Andrew Cuomo screws up again by shutting down NY Subway

[Renew Deal]

Subways will run empty overnight during snowstorm, source says

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s move to shut off the city’s subway system overnight on Monday ahead of an anticipated blizzard came as a surprise to transit workers and runs against common sense, because the trains need to move as part of keeping the tracks clear and will be running all night anyway, according to a transit insider. The governor’s 6 pm announcement that subway and bus service would be halted completely at 11 pm blindsided the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Incident Command Center, where workers first heard about it on the news, said the source, who lacks authorization to speak about internal matters and asked to remain anonymous.

The halting of subway service is the first ever for a snowstorm. It is ill-considered because an actual turning-off of the entire system requires moving all the cars to far-flung facilities for storage, as the agency did during Hurricane Sandy, when flooding was a concern, and rebooting from that takes ages, the insider said. Emergency personnel will be riding the trains overnight while no one else is allowed to, per the source. The closure will strand people and put lives at risk, not because the subways can’t run, but because Cuomo wants to look good, the source said.

“I think it’s horrible, purely political decision, not based on anything that’s needed,” the insider said. “It seemed like cutting out a necessary lifeline unnecessarily.”

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http://brooklynpaper.com/stories/38/5/all-cuomo-ghost-trains-2015-01-30-bk_38_5.html

[elleng]

1. What's the complaint?

'Subways will run empty,' helping to keep the tracks clear, and discouraging riders from causing hazards on the streets.

[Renew Deal]

3. 1. It should not be the governors call to close the subway. The MTA can decide.

2. People will be stranded wherever they were.
3. If being stranded doesn't work for them, it will put them into cars and on the roads which are far more dangerous than the subway system and counterproductive.
4. People weren't given enough notice.
5. People will be forced to make unsafe choices about either getting home or staying in less than ideal places.
6. Closing the subway harms the city in general.
7. Central Park has gotten 5.5" of snow as of midnight. JFK has 5.1". That's nothing. http://www.wunderground.com/US/NY/072.html#PUB
8. The trains will be running all night anyway because the decision was made too late.

It's the wrong decision for NYC and a terrible decision overall.

[KittyWampus]

11. the heavy bands have JUST STARTED

[Cha]

2. So what's he thinking? thanks RD

[Renew Deal]

4. Machismo

And headlines. He does it because he can. He's smarter than everyone else.

[Cha]

5. Like that whole Ebola thing that he and Christie pounced on?

[Renew Deal]

6. Yup

Like lots of things he does.

[chillfactor]

7. sorry I agree with the governor...

err on the side of safety for the public...seems to me this "source" has a bone to pick with the governor

I have been watching the coverage all day and every hour the conditions have become worse....and more snow, freezing temperatures on the way....sometimes the public has to be protected against itself because so many people are just plain STUPID when it comes to bad weather

[Renew Deal]

8. Have you ever been to NY?

Do you know that the subway system is largely underground? Did you know was planning on running the trains tonight and had a plan in place (Plan V)? These "stupid" people you talk about will now have to hit the streets instead of relying on the mostly protected subway system. And because the decision was made so late, the trains are running anyway.

[merrily]

10. This was NOT erring on the side of public safety, but against it.

[Daemonaquila]

15. Totally idiotic decision.

The subway system is the life blood of NYC. Doing this, especially in light of banning ALL non-emergency vehicles from the roads (that includes bikes...) endangers lots of people, not keeps them safe, including:

* anyone who needs urgent medical care that doesn't require ambulance transport

* anyone who DOES require ambulance transport, because those resources are overburdened by less serious cases

* anyone who couldn't get out of work, school, a trip outside the city proper, etc. who couldn't complete travel by the shutdown time,

* medical personnel, EMS, fire, police, towing, snow removal, and a scad of other people who the city relies on in a storm, who are unable to go to/from work

* all the people of the city who may need help from any of the above

Utterly idiotic. It's time to lose the "safety culture" that makes as much sense as the TSA's security theater. This was Cuomo's plastic sheeting and duct tape in case of chemical attack moment.

[snooper2]

18. you do know that Cuomo is an idiot?

[merrily]

9. After Cuomo's "shuckin' and jivin' comment about Obama, I tuned out the man.

Then again, I don't depend on New York subways. If I did, this would be hard to tune out.

[bobGandolf]

12. Wow, that is really bad! n/t

[Kablooie]

13. Isn't most of the subway protected from the storm anyway?

And it gives people an emergency place to go to so they don't freeze.

[KittyWampus]

19. outside Manhattan, a lot is elevated. Entrances down below ground have a lot of stairs covered

in a lot of snow.

[KMOD]

14. There's a lot to go after Cuomo with

I don't think this is it though.

We've been hearing "storm of the century" for days now.

This is a non-issue to me anyway.

[GOLGO 13]

16. Non issue here.

Won't be spoken about again after Tuesday.

[tabbycat31]

17. Other transit agencies also shut down after the storm

I don't fault him for this. Better to err on the side of caution and overreact than underreact. If the storm were worse (as forecast) and subways couldn't run because they were getting stuck, then he'd be forever known as the guy who didn't shut down the subways during a storm.

Are you faulting Chris Christie for shutting down NJ Transit?