NYC transit on strike
 

As of now, 4:00 NYC transit has gone on strike. All trains will finish their runs and then stop.

Brrrrrrr..... I'm layering up tp walk my 70 blocks to work - and 70 home tonight- my teeth are already chattering, but hey, I'll lose a few pounds!

Is there any talk about how long it could last?
I'm coming to New York for Christmas, so I had better come prepared to do a lot of walking! Warmer clothes and good walking boots. Brrr, I hope it gets warmer than today!

Check out the New Jersey PATH routes as a partial alternative -- they have stops from downtown through the Village all the way up to near Penn Station, at 33rd St.

If I remember correctly, the last time they went on strike it lasted for 10 or 11 days.

bellastar, don't layer up too much, don't want to start sweating!

Pros:

You'll be wide awake when you arrive at work.

You can eat a big calorie laden lunch!

The fresh air!

You can take in the Holiday decorations!

It isn't raining!

I'm flying in tomorrow around 6:30PM and have reserved Carmel car to pick us up. Do you think this strike will delay them picking us up ? Should I expect delays getting to my hotel ? I not sure what to expect from this. Would Carmel have to have 4 in a car? I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt so, I think that's a good location to most attractions. I feel for those of you having to go to work with this situation.

Trisha - you don't need 4 to a car after 5pm, so you'll be ok. Not sure about delays, though.
((S))((*))

Four to a car is ONLY before 11am, by the way. But you may have a delay in the Carmel pick-up; today it is impossible to even get a car service on the phone!

Airport buses are not MTA so I don't believe they are affected. I would be very surprised if Carmel will make the airport pIck up. I would certainly call them .

HOV restrictions are in effect from 5 AM to 11 AM. There are no restrictions on leaving the city at any time of the day.

Should I make reservations with an airport bus instead of Carmel? Thanks !

Try to call Carmel first (not sure if you will get through easily) and ask them what their story is.

As to be expected, I can't get a hold of them.

I would not panic; by the time you get in, there will be no restrctions and I would think you will get a cab eventually, even if you have a bit of a wait. If you can reserve the airport bus, you can do this as a back up. Or, Carmel will show up.. Or, the strike will be over!

Thanks, for your comforting words. I am starting to "freak" a little bit with visions of spending my trip at the airport. I need to stop it.
The problem with reserving the airport bus is they charge right away. I would rather not do that. If Carmel doesn't come , I'm sure we will eventually get a cab. Thanks.

Really, do not freak out. I would bet that you will get a cab without not too much trouble. By that hour things will be much more calmed down. Tonight we will look at the tv news and see what went on at the airport. But from what I see on tv, people are getting cabs easily on W. 96th Street..you just have to share. I suspect the same will be true at the airport.

Trisha, well if misery loves company, I'm right there with ya! I'll be at JFK tonight hoping for the best.

Well Dsquared, I do wish you the best. I wish there was someway you could post how it went. What time do you get in?

Don't freak out. You have many options. Take the airport shuttle -- it makes many stops but at least it will get you into the city and they you can walk! It was so nice to see so many in relatively good spirits considering all this mess -- we New Yorkers really can stand up to anything!! And, as GoT said, at least it's not raining/snowing and/or -20 degrees with windchill!!

Trisha, 10 p.m.

And NYers, I'm really sorry for all of you who are trying to get to and from work. It's an inconvenience to my vacation; it must be a true difficulty for you.

NYers and vacationers, sorry to hear this.

BTW, why do all local news channels around the country report this strike from the brooklyn bridge?

Is that the ONLY pedestrian commuter route into Manhatten?!

No, there are many other bridges for walkers, not sure why they are all either there or on 96th Street West Side.

My co-worker is flying red-eye to NY arriving @ 6.30 am tomorrow. I hope she can somehow get to her hotel!

Getting around Manhattan isn;t bad - since the cabs are all taking 3/4 passengers going in the same direction. (And naturally for shorter distances walking is no big deal.)

The problem is all the people trying to drive into Manhattan by themselves - who didn't seem to believe cars with fewer than 4 passengers won;t be allowed in. (There are police blockades at 96th st - and I'm sure the bridges and tunnels - and offending drivers are simply turned around - even if they've waited hours on line.)

Those willing to take local riders are allowed in - and there are lots of park and rides - but many people don;t seem to want to adapt.

I was mentioning to one of my colleagues that this should start a new multi-fare cab trend during rush! I think it's such a good idea!!

bardo1 and ekscrunchy,
The news reporters were at the Brooklyn bridge becaseuse
1) that's what Mayor Bloomberg was using to get from the command center in Brooklyn to City Hall.
2)It's also the iconic commuting locale of transit strikes--that's where all the photo ops were in 1980 too!
3) 96th street, both east and west sides, was the location of the HOV barricades (no fewer than 4 people per vehicle). And yes, plenty of drivers were refused entry below 96th because they did not have enough people. So, you have the combination of irate drivers, plus people getting into cars with total strangers so they can all get downtown = great news stories!

FainaAgain she can take a cab from the airport to her hotel, I'm sure it won't be a probelm for her to share with a couple others who are going in the same direction.

Grantop, yes, but I've heard something about sharing a taxi law... if the driver has to take in 3-4 people WITH LUGGAGE this can become a problem.

Oh, well, she's a big girl and knows the shuttles exist :)

I've been following all the news, and I am still a little confused. I hope a NYer can help me:

We are driving from Pittsburgh to Manhattan on Thursday. We will get to the city between 5 and 7pm. We plan to take our usual route into the East Village where we stay with my brother: Holland Tunnel > Canal St > Houston.

There will be two of us in the car. We will have a problem at this time in the evening?

Either I'm not seeing clearly, or all the information I'm reading isn't really clear on whether it is ok to come into to the city with less than 4 people, in the evening.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You shouldn't have a problem. Unless the contingency plan changes, the HOV restrictions are only in effect between 5am and 11am. Since you will be arriving in the evening, you won't have a problem as this is when most people are driving out of Manhattan.

Thanks, laurieco. Our Christmas plans would have been trashed, and it is our daughter's first married Christmas in NYC. She really wants us there.

Sorry about the sloppy typing: wearing a bandage on one finger due to a Christmasy glue gun mishap.

Local news is showing huge lines and confusion at Penn Station with commuters trying to leave the city. Also, after 11 AM there was a traffic jam of cars coming in whose drivers waited until after the 4 per car restriction. A judge is fining the transit union $1 million per day.

Just be prepared for tons of traffic. Bridges and tunnels have one inbound lane open, it appears, in late afternoons until 8pm. People from Queens, for example, are now spending up to four hours to get into Manhattan. After 8pm there will be more inbound lanes open, so I would time your arrival for after that time.