AMNY Subway Tracker

The bar car of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven line has received a makeover as a tiki bar. The advertising campaign, similar to the subway "wraps" on the Times Sq shuttle, is a promotion for Westin Hotels. It wasn't immediately clear if the message -- relaxation at the hotel chain -- worked or whether it further irritated riders who recently started paying more for their drinks.

Photo from Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations

Artist Enrico Miguel Thomas not only captures the beauty in the transit system all around us--he uses the MTA's official map as his canvas.

Check out his story and photos by clicking here; see a video showing the artist at work, below.

Photo from Harvard University.
There could be bedbugs on subway benches. That's what an official from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development told a community group in Brooklyn earlier this week. The HPD official told listeners that he had seen bedbugs on wooden subway benches at three locations in the transit system: Hoyt-Schermerhorn in Brooklyn, Union Square in Manhattan, and Fordham Road in the Bronx.

The Daily News and Post report that HPD cautioned that the official is neither a trained inspector nor an entomologist. But he does know bedbugs, since that was the subject of his talk.

Transit officials say they are looking into the claim.

Photo from streetsblog.org

To celebrate the 17th annual bike month some city agency commissioners will be riding down the Ninth Avenue bike lane Wednesday morning along with a group of bicycling advocates from Transportation Alternatives.

DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Parks commissioner Adrian Benepe will be kicking off a series of bike-related events co-sponsored by Tranportation Alternatives.

Check bikemonthnyc.org for details.

The Straphangers Campaign called on NYC Transit to make a public accounting of all the broken escalators and elevators in the subway system that are privately owned like the ones at Union Square.

“First, the failure to list these escalators and elevators undermines the credibility and usefulness of New York City Transit’s reporting,” Gene Russianoff, senior attorney for the NYPIRG’s Straphangers Campaign wrote in a letter to NYC Transit president Howard Roberts. “From the public's point of view, a broken escalator is broken, no matter who owns it. Second, posting the status of these facilities could help put pressure on the independent operators to fix them.”

Russianoff said the letter followed a group of stories in amNew York that detailed long-standing problems with broken escalators at Union Square and at 53rd and Third Avenue that are all privately owned. Broken for years, it seemed that no one was being held accountable for repairs.

The devices were part of deals that the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority struck with real estate developers giving them lucrative expansions to their buildings above the stations in return for building and maintaining amenities to the subway stations below.

Russianoff said Roberts deserves credit for the MTA web page that keeps a running list of transit-operated escalators and elevators that are out of service.

“It’s hard to believe that 14th Street isn’t on the list because it’s privately owned,” he said.

A transit spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment Monday evening.

Photo from Gowanus Lounge
Some 1000 L train passengers had to be rescued when their train's emergency brake was tripped west of the Bedford Avenue station around 5:30 a.m. Monday, transit officials said.

The emergency brake was activated when a hanging cable came into contact with the third rail, a spokesman said. A rescue train was dispatched at 6:29 a.m. to bring passengers back to Bedford Avenue and arrived at the scene of the shut down train eight minutes later. Transit could not say how long the passengers were stuck because the latest report on the incident was a "draft." No injuries were reported, officials said. Deirdre Parker, a transit spokesperson, said the service disruption began at 5:31 a.m and lasted until full service was restored at 10:30 a.m. At the height of the disruption there was no L service between Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and Broadway Junction in Brooklyn.

Some additional news to add to the story in today's amNewYork about the May 12 start for the $6 ferry from Riis Landing in Rockaway to Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan.

The announcement by Mayor Bloomberg, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and others today also included more ferry routes that will start in July. East River ferries will run from Long Island City and South Williamsburg to Pier 11 and a dock at 34th Street in Manhattan. The 34th Street pier will link up with the DOT/NYC Transit Select Bus Service that should move faster across town specially timed lights.

The two-year pilot program for Rockaway ferry service is subsidized with $1.1 million in public funds, allocated by Council Joseph Addabbo.

Phase 2 of the ferry plan will begin in two years with ferry stops in North Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Roosevelt Island. Docks have to be constructed for these locations, but are already budgeted through the design stage with $4.4 million in federal funds.

The City Council has put up $500,000 to study expanding ferry service to all five boroughs, and will consider locations that include West 125th Street and East 20th Street in Manhattan, Riverdale, Soundview, and Hunts Point in the Bronx, Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island in Brooklyn, and Camp St. Edward on Staten Island.

NYC Transit restored full service to the N and R lines by 5:30 am — just in time for the morning rush hour, AP reports. It's still unclear what caused the two cars to leave the tracks, however. The conductor and motorman are both to undergo blood alcohol testing as part of standard procedure following an accident. The cars were taken to a Brooklyn rail yard for repairs.

There were 449 passengers aboard an N train that derailed at 4:23 pm Sunday, about 100 feet north of the 57th Street and Seventh Avenue station. The derailment fouled up the N and R service to and from Queens, and left a question mark about morning service, although transit officials said they expected things to return to normal by rush hour.

Two passengers suffered minor injuries and were treated and released, the Fire Department said.

According to NYC Transit, two cars from the southbound train came off the tracks. Each car had just one wheel slip, a transit spokesman said.

Passengers were put onto an R train that pulled up behind it. A transit official said they were able to walk onto the "rescue train" without climbing down to the tracks.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, but a track worker at the scene last night was blaming the rail, not the train.

Derailments are rare. The last derailment was a work train on the D line that went off the tracks. Prior to that the last derailment was in March 2006.

The problem slowed the ride home for a lot of people. According to the MTA's website, at 8:45 pm:

—Bay Ridge-bound R trains are running on the F line between the 36th Street Station in Queens and the 34th Street- Herald Square Station.

—There is no N train service between the Queensboro Plaza Station and the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard Station in both directions.

—Shuttle trains are being provided between the Queensboro Plaza Station and the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard Station.

—Please expect delays in service on the N and R trains at this time

May 1st is a day that means a lot of things to a lot of people, but in the subway it's the 100th Anniversary of the Atlantic Avenue station. Previously, the IRT had terminated at Borough Hall. In celebration, NYC Transit rolled out its history train composed of subway cars of varying vintage for a ride from Grand Central to Atlantic Ave then back into Manhattan and up the west side to 96th Street.

The Times reports on Men's Vogue decision to print and sell limited edition copies the classic 1970s subway map. It was the height of chic graphic design when Massimo Vignelli released it in 1972, although not the most practical guide to the system. The magazine will sell updated, limited edition copies for $299. The proceeds will go to charity. Finally, a reason for railfans to read Men's Vogue.

PATH service is back on track after an overnight suspension in both directions between 33rd Street and the Journal Square and Hoboken stations.

The lines had shut down due to signal and power cable damage caused by a small manhole fire east of Christopher Street Station.

For PATH alerts, click [HERE]

-- Lauren Johnston

The MTA extended an olive branch to riders yesterday in the hopes of creating a friendlier relationship with their customers.

“I’d like to stop it from being an adversarial relationship which is what I think it’s evolved to be, into a partnership,” MTA Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger said after Wednesday MTA board met.

Hemmerdinger had opened the meeting with a prepared statement encouraging riders to participate in the discussion about the need for more public funding for transit:

“Capital funding is crucial to the system and, therefore, to the region’s economy, and we need it,” Hemmerdinger said. “But you, as owners, should be active participants in the public discussion. Let your elected officials know that the transit system matters to you and how you think it should be improved.”

The chairman encouraged riders “to take ownership” and participate in the “partnership” that encompasses straphangers and the MTA. The 20-member MTA board, besides the chairman and a CEO, consists of five gubernatorial appointees, four mayoral appointees, and seven members appointed by county executives along the commuter rail lines.

Crews ready for filming on the platform at the 42nd Street-Grand Central No. 7 platform. (Photos by Elisabeth Stuveras)

Films crews descended on east midtown last night to shoot scenes for the much-anticipated remake of "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three". More here on amNY's Urbanite.

The development of the Hudson Yards made progress in the early morning hours on Wednesday when Tishman Speyer signed a “conditional designation letter” with the MTA to develop the 26-acre site that runs from West 30th to West 33rd streets between Tenth and Twelfth avenues.

Some details have yet to be worked out between the city and the developer regarding the street grading and other infrastructure issues at the MTA-owned property, but are expected to be resolved within seven days. Tishman Speyer won the bidding battle to develop the property last month with a $1 billion plan. On Wednesday the company paid an $11 million down payment on the deal which was put in escrow for seven days, when the deal should be completed.

PATH stations at 33rd Street, 23rd Street, 14th Street, 9th Street and Christopher Street stations will be closed this evening. A fire east of the Christopher Street PATH station damaged signal and power cables.

The Newark-to-World Trade Center and Hoboken-to-World Trade Center lines are running normally as are lines between Journal Square and Hoboken stations. Riders can use the World Trade Center PATH station.

NJ Transit is honoring PATH tickets at Penn Station New York and Penn Station Newark.

PATH users can receive updates on operations on their PDA, cell phone, pager, or PC by signing up for PATHAlerts at www.panynj.gov

Marvin Franklin, a Transport Workers Union maintenance worker, was killed on the job one year ago today. Franklin, a talented artist, was 55 years old. He was killed in Downtown Brooklyn when a G train struck him as he tried to lift a dolly from the tracks onto the platform.

Five days earlier, Danny Boggs, a 41-year-old track worker was killed at Columbus Circle station.

The two deaths, so close together, spurred a call for new safety measures. The anniversary of their deaths has led John Samuelson, to dispute the value of the safety rules enacted over the last year. Samuelson, a union member who plans to run against TWU President Roger Toussaint, says the new rules do nothing to add to safety, while Toussaint and MTA chief Lee Sander say the new regulations make track work safer and signal cooperation between the union and the authority.

On Friday, Samuelson planned to gather a small group in remembrance of Franklin outside of the Smith and Hoyt Street station where Franklin died. A group gathered April 24 outside Columbus Circle on April 24 in memory of Danny Boggs.

Image at right: Marvin Franklin, "Subway Series, Morning Rush Hour," 2004, Ink. From www.dangheno.net.

Tony Blair, the former prime minister, was nabbed on a train to Heathrow Airport, with no ticket and no money. Someone ponied up the money for him and the Daily Star newsdesk wants to know who!

photo from westmonster.com

In an effort to get rider feedback, the MTA began handing out report cards to Queens bus riders Tuesday. Riders get a chance to rate their line and different aspect of service like how long they waited, the politeness of their driver, and other subjects.

The cards are being handed out during the morning rush through May at locations around Queens, starting with Queensboro Plaza and Queensbridge. The MTA previously handed out more than 75,000 report cards in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Report cards are also available online.

NY1 has this story.

photo by So Cal Metro on flickr.

Tempers are frayed within the MTA over the beleaguered Fulton Street Transit Center.

Normally, a meeting of the Capital Construction committee is equivalent to half an Ambien. But on Tuesday, Mark Lebow, a Bloomberg appointee to the MTA, vented his frustration with committee chair Nancy Shevell for the delays to the above-ground portion of the station. Once designed as an elaborate modern structure with a glass dome, the station's top was deemed too expensive before being scaled back. Lately, the MTA has been silent about the structure's future and unable to say when it would be ready.

"We're getting impatient with what is happening above ground, which isn't very much," Lebow said.

"The fact that you have no date even estimated for completion is extremely alarming," Lebow said. "This is obviously a major problem."

Shevell, a Pataki appointee, admitted the project suffered from "a total disconnect between engineering and all the other groups."

The whole concept of the structure was a problem, "from the beginning," Shevell admitted. "Our hands were tied. We weren't allowed to decide what would be built there."

The MTA has said publicly that it will announce a completion date for the Fulton Transit Center exterior sometime in May. In the meantime, underground work on the platforms and connections continues.

"We are trying to design a structure that will make everybody happy and we can afford," MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger said.