project, especially if it is to be completed without a much needed subway station for the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.

This past Sunday’s edition of the New York Daily News contained a scathing article by Adam Lisberg in which he says the city will be making a colossal mistake in building this extension without the Hell’s Kitchen station:

New York’s mass transit system is a thing of wonder, but it was built with a few mistakes.

Like Penn Station’s subway stops, where the express and local platforms are separate, so you can’t wait for what comes first.

Like the Grand Central Parkway to LaGuardia, built with no room for train tracks, so you’re always doomed to a $30 cab ride.

Now, the city is about to make another colossal mistake, drilling a subway line without the stop that was always supposed to be in the middle – and Mayor Bloomberg is going to stand by and watch it happen.

The city is paying to extend the 7 train from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to 34th St. and 11th Ave., where it will give the Related Companies’ planned mega-development the subway access it needs.

Developers are supposed to pay for most of the costs through increased property tax, but taxpayers will be on the hook, too – starting with $46 million this year.

The project has stayed on its $2.1 billion budget, but only by eliminating a proposed station in the middle at 41st St. and 10th Ave.

Click here for the complete report.

As I have stated in the past, I am not a fan of this project. I feel it is a complete waste & benefits so little when projects that could benefit many more are left as pipe dreams. However at this point, it is obvious that the extension will be built regardless of the lack of legitimate need for it. Since it is going through, I agree it is a colossal mistake in not building a station in Hell’s Kitchen. Honestly, if that was the only station built in the extension, the project would make actual sense.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

MTA LIRR North Fork Service Affected

Posted by
on May 3rd, 2010 at 4:29 pm

Earlier this afternoon, the MTA Long Island Rail Road announced that service on the North Fork east of Ronkonkoma will be affected to two grade crossing renewal projects. Here are the complete details from the press release I received:

MTA Long Island Rail Road service on the Main Line east of Ronkonkoma will be affected by two grade crossing renewal projects during two weeks in May. The Peconic Lane crossing in Peconic will be reconstructed during the week of May 10 through May 14 and the Horton Lane crossing in Southold will be reconstructed during the week of May 17-May 21. During the work midday train service will be replaced by buses and highway traffic will be detoured around the sites. The work includes replacing the rubber crossing pads with longer lasting and smoother concrete crossing materials as well as rebuilding the track bed and replacing the wood track ties with longer lasting concrete track ties in the crossing area.

May 10-May 14 Midday Train Service:

Peconic Lane Crossing:

Eastbound: Customers on the 9:02 AM train from Ronkonkoma will transfer to a bus at the Riverhead Station to complete their trips to Mattituck, Southold or Greenport.

Westbound: Customers who normally board the 11:42 AM train from Greenport will board a bus at their stations through Mattituck ten minutes earlier than train time and transfer to a train at Riverhead to complete their trips.

Highway Detour for Peconic Lane Crossing (May 10-May 14):

Southbound: Proceed east on Middle Road (County Rd. 48), then proceed south on Caroll Ave. to Peconic Lane.

Northbound: Heading north on Peconic Lane, proceed east on Caroll Ave., then proceed west on Middle Rd. (County Rd. 48).

—-

May 17-May 21 Midday Train Service:

Horton Lane Crossing:

Eastbound: Customers on the 9:02 AM and 1:43 PM trains from Ronkonkoma will board buses at Ronkonkoma to complete their trips.

Westbound: Customers for the 11:42 AM train from Greenport and the 3:19 PM train from Riverhead will instead board buses at their stations and transfer to trains at Ronkonkoma to complete their trips.

Highway Detour for Horton Lane Crossing (May 17-May 21):

Southbound: Proceed east on Middle Rd. (County R. 48), then proceed south on Youngs Ave., and then proceed west on Main Rd.

Northbound: Proceed east on Main Rd., then proceed north on Youngs Ave., then west on Middle Rd. (County Rd. 48).

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 04-29-10

Posted by
on April 29th, 2010 at 6:34 pm

I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest information for the weekend & following week (beyond in some cases). LIRR riders, do not forget about the bridge construction which is knocking out service on the Long Beach line this weekend. I suggest you print out a copy of the diversions to carry with you or use your mobile device to access the phone friendly version of Transit Blogger. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Early AM Ronkonkoma Service Affected May 8th

Posted by
on April 29th, 2010 at 3:08 pm

Just a short time ago, the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) sent out a press release to announce that early morning service on the Ronkonkoma branch will be affected on Saturday May 8th due to rail inspections. Here are the complete details:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road will provide bus service in place of trains, east of Farmingdale on the Ronkonkoma Branch during the early morning of Saturday, May 8, 2010. Track inspections will be made by the Sperry Rail Car between 12:45 AM and 6:39 AM.

The Sperry Rail Car, a bright yellow vehicle fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment, is designed to detect internal rail defects not readily visible to the eye. Defects that are found will be corrected immediately by a crew of LIRR track maintenance workers. The Sperry Rail Car is used twice a year to inspect approximately 500 miles of LIRR track.

While the Sperry Rail Car testing is performed between Ronkonkoma and Farmingdale, buses will partially replace 8 east and westbound early-morning trains. Eastbound customers should expect up to 33 minutes of additional travel time and westbound customers should expect up to 36 minutes of additional travel time.

Eastbound:

Early-morning customers traveling through Farmingdale Station will not be affected. Those customers traveling to Wyandanch, Deer Park, Brentwood, Central Islip and Ronkonkoma stations, will change at Hicksville for connecting bus service.

The following trains will be affected:

• The 12:14 AM Penn Station train due in Ronkonkoma at 1:36 AM

• The 1:16 AM Penn Station train due in Ronkonkoma at 2:38 AM

• The 2:53 AM Penn Station train due in Ronkonkoma at 4:14 AM

• The 4:43 AM Penn Station train due in Ronkonkoma at 6:05 AM

Westbound:

Bus service will replace early-morning train service for customers traveling from Ronkonkoma, Central Islip, Brentwood, Deer Park and Wyandanch stations to Hicksville Station. Customers traveling from Farmingdale and Bethpage stations will board their normally scheduled trains.

The following trains will be affected:

• The 12:44 AM Ronkonkoma train due in Penn Station at 2:02 AM

• The 2:10 AM Ronkonkoma train due in Penn Station at 3:27 AM

• The 3:45 AM Ronkonkoma train due in Penn Station at 5:02 AM

• The 5:37 AM Ronkonkoma train due in Penn Station at 6:59 AM

xoxo Transit Blogger

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