Auntie Em! Auntie Em! A tornado struck Brooklyn and Queens and suddenly everyone at the LIRR became stupid!
As you can see, I'm upset, but not because a tornado hit NYC. I can't blame the LIRR for that. What I can blame them for is the complete inability to communicate effectively during crisis situations -- and I use that term with hesitation.
A tornado doesn't come around here often, but I'll bet anyone that trees falling on tracks and flooding happens several times a year. It just so happens that trees and flooding occurred at the same time this past Thursday evening. So what do you announce? "There is no service in either direction from Penn Station to Jamaica." And that was it. Were trains running east from Jamaica? Could I take the subway to Jamaica? Were shuttle buses available anywhere from Jamaica? Who knows! The LIRR certainly didn't. The new electronic signs were telling me to "Have a Nice Day"; completely oblivious to the situation at hand. Oh, thank you so much. A faceless, yet polite sign is wishing me a nice day. Silver lining everyone.
I have an idea. Problems always seemt to come up between Penn and Jamaica. How about an emergency plan to operate a subway shuttle from Penn to Jamaica, or at least more E-Trains? I wish someone would explain to me why that is crazy, but I don't think anyone could. The MTA is in charge of both the subways and the LIRR, and buses, and in this day and age of emergency preparedness, there shoud lbe some coordination plan between the systems. I'm going to keep this entry short, because I didn't get home that late (although I have friends that told me it took 6 hrs for them to get home), and the more I write the angrier I get.
One last thing, why did all the trains have to go the Yard Facility once it was determined that there would be no service? Maybe to make way for the remaining westbound trains? I guess, but who knows. It certainly wasn't explained.
So, as all of you figure out how to deal with extensive damage to your houses....Have a Nice Day!
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3 comments:
You said it. I was out and took a cab back to Penn and entered the west side near Amtrak. The LIRR was simply closed with gates and a few Cops keeping people from going in. No one knew what was going on. I had to track down an Amtrak Cop and listen to his "theories" on how one might get home. Maybe a few of the overpaid, union LIRR workers could have donned a bright vest and walked around helping people. Maybe a megaphone could have helped them communicate. But the LIRR knows nothing of how to communicate. "Have a nice day" - that is classic. When I finally got to my friends apartment to stay the night I saw on NY1 that trains were running from Jamaica to the east and Brooklyn trains were fine as well. Will the LIRR ever learn that what pisses people off is their complete disregard for their customers and complete lack of communication.
We need this blog to get more press. I'd love to see what kind of posts there would be if a lot of people knew of this blog.
This blog needs some advertising. I am thinking paper slips on seats of the railroad. Maybe even bumper stickers with the web address. There is obviously pent up anger across this island. No one but 5 people know this blog is out here. Maybe if the groundswell is big enough the politicians will pay attention come November.
Agreed! I'm sending this to some of my friends that also commute. Its time for justice.
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