It appears New Yorkers really are stalled without their public transit.
For all the complaints about fare hikes and unreliable service, the entire city seems to shut down along with the subways and buses.
While some New Yorkers are resorting to traveling by car, those options are getting limited as well, as Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the Holland Tunnel and Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, both “prone to flooding”, are closed.
Mayor Bloomberg announced that there is no chance the MTA will be back up and running on Tuesday, which means schools will remain closed as well.
Bloomberg also said that closing the transit system was the right decision.
“What would be worse is if the trains were damaged if they got inundated [with flood water],” he insisted, asserting that it would have made it much harder to get the trains working again if these precautions weren’t taken.
The mayor also pointed out that after last year’s Hurricane Irene, the MTA had the subways back up and running much quicker than expected, as the trains were reading for the Monday morning commute after the storm blew in on a Saturday night.
Meteorologist reports of this storm have suggested a much worse outcome than the city saw with Hurricane Irene, though, and the MTA warned in a press statement that “there is no timetable for restoration.”
“Service will be
restored only when it is safe to do so, after careful inspections of all
equipment and tracks. Even with minimal damage this is expected to be a
lengthy process,” according to the MTA’s statement.
Below are some photos from the MTA of their efforts during and after the systemwide shutdown:
Times Square, one of the MTA’s busiest stations, totally empty last night after the MTA’s 7pm shutdown.
Grand Central Station last night after the last commuter train departed.
The LIRR terminal at Penn Station after the last train departed last night.
MTA buses transported people to evacuation centers from flood zones like City Island in the Bronx.
Photo: MTA Metro-North Railroad / Anthony Chieffo.
Metro-North Railroad employees removed motors from track switches on the New Haven Line in order to protect the components from damage.
Crews set up a dam to keep water out of the LIRR’s Westside Yard.
The completed dam at Westside Yard.
