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FURTHER UPDATE Acting MTA Chair: New Yorkers Should Not Attempt to Travel Amid Tropical Storm Ida

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By SÍLE MOLONEY
The subway station at 145th Street and Broadway in Hamilton Heights in Manhattan floods on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.
Image courtesy of NBC New York

Janno Lieber, acting MTA chair and CEO has instructed New Yorkers not to attempt to travel until further notice amid Tropical Storm Ida, while Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency, as did New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The mayor made the announcement late Wednesday evening, while the governor confirmed the announcement via Twitter shortly after midnight on Thursday, Sept. 2. Later, on Thursday morning, Lieber provided a statement on the impact of the storm, which was also classified as a hurricane that hit Connecticut and New Jersey on Wednesday.

 

 

In his statement, Lieber said, “This has been a historic and challenging night for the region, our customers and transit workers.” He added, “Torrential rains caused massive amounts of water to enter subways and flood roads, creating severe disruptions to service. Our concern is for those who were in trains stuck after up to six inches of rain fell within hours, and top priority is working with first responders to safely evacuate everyone from the system.”

 

A report by NBC New York showed images of a flooded subway station at 145th Street and Broadway in Hamilton Heights in Northern Manhattan late Wednesday. It was reportedly one of several flooded subway stations across the city. Another video posted to Twitter by Ryan Hickey and shared by Bronx State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi showed huge quantities of water gushing through what appeared to be 28th Street subway station in Manhattan.

 

 

Lieber continued, “New Yorkers should not attempt to travel until further notice. We will be deploying maximum pump capacity and surging workers into the system when it’s safe so that as this epic storm abates, service can be restored as soon as possible.”

An alert from the National Weather Service of flash flooding was sent to all New Yorkers via their cell phones at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.
Image by Síle Moloney

As of 12:35 a.m. on Wednesday, the MTA said there was very limited subway service, that  evacuations of at least six subway trains stuck between stations have been completed, and that there was also a limited bus service in operation.

 

 

However, officials said bus remained the best option for “essential travel.” Metro-North Railroad suspended all trains on all lines for safety reasons due to mounting water, and the Long Island Rail Road service shut down after trains en route reached their final destinations.

 

On Tuesday, the had City issued tips for how to stay as safe as possible amid the storm, as reported. At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the City, and later a flash flood emergency warning, as 8 inches of rainfall was reported on Staten Island.

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A video posted to the Citizen’s App on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, shows severe flooding in the South Bronx at Crotona Avenue and Claremont Parkway with motorists trapped in cars due to the severe conditions. Video courtesy of the Citizen’s App.

 

The MTA had just earlier on Wednesday shared the preliminary results of an investigation into last Sunday night’s power outage which left passengers stranded on 7 subway lines and the Long Island Railroad. The outage lasted for about one hour and forty-five minutes, as reported.

 

A Citizen’s App user reported that a person was allegedly trapped in a car by a fallen tree in the Chelsea section of Manhattan on Wednesday evening amid the storm.

 

For editor-in-chief of City Limits, Jarrett Murphy, tweeted a photo, on Thursday morning, of the Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood, which is, once again, and predictably submerged under water.

 

Elsewhere in the South Bronx, another video posted to the Citizen’s App showed severe flooding in the South Bronx at Crotona Avenue and Claremont Parkway, with motorists trapped in cars due to the severe conditions.

 

On Thursday morning, Sept. 3, Lieber appeared on FOX 5 Good Day New York with Raegan Medgie and Steve Lacy to discuss the impact of Hurricane Ida on the MTA’s service region.

 

Lieber said, “The storm did a number on all of our infrastructure in the region, mass transit was no exception. So, we’re bringing the subway system back online. There’s a lot [to be done]. There’s growing service on the lettered lines, the a train, the d train and the l train and many others. The numbered lines are still mostly a very, very limited service. But the subway system is coming back. We obviously had to get the water received to pump it out and then deal with the electrical infrastructure. Water and power don’t mix.”

 

Speaking of flooded stations, Lieber said, “We all know that the subway system in New York is not a submarine. It’s pretty, you know, shallow, shallow below the surface. In many cases it’s actually, in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, it’s above ground and an open cut. So, we definitely are subject to weather and water, especially when like last night the surface level, street level, drainage and sewer system is overwhelmed.”

2,324 customers were without power in The Bronx on Thursday morning, Sept. 2, 2021. More work was needed before an ETA of restoration could be shared, according to Con Edison.
Image courtesy of Con Ed.

He added, “So that’s what keeps happening in these flash floods. Last night was the worst of all, and that water obviously makes his way down into the system. But the amazing thing is that we are restoring service and the bus drivers last night, I got to tell you Steve, were heroic.” Liebar said they got people home and kept going, diverting around abandoned cars.

 

He continued, “Commuter rail however, Metro-North, is basically out of business today; Long Island Rail Road, limited service, some of it coming back like the Atlantic Branch, but people should be very careful and look to MTA.info before any decisions about whether to travel.

 

Asked if people rely more on the bus, the MTA chair advised residents, once again, to check the MTA.info website which he said had the most current information. “But yeah, if you can, if you have access to buses, that’s probably the best system right now because subway service as I said, depending on where you are is pretty limited.”

 

Asked about the subway modernization plan, and the need for money to update the subway system, Lieber was then asked, if in that plan, there are steps that would prevent issues like the storm impact. The host added, “I mean we keep having these once-in-a-lifetime storms every other year it seems.”

 

Lieber said it was a good point. “We’ve done a ton on coastal resiliency. So all those areas that were hit by Superstorm Sandy, the under-river tunnels, they’ve been made much more resilient and impervious to storms. But what we’re seeing now is these repetitive flash floods which are at higher ground, and as I said, the street level drainage system gets overwhelmed and then the water gets into the subway in mass quantities.”

 

He added, “So, we’re going to expand the resiliency efforts to look at these higher ground areas, higher elevation areas, in tandem with the City of New York which operates the street level drainage and sewer system. We have to attack that now in this era of climate change.

 

The NYPD reported five “dead on arrival” incidents following receipt of emergency calls last night from folks across the City but none were reported so far from any Bronx precincts. The New York Times reported that fourteen people are dead in the tri-state area following the floods, including five people in Elizabeth, N.J.

 

The Bronx River Parkway is closed due to flooding.

 

The City has advised that due to the impacts of Hurricane Ida, some vaccination sites may be closed or open late on 9/2. Find updates at: nyc.gov/vaccinefinder.

 

MTA service updates on Sept. 2, 2021.
Image courtesy of the MTA

New Yorkers are encouraged to report clogged catch basins and areas of standing water to 311, (212) 639-9675 for Video Relay Service, or TTY (212) 504-4115).

 

To sign up for Notify NYC, call 311, visit NYC.gov/NotifyNYC, or follow @NotifyNYC on Twitter.

 

Check MTA updates on new.MTA.info. As of 9.31 a.m., on Sept. 2, service across the system is extremely limited as the agency works to recover from Wednesday night’s heavy rainfall and flooding. Officials said arrivals and travel times on their apps and websites may not be accurate. They encouraged residents to avoid all unnecessary travel at this time.

According to Accuweather, more than 45,000 customers were without power in New York State on Thursday.

 

2,324 customers were without power in The Bronx on Thursday morning. That number had dropped to 1,738 by the afternoon. More work was needed before an ETA of restoration could be shared, according to Con Edison. To report an outage (if you can), go here. You can also call ConEd’s hotline at 1-800-75-CONED.

 

If you smell gas, do NOT use that link. Go outside and call 911.

 

 

 

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