Transit Workers Felt Post-Storm Heat;

Riders Vented Their Frustration
Transit Workers Felt Post-Storm Heat


The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Web site was temporarily down. The messages on station public address systems were typically indecipherable. When nearly every subway line came to a halt Aug. 8 during rush hour after heavy rains flooded tracks, confused commuters depended on New York City Transit workers to aid them in finding alternative travel options.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow CHAOS AND CONFUSION: A Station Superintendent, left, offered advice to stranded passengers at the Brooklyn Bridge station on the 4, 5, 6 line Aug. 8 after track flooding brought nearly all subway traffic to a halt. Train Operators and Conductors working on the numerous non-operating lines that morning were on standby, awaiting orders to resume service. They were paid their regular wage, which is the normal practice. But one 4-line Train Operator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was ordered to the Brooklyn Bridge station on the 4,5,6 line, where he was giving directions to passengers.

A Tough Audience

It was "rough and hard," he said, because "they don't know where they are going."

An NYC Transit worker since 1988, he believed he should be paid overtime for doing work that was outside of his job title.

On the station's uptown platform, weary straphangers vocalized their frustration as an empty express train crawled north, out of service. A transit worker directing passengers threw up his arms and replied, "I don't want to be doing this."

Station Agents darted in and out of their booths to assist riders. Inside the Brooklyn Bridge station, a Station Superintendent also directed foot traffic.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'NEW YORKERS DESERVE BETTER': City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, right, and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, expressed outrage over the subway shutdown in a letter to MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow Aug. 8. They demanded information on the age of the pumping system and asked for improved public communication. That afternoon, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum held a press conference to discuss a letter addressed to MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow expressing outrage at the system's inability to deal with heavy rain and requesting information on the MTA's pumping system, which failed to remove water quickly enough to keep the trains running at rush hour.

"It's going to rain in the five boroughs," Ms. Quinn said. "We're going to need a subway system that can deal with it."

Decry Lack of Info

Ms. Gotbaum charged that the MTA failed to properly and quickly disseminate information to riders, adding that the MTA's Web site was temporarily inoperative during the crisis. She commended Train Operators and Conductors for stepping outside of their job titles to alleviate the morning's confusion.

"I think it's great that they're there," Ms. Gotbaum said, while lamenting the inadequacy of the subways' public address system. "Thank you, Mr. Conductor and Mr. Train Man."

Council Transportation Committee Chairman John Liu later signed their letter. In it, they implored the MTA to improve its services and said "a more effective public communication system needs to be developed, to better alert commuters to any delays that do occur. New Yorkers deserve better and should not expect that anytime it rains they will experience the inconvenience they did today."

Spitzer Wants Answers

Governor Spitzer asked for a review of the system in the wake of the crisis. At a press conference with him Aug. 8, MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander stated, "The timing and intensity of the storm took us by surprise, because it was not predicted by the National Weather Service. The storm then hit right around high tide, putting further pressure on our infrastructure. Finally, the intensity of the storm brought torrential rainfall, as the Governor was saying, in a short period of time, overwhelming both our pumps and the sewer system that is needed to accept the pump water. As a result, we had water conditions throughout our system."