Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, October 30, 2012
Transportation / Panic / The Weather NYC Without Subways Isn't NYC
Posted by Goldy on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 9:05 AM
Having lived in Brooklyn for four years (near Carroll Street station, a few blocks in on the F train), it is hard to imagine New York City functioning without its subway system, yet transit authority officials have no idea when they'll have it running again:
The giant storm Sandy wreaked havoc on the New York City subway system, flooding tunnels, garages and rail yards and threatening to paralyze the nation's largest mass-transit system for days.
[...] All seven subway tunnels running under the East River from Manhattan to Queens and Brooklyn took in water, and any resulting saltwater damage to the system's electrical components will have to be cleaned - in some cases off-site - before the system can be restored, MTA spokeswoman Diedre Parker said on Tuesday.
[...] About 5.3 million people use the city's subway system on weekdays. The system, which runs around the clock, comprises 21 subway routes linked by 468 stations, and stretches across 660 miles (1,050 km) of track.
For many of these 5.3 million daily riders, the subway is the only way for them to get to and from work. I didn't know anybody in the city who owned a car, and there's no way the bus system could even begin to pick up the slack.
You know how when it snows in Seattle, sometimes some buses don't run? Multiply that by infinity and you've got an idea of what's going on in New York.
1
If you ever get a chance, head down to Wall Street really early in the morning, and just sit and watch the subway exits. From 7 to 9 AM wave after wave of humanity comes pouring up those steps, more people than your mind can handle. It happens everywhere in New York but the numbers and concentration at Wall Street, because the streets are so narrow, is just unbelievable.
This is going to be almost a 9/11 level of disruption.
I remember that after the 1977 blackout is when women started the fashion of wearing sneakers to work with their heels in a bag, because they had to walk 20 blocks or more and heels just weren't cutting it. Now everybody does it (if they have to wear heels at all).
This is going to be almost a 9/11 level of disruption.
I remember that after the 1977 blackout is when women started the fashion of wearing sneakers to work with their heels in a bag, because they had to walk 20 blocks or more and heels just weren't cutting it. Now everybody does it (if they have to wear heels at all).
2
@1 Yeah, you take it for granted. It's just how NYC works.
Walking 20 blocks in Manhattan is no problem. It's walking across the Brooklyn Bridge to get to and from Manhattan that would take its toll.
Walking 20 blocks in Manhattan is no problem. It's walking across the Brooklyn Bridge to get to and from Manhattan that would take its toll.
3
The silver lining is of course the improvements that they can make with no trains running. Correct faulty constructed areas, insure electrical components will be better protected, install improved lighting, signaling and signs, add wifi, make it harder for folks to fall into the tracks, and make it harder for transients to get into unauthorized areas.
4
The streets are also going to be a ghost town as far as cars go with the tunnels down. The Battery tunnel... that may be fucked for weeks, it totally flooded with salt water. You'll start to see some of the stores for a day or two at least get lean in Manhattan on supplies.
6
I am a student in one of the higher areas of Brooklyn, so no flooding here, but I will be completely unable to get to class until the subways begin running. The only person I know with a car doesn't have it right now. The same situation applies to nearly everyone I know. This city is not moving.
9
@7 quite a few people walk to and from work across the brooklyn bridge. i realize it may be difficult for you to believe, but it is true.
11
The cabs and limos (once the streets are cleared) should make a killing for a few weeks.
Is the Long Island RR running? I knew a ton of people who used that daily. And there's no way anyone's going to walk or bike from the middle of Long Island into Manhattan.
Is the Long Island RR running? I knew a ton of people who used that daily. And there's no way anyone's going to walk or bike from the middle of Long Island into Manhattan.
12
@3: Not so much... there's an extensive refurbishment program in place. They take subsets of lines out for 5 nights in a row and do repairs and upgrades overnight.
This outage is going to be all about doing the minimum that needs to be done to get the entire system back up and running. Every available resource is going to be working all around the city, all around the clock, just doing that.
If anything, it's going to mean MORE scheduled outages in the future as they make non-urgent repairs that were made necessary by the storm.
This outage is going to be all about doing the minimum that needs to be done to get the entire system back up and running. Every available resource is going to be working all around the city, all around the clock, just doing that.
If anything, it's going to mean MORE scheduled outages in the future as they make non-urgent repairs that were made necessary by the storm.
13
Here's my worry. In normal times, the federal government would step in to take on some of the costs to repair infrastructure in a case like this. But the Republicans at least since Katrina have played politics with disaster aid, equating it with welfare. Do you really think they're going to happily vote to spend money to help New York City?
And without federal money, it falls on New York State, which is already pressed for cash (like any other state). And in any case, they have to balance their budget so the repairs can't happen without raising taxes.
We've got a perfect case both morally and fiscally for deficit-financed stimulus spending, and it's probably not going to happen, or will happen only at the cost of the state's economy.
And then the Republicans, lying assholes and cowards as they are, will blame Democrats for the outcome.
And without federal money, it falls on New York State, which is already pressed for cash (like any other state). And in any case, they have to balance their budget so the repairs can't happen without raising taxes.
We've got a perfect case both morally and fiscally for deficit-financed stimulus spending, and it's probably not going to happen, or will happen only at the cost of the state's economy.
And then the Republicans, lying assholes and cowards as they are, will blame Democrats for the outcome.
14
I loved riding a bike in NYC, even in February when it was 15 degrees. I was probably the only guy in town with a tan. I used to rollerblade to work as well, but that was a little crazy with the traffic. With that said, I rode the subway almost every day for the 13 years I lived there. I only remember flooding closing the Boston subway in '96.
15
Manhattan Bridge always is better than the Brooklyn Bridge. If you commute by bike over the brooklyn bridge yer dumb.
18
There are thousands of people who walk or cycle across the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges to get to work every day.
19
Yes, there are people that ride bikes across the bridge. But 80% of NYers don't have bikes- none of my friends do, and they're certainly not going to get one today, just for this.
People commute miles into Manhattan from the outer burough, and these are the people on the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder. The disruption about trains being down goes beyond 'just use a bike'. All colleges are shut down, for example, in the enitre city, just because no-one is able to get to them.
People commute miles into Manhattan from the outer burough, and these are the people on the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder. The disruption about trains being down goes beyond 'just use a bike'. All colleges are shut down, for example, in the enitre city, just because no-one is able to get to them.
21
@19 Good point, bikes are pretty useless when there isn't a state of emergency (plus they are super expensive). Your friends are sound very wise. Best to save that bit of money for other important things like buying 20 drinks in NYC's overpriced bars.
23
@21 Seems to be fairly clueless about how poverty works, and the level of non-automobile infrastructure in poor NYC neighbourhoods.
25
On the bright side, the NYC subway system hasn't had a thorough cleaning since it opened. This was long overdue.
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