Charlie Tobin has taken the Long Island Railroad to get to work in Manhattan for the better part of the last two decades.
But if railroad workers go on strike this Sunday, Tobin said he plans to sit at his computer in his Roslyn home and avoid taking an alternative route to the office.
“Yes, there will be buses, there will be subways, this I’m aware of,” he said outside the East Williston train station on Monday. “And so is everybody else.”
Tobin is among the 300,000 daily riders who would be affected by a potential Long Island Railroad strike, which at press time remained a possibility as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and unions representing railroad workers had not yet reached a new labor agreement.
Though both MTA and union representatives said Monday that no future negotiations were imminent in advance of a potential strike, the two sides began discussions Wednesday at the urging of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“The Long Island Rail Road is a critical transportation system for Long Island and New York City,” Cuomo said Wednesday in a statement. “We must do everything we can to prevent Long Islanders from being held hostage by a strike that would damage the regional economy and be highly disruptive for commuters. Both the MTA and the LIRR unions need to put the interests of New Yorkers first by returning to the table today and working continuously to avoid a strike.”
If left unresolved, the strike would begin at 12:01 a.m. Sunday and train services would begin winding down as early as Wednesday.
The strike would not affect Amtrack, New Jersey Transit, Metro-North or PATH train employees, and union leaders said entrances used by other transit lines would not be used for picketing.
MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said during a press briefing on Monday that “a gulf” still existed between the unions and the MTA in reaching a labor agreement for the LIRR’s 5,400 workers.
During Monday’s negotiation, the MTA rejected the unions’ proposed counteroffer to double the time it would take union workers to vest their pensions and have new employees pay a smaller pension rate but over a longer period of time.
It was the first meeting between the two sides since Thursday, when the MTA proposed a 17 percent pay raise for current LIRR workers over seven years. The increase would be financed by having future workers take twice as long to achieve a top salary, contribute twice as much in health care costs and pay into their pensions indefinitely, rather than for just the first 10 years.
“They haven’t moved at all,” Prendergast said. “Until they’re ready to move, there’s no reason to have negotiations.”
Officials from the watchdog group the Long Island Railroad Commuter Council said Monday they were disappointed by the breakdown of negotiations between the MTA and unions and called for both sides to make an effort to reach an agreement without a strike.
“The impact of the failure of both sides to reach an amicable resolution will be felt throughout the Long Island and regional economies” said Mark Epstein, chairman of the Long Island Railroad Commuter Council. “Riders are confident that an agreement can be reached that does not result in additional fare hikes if both parties return to the bargaining table in good faith.”
Cuomo won’t intervene
Cuomo, who has said he would not directly intervene in negotiations between the MTA and the railroad workers’ unions, told reporters on Tuesday that a strike would be inconvenient but not catastrophic to Long Island commuters.
“We’ve had strikes before, and we survived,” Cuomo said. “This is not a disaster. A real pain, but not a disaster.”
But state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has projected that a strike could result in up to $50 million each day in economic losses, which he based upon the Long Island Railroad’s daily ridership as well as census and economic data and because the strike would take place during what he considers the peak of Long Island and New York City’s shopping and tourism seasons.
“It would also be another devastating blow to a region that is still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy and the recession,” DiNapoli said.
State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) issued a statement on Tuesday calling for Cuomo to mediate the negotiations, saying “Long Island’s transportation infrastructure will be paralyzed” in the event of a strike.
“Both the MTA and LIRR workers have asked for outside help to close the gap between them,” Martins said. “Congress has said it will not intervene. The Governor has shown talent at resolving these disputes in the past. He needs to order both sides back to the table and try to do it again here. Make the call, Governor.”
Prendergast last week traveled to Washington to lobby for congressional assistance in the negotiation process, but to no avail.
Long Island congressmen. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills), Peter King (R-Seaford) and Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they were “extremely disappointed to learn that the MTA left negotiations [Monday] without presenting their own counter offer” and that “both sides need to do their part to keep negotiations moving forward.”
How to get to work
MTA officials on Friday introduced a contingency plan in the event of a strike that includes shuttle buses from Long Island to Manhattan, ferry services and the opening of thousands of parking spaces near major subway stations in Queens.
During a teleconference with reporters, Adam Lisberg, the MTA’s chief spokesman, urged commuters to carpool and even work from home if possible, saying agreements had been reached with approximately 18,000 employees to telecommute.
But Epstein on Friday questioned whether the plan would provide comparable service to the railroad, particularly along the Huntington, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson and Babylon branches.
As part of the plan, 4,000 parking spaces at Citi Field in Flushing would be opened starting on July 20 for commuters to catch the 7 train, and an additional 3,000 spaces at Aqueduct Racetrack would be available for commuters to take the A train.
Approximately 8,400 spaces throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties would also be made available for commuters who wish to carpool into the city, as MTA officials have advised.
The MTA would also utilize more than 100 private and public parking lots located within a five-block radius of subway stations in Queens and Brooklyn.
The ferry system would take up to 1,000 commuters per trip to the East 34th Street port in Manhattan from Glen Cove up to three times during peak morning rush hour. Three trips would also be made during evening rush hour. The trip, officials said, would take approximately 40 minutes each way.
In addition, shuttle bus services would be provided between 4-7 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. at Long Island Railroad stations at Manhasset, Hicksville, Deer Park, Ronkonkoma, Seaford, Bellmore and Freeport, as well as at Nassau Community College, that would take up to 15,000 commuters each day to subway stations in Queens.
Commuters at Manhasseet, Deer Park and Ronkonkoma would be taken to Citi Field for the 7 train, while Hicksville riders would be taken to the Woodhaven Boulevard station for the M and R trains and commuters at Seaford, Freeport, Bellmore and Nassau Community College would be taken to the Howard Beach subway station to pick up the A train.
Officials said the high-occupancy vehicle lane of the Long Island Expressway would be expanded to require a driver and two passengers per car. In the event of a strike, the state Department of Transportation would allocate 50 portable message signs to be placed along the side of the road to provide commuters with real-time traffic updates.
All non-emergency rush hour construction would also be halted, with highway patrol and roadway maintenance crews placed at certain locations to assist during the morning and evening commute.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said during the conference call that the plan “sends a clear message that we’ve looked at all the options that are available.”
“We’re happy to work closely and productively with the MTA and offering whatever assets we can in Nassau to help our commuters get to work,” he said.
The MTA’s plan came one day after Town of North Hempstead officials said free parking would be offered at North Hempstead Beach Park and an additional 300 parking spaces would be allocated at its facilities at iPark at 1305 Union Turnpike in New Hyde Park so that commuters could catch nearby bus services into Queens.
Officials have also created a “one-stop shopping” page on North Hempstead’s website to list alternative transportation options, including carpooling information, schedules for the Nassau Inter County Express bus service, as well as subway schedules and routing information for other Metropolitan Transportation Authority services.
“I remain hopeful that a strike will be averted, but as the saying goes, ‘Hope for the best and plan for the worst,’” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said in a statement. “We are planning for the worst-case scenario so that we are ready to help our local commuters in the event of a strike. We hope that by opening up some Town parking areas we can make some transportation options more accessible to commuters.”
