By Michael V. Cusenza
Unions representing Long Island Rail Road workers announced on Monday that they would be delaying an anticipated work stoppage as they appeal to President Donald Trump to get involved in negotiations.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority blasted the union move.
“After months of radio silence, these outlier unions have finally admitted that they weren’t serious about negotiating. They never had a plan to resolve this at the bargaining table,” said MTA Policy and External Relations Chief John McCarthy in a statement. “If these unions wanted to put riders first, they would either settle or agree to binding arbitration. And if they don’t want to strike, they should say so—and finally show up to the negotiating table. This cynical delay serves no one.”
Photo Courtesy of Google
For Long Islanders choosing to be dropped off at MTA subways, the MTA recommends using certain area subway stations, including the Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard A train station.
On Thursday, the MTA announced a range of limited service options for the nearly 300,000 daily riders who would be impacted by a potential LIRR strike.
In the event of a strike, the MTA strongly encourages Long Islanders to work from home or stay with friends or family living in or near New York City to take advantage of subway and bus service. The LIRR provides hundreds of thousands of trips every weekday that can’t be replicated by another operator, so roads are expected to be extremely congested and commute times significantly longer, MTA officials said.
In the event of a strike, the authority will provide limited shuttle bus service on weekdays for essential workers and those who cannot telecommute. Buses will run every 10 minutes during peak hours, Manhattan-bound from 4:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and to Long Island from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. from three LIRR stations to subway transfer points in Queens.
- Bellmore Station (LIRR) to Howard Beach-JFK Airport (A)
- Hicksville Station (LIRR) to Mets-Willets Pt (7)
- Ronkonkoma Station (LIRR) to Mets-Willets Pt (7)
Limited shuttle bus service will be available from points east to subway connections in Queens. The MTA encourages riders in Nassau County to consider using Nassau Inter-County Express buses to connect with the New York City Subway at Flushing-Main St (7), or travel to the Jamaica Bus Terminal in Queens, which is a four-minute walk from the 169th Street (F) subway station.
For those Long Islanders choosing to be dropped off at MTA subways, we recommend using the following subway stations. These stations are close to major roadways that lead to and from Long Island. These stations do not have parking lots and would be for drop-offs only.
- Far Rockaway-Mott Av (A)
- Kew Gardens Union Tpke (E)(F)
- Mets-Willets Pt (7)
- Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd (A)
- Parsons Blvd (F)
- Sheepshead Bay (B)/(Q)
- Woodhaven Blvd (J)
Pending approval of the MTA Board, the LIRR intends to issue prorated refunds to September monthly ticket holders for any business day that service is suspended due to the strike.
“These employees are among the best paid in the industry and we want to work with them to keep trains moving,” said LIRR President Rob Free. “Nobody wants to see a strike when we’re coming off the railroad’s best year ever in terms of performance and post-pandemic ridership. Long Islanders deserve better.”
