Sunday, January 31, 2016

NYC Transit's storm response last weekend - an A for storm response and a D for miscommunication at 145th Street.

How about the storm response from the MTA last weekend?  Except for a hiccup on the Long Island Railroad, most everything else went back to normal by Monday morning (1/25).  The Jonas blizzard saw the east cost from North Carolina to Connecticut blanketed with snow - - surprisingly Boston only had a dusting compared to the storms of 2015.

Let's face it, I could go on about how NYC Transit didn't inform customers about some service changes on Friday night and Monday/Tuesday nights.  But I can say that their performance in handling the storm outweighs the negatives.  Well almost, as I was stuck waiting for a D train on Sunday morning, more on that later.


The highlight of MTA and NYC Transit's decision making was to allow underground-only subway service to continue throughout the storm, allowing about 40 percent of the subway network to run, mostly within Manhattan. (You can see the rush job on the underground map, it shows the D stopping at 36th Street in Brooklyn when it was running only in Manhattan and the Bronx.)  Rather than shutting down the entire subway system or to let the trains run until they are stranded from a snowbank, the suspension of almost all above ground service was a solid, smart, and sensible plan to keep some amount of public transportation running.   The  problem was communication - - which even the MTA admitted they faltered in the communication process.    The MTA's bus/train tracking application data was not working, making it harder to track buses and some subway lines during the storm.

Now for the Sunday morning debacle (on 1/24  ), which happened on the D line at 145th Street.  I arrived at 8:50 AM waiting for an Uptown D train.  At that time, the D was running only between Broadway-Lafayette Street in Manhattan and 205th Street-Norwood in the Bronx, however service to Coney Island was in the process of bring restored. The 145th Street station was one of a select few IND station which uses a makeshift PA/CIS (Customer Information System) setup using block signals to determine a train's position relative to the station you are at.  Unlike the full fledged PA/CIS system used on the IRT lines (except for the 7), the L line and the Staten Island Railway which are commonly called "countdown clocks" and are tied to mobile phone applications, these electronic signs only tell whether a train is arriving or up to two stations away - - it does not identify the line and final destination, nor how many minutes away.  At 145th Street, the electronic signs (along with the appropriate audio recording) will identify the arriving train will be an express or local, as well as the level where it will arrive (upper or Bronx bound/Lower).  So, my uptown D train (where it normally arrives) would have the message "The next Bronx bound train is now arriving on the (pause) lower level.  Please stand clear.....".

That message was played twice and twice the D train never arrived at 145th lower level.  The first "arrival" message was at 9:10 AM, about 20 minutes after I first entered the lower level.   That uptown D train never showed up.  At 9:25 AM, I placed my first non-emergency call through the Help Point intercom and spoke to Charles who said he has no way of knowing when the next Bronx-bound D train will arrive.  At 9:35, another message and announcement indicated that a "Bronx bound train is now arriving on the lower level" (indicating the Bronx bound D train was arriving at 145 lower).  Nothing showed up so I went back to the Help Point intercom again and spoke to Starks at 9:35.  Again, same answer as Charles, they have no answers as to when the next train will arrive but only stated that there are delays of up to 30 minutes (and I was waiting since 850 AM).  At 9:55 AM, over an hour since I and now over a hundred people were waiting to get to the Bronx, an manual announcement came over the PA system "There are delays in Uptown D service, the next Uptown D train is at (drum roll)....West 4th Street",  I immediately gave up and went outside where an arriving Bx19 bus would carry me over the 145th Street bridge and to the Bronx Terminal Market/Gateway Mall area where my garaged vehicle is waiting.  (Best 25 dollars I ever spent on keeping my car out of the storm)


Now that's really stupid to have people wait for over an hour for an Uptown D train with no announcements - - and the makeshift next train indicators were not giving right information by teasing us customers twice that the D train was arriving when it wasn't - - , only to tell them over an hour later that the next D train is at West 4th Street which was another 30 minutes away (D trains were running local between West 4th to 34th Street and again from 59th Street to 145th Street due to necessary train storage on the express tracks).  If it involved the D trains which were going to Broadway-Lafayette be extended to Coney Island then return back, I could be speculating on this.  However when people are waiting up to 90 minutes for a D train to arrive at 145 when the normal running time is 1 hour and 28-32 minutes between Coney Island and 205th Street, end to end, then there is something really wrong with the communication process by NYC Transit.  While MTA NYC Transit's storm response has been excellent, the act of ignoring and dumping customers who end up waiting over 90 minutes for a D train to the Bronx with two false announcements over the CIS indicators and no manual announcement until over an hour after the last D train left 145 before I arrived, is totally unacceptable and reeks of ignorance and incompetence in the communication process by MTA NYC Transit.  

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Your real, undiluted guide to NYC Transit weekend subway service during Jonas storm.

NOTE:  This information is posted as of Thursday 1/21 at 10 PM and may be subject to change due to an ordered partial or full suspension of subway service on Saturday 1/23 due to the track of Winter Storm Jonas as ordered by NY Governor Andrew Cuomo.

MTA NYC Transit is only telling you bits and pieces about planned service changes from Friday evening 1/22 through Monday morning 1/25 at 9 AM, through the morning rush hour,  In this Winter Weather Guide, issued by the MTA, they tell you a lot of "may"s - - Planned Service Changes MAY be cancelled, B service MAY be suspended, Express  service MAY be suspended on these lines....,limited 7 train service between Main Street-Flushing and 34th St-Hudson Yards MAY operate (with a transfer at Times Square), and so on.  On the MTA news release issued today, the story describes subway cars will be stored underground, impacting express service but offer few specifics and no mention of the B suspension, nor the limited 7 train service.  The MTA advises you to check the service status page for the latest updates and monitor traffic reports from NYC area news outlets as well as the NY State 511 page.  That is if and when they do post the service changes, since it is planned today with special schedules issued tomorrow morning for the PM train crews and dispatchers.  

That said, let's get on with the known details (by me) and some probabilities happening this weekend.  Here is a line by line breakdown, note that it's either definite or probable - - and unless otherwise noted each affected area applies to both directions of travel. 


A  - Definite:  Local in Brooklyn between Euclid and Hoyt from about 9 PM Friday until 6 AM Monday 
Probable:  Local 168-Canal Street

B - Suspended after 7 PM.  Last northbound B train leaves Brighton Beach at around 7 PM, last southbound train leaves 145th Street at around 7:30 PM.  NOTE:  After 6:45 PM, all scheduled northbound B trains that normally terminate at 145th Street will be extended to Bedford Park Blvd instead until end of service at 8:30 PM.  

D - Definite:  Local in Brooklyn between 36th Street and Grand Street (Manhattan) and also West 4th Street to 34th Street in Manhattan from 8 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday (all D train will also stop at Dekalb Ave).  Probable:  Local in Manhattan between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and 145th Street

E - Definite:  Local in Queens 71st Ave/Forest Hills and Queens Plaza from 9 PM Friday to 5 AM Monday

F - Definite:  Local in Queens between 71st Ave/Forest Hills and 36th Street/Northern Blvd from 9 PM Friday to 5 AM Monday

J - Probable:  Limited service between Jamaica Center and 111th Street - all trains will operate on a single track in both directions - - times I don't know.

M - Not confirmed but M service in Manhattan north of Essex Street to northern Queens at Forest Hills may end early on Friday evening (and run to Chambers Street on the J because they cannot turn trains south of Essex St, bad switch needs to be replaced)..

N - Definite:  Local in Brooklyn between 59th Street and Canal Street (Manhattan), stopping at Dekalb Ave and also local service in Manhattan between 34th Street and Canal Street from 7 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday.  All N local trains will use either the Manhattan Bridge (Friday evening and all day Sat/Sun) or via. the R Montague Street tunnel line (late nights) between Dekalb Ave and Canal Street as regularly scheduled.  

Q - Definite:  Local in Manhattan between 57th Street/7th Ave and Canal Street from 8 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday

2 and 3 - Definite: Local in Manhattan between 96th Street and Chambers Street from 9 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday.

4 and 5 - Definite  Local in Manhattan (between 125th Street and Brooklyn Bridge) and Brooklyn (Between Atlantic Ave and Utica Ave) from 9 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday.  Probable:  AM 5 Express service from Nereid Ave may be limited or suspended.

6 - Definite:  < 6 > Pelham Express service will stop running after 6 PM, all Pelham Bay Park bound trains will run local in the Bronx.

7 - Definite - reduced 7 train service late nights from 11 PM to 7 AM (6 AM on Monday) with trains running in two sections;  Between Main Street-Flushing and Times Square - - and shuttle train between Times Square and 34th Street-Hudson Yards.

S- (Rockaway Park) Probable:  Shuttle extended to Euclid Ave.  

That's all I know.. Again, the service plan could change on Friday with a possible systemwide shutdown on Saturday through Sunday, however the B suspension and all express service ending early will still take effect on Friday evening.  I wll let you know how well or poorly NYC Transit did over the weekend.  

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Subway observations on Saturday 1/16

When Andrew Cuomo announced new customer friendly initiatives for MTA New York City Transit, such as Wi-Fi and charging ports on board trains and buses, a 30 station renewal blitz involving full closures as selected stations, and more On-To-Go kiosks, I was excited to see great things happening in the subways and buses.  Unfortunately as far as informing customers about service diversions on weekends, it's the same old story in certain areas.

Last weekend was a most interesting one if you ride the lettered lines withing Manhattan, particularly the IND 6th Ave and 8 Ave lines where it was a mess.  The A and C lines were running on the F line in both directions between West 4th Street and Jay Street-Metrotech.  The D line was running on the A express line in both directions between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and Chambers Street.  The E line was rerouted on the F line between Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Heights and West 4th Street.  These diversions made for some interesting observations, including a full station closure at 7th Ave and 53rd Street on the D and  E lines since they were both rerouted.  That and West 4th Street station was a game of cat and mouse in catching your train - the D stops on the upper level express tracks where the A/C/E lines normally stop while the E stops on the lower level local tracks where the D and F lines normally stop there on weekends.  Here are a few photos on that rare D at Chambers and Canal Street stations:






That said, I tool a ride into Manhattan for a few hours worth of observations around the subway system and saw some good things going on, as well as some bad things.  Let's look at the good things first:

THE GOOD:  The announcements at station platforms have been consistent, even at the IRT stations - - frequent announcements on the A/C/D?E diversions were made here. Another good thing was the information regarding the elevators at 125th Street  On my 6 train into Manhattan, the conductor announced the elevators were not operational but advised to check the MTA website for alternatives.


THE BAD:  The wrong information given by conductors is still present - - and I wonder why most of these conductors are not aware of these service changes.  Additionally, some of the temporary signage installed along columns at subway stations are wrong.

34th Street-Penn Station (8th Ave) has an island express platform - - the signs wrongly indicate that no trains are stopping there and all trains are stopping at the local platforms






If anyone read this sign at at 34th Street and wanted to get to 7th Ave/53rd Street, they would be lost as the D does not go to 7th Ave station.  Lack of proofreading and quality control exists when you make signs for a 2 week period when the second week has a different set of directions due to another line being detoured.  


Likewise, signs can be correct in a way, however another option would be helpful. These signs are at Chambers on the A and C - - normally when A and C lines are running on the F line between Manhattan and Brooklyn then Chambers Street is closed.  However the D was running to Chambers Street - therefore this platform was open so anyone could take the D Uptown.  In fact, the D train was a better option than the E train as the E would stop at the lower level (rerouted on the F line) while the D stops at the upper level, then same level as the A/C lines.



n





Let's look at the announcements now - - my first observations were on the 6 line at 51st Street where there's no E service at the connecting Lexington Ave/53rd Street station. As before, a Pass means the announcement about the E station closure was made while a Fail indicated there was no announcement on the E closure, other than "Transfer to the E train" heard over the train's PA system.  All times are in the afternoon on Saturday 1/16

Time


Line


Direction


Car #


Result
12:29 PM
6
SB
2096
Fail (E and M)
12:37
6
NB
7096
Pass
12:42
6
SB
7649
Pass
1:00
6
SB
1781
Fail







Then I headed over to the 7 line for observations about the D - a transfer point between 5th - all of them failed as the "Transfer to the D (and F) lines" were made. Because NYC Transit uses railroad North-South directions (never east-west) for all subway lines, trains heading towards 34th Street-Hudson Yards were traveling southbound (SB) while Main St-Flushing bound trains were going northbound (NB).   On the 1:35 PM train, I heard the B/D/F/M weekday announcement.  On all of the southbound trains I rode on, I also heard the incorrect E transfer at Times Square.  And these are the retrofitted newer cars.  

Time

Line

Direction

Car #

Result
1:07
7
SB
7315
Fail
1:12
7
NB
7367
Fail
1:16
7
SB
7859
Fail
1:20
7
NB
7892
Fail
1:35
7
SB
7326
Fail (BDFM)
1:36
7
NB
7872
Fail
1:47
7
SB
7218
Fail
 
Next stop was Fulton Street for the A/C closure.  I rode back and forth on the 2/3 lines.  A few of the announcements I herd were correct - - all of the on the 3 line where older cars from the 1980s are used.  The so-called "new technology" trains (NTTs) on the 2 line all failed because none of the conductors bothered to make the announcement about the A/C suspension.
 
Time

Line

Direction

Car #

Result
2:07
2
SB
6351
Fail
2:13
2
NB
6630
Fail
2:18
3
SB
1397
No announcement
2:23
2
NB
6316
Fail
2:38
2
SB
6636
Fail
2:49
2
NB
6401
Fail
2:53
3
SB
1321
Pass
2:58
2
NB
6451
Fail
3:21
3
NB
No car #
Pass

Finally, my last set of observations were the N/Q/R lines at 34th Street/Herald Square (no D at the 6th Ave side of this  complex).  Although I made only 4 observations, the only one that passed was on an R train where subway cars are over 40 years old.  

Time

Line

Direction

Car #

Result
4:18
N
SB
8826
Fail
4:24
R
NB
5760
Passed
4:32
Q
SB
8653
Fail
4:44
Q
NB
9088
Fail
Oh and other things to note - - those wrong signs at Hunts Point Ave on the 6 line were never changed.  Bx45 and Bx54, respectively.








That's all folks. Brace yourselves for the first winter storm of 2016 this coming weekend and I will be on top of things when NYCT and MTA implement their winter plans, including suspension of B service and all other express service on Friday evening.  Oh, while at Times Square, I saw ads for one of my favorite mobile games, Clash of Clans - - and here are the pictures. 








Tuesday, January 12, 2016

50 years ago on television - 1966 - a trio of groundbreaking shows

We all have differing opinions on what year defined television today.  Some say it was 1951 (I Love Lucy) or 1959 (Twilight Zone).  I say 1966 was the year that redefined television in every way possible.  That year, there were not one but three distinct shows which not only defined television, but also provided a new direction in pop culture, originality as well as changing the landscape in Prime Time TV for generations to come.  In that year, color broadcasts were finally the norm as ABC and CBS were the last of the original "Big Three" networks to broadcast almost all of their shows in color.  Here's a look at the three shows in chronological appearance.

1.  Batman - - (January 12, 1966, 50 years ago today) was the first live action comic book TV series since Superman in the 1950s and aired two nights a week on ABC from January 1966 through March 1968.  The series is loosely (and I mean loosely) based on the Batman movie cliffhanger serials of the 1940s, usually with a Part 1 and Part 2 for the 2 nights each week ABC airs (7:30 PM EDT/PDT on Wednesday and Thursday nights).  Like the 1940s Batman serials that played weekly in movie theaters, each pair of episodes dealt with one or more crooked villains who catch Batman and/or Robin in an insurmountable death trap (with the famous captions "Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel") -  only to be resolved with the Dynamic Duo;s escape in Part 2.  The series took on a silly, campy tone, with jokes flying over your head, bad guys filmed in crooked 45 degree angles (to emulate their crooked ways) as well as the dialogue being off the wall.  If you are looking for a dark brooding tone like the recent Batman movies, forget it - - it's just sit back and leave your brain to rest as you enjoy the antics of The Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, The Worm, Shame (a satire name of Shane, the western film.) and other goofy bad guys battling Batman and Robin.  The Batman craze was in full steam from the very first episode with the introduction of the Batusi dance move which was used by millions of people in dance clubs -  - and John Travolta did the Batusi move in the Quentin Tarantino film "Pulp Fiction".  The campy series was a short lived hit, by 1967 the Batman craze worn off towards the end of season 2 - even with the addition of Batgirl at the start of Season 3, but the sets were mostly cookie cutter cardboard.  After ABC cancelled Batman, NBC wanted to pick it up for one season, but it was too late - - all of the interior sets, including the Batcave, were demolished by the departing production crew.    Speaking of the Batcave, the exterior of the "driveway" leading to the Batcave was the exact location where the Skull Island gate was built for filming in the 1933 original King Kong.

2.  Star Trek (September 8, 1966)  -  This is the most popular sci-fi TV series of all time, as it has spawned a cartoon series in the early 1970's, four TV spinoffs (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise), and countless movies from 1979 to present,.  Star Trek has introduced Trekkie into the lexicon and rightfully so - it was a time where communicators would take shape in the form of clamshell style cell phones thirty years later.  This series aired on NBC from 1966 through 1969 but never won any of the 11 Emmy nominations during it's run.    Some of my favorite episodes are "The Trouble With Tribbles", "The City on The Edge of Forever" (as well as any time Kirk, and Spock travel back to 20th century earth).  This is the third sci-fi series (after the cartoon The Jetsons and the live action Lost In Space) while takes place in space....the final frontier.  Most of these episodes are now remastered in new 1080 HD format and look better than ever.

3.  Mission:Impossible - (September 17,  1966)  This CBS series ran from 1966 to 1973 and had two iconic things which set this series apart from the pack: the tape recorder sequence and Lalo Schfrin's theme song.  The espionage series made a lasting impression in households for what we call appointment television today - - you had to see it from the beginning to see what is going on or you would be lost.  The show is about a rogue organization,called the Impossible Missions Force, with no law enforcement ties. who set out to complete dangerous missions involving world leaders or mobsters as "targets".  The idea was to manipulate and/or deceive the target into something which would result in his/her death by his own people, placed under arrest, or the theft of  valuable item (microfilm, diamond, etc) - - often by impersonating the target or posing as almost anything they wanted to be:  Police Officers, FBI agents, taxi drivers, mobsters, customs workers, Nazi war criminals, hospital workers, you name it.  The series spawned a short lived TV reboot by ABC in the early 1980s and a more popular series of films starring Tom Cruise which have nothing to do with the TV series, except Phelps was now the bad guy in the first film.  Let's get one thing straight - - nothing can hold a candle to the original and best TV series, not the movies which I call them "cerebral garbage" - - this is my favorite TV show of all time for it' intelligence and writing and rightfully so - this TV series won 8 Emmy awards and three Golden Globes.  Fun fact:  In the second season episode "Charity", the house where the IMF goes after the couple who steals money from legitimate charities by concealing the funds in platinum bars is the same house as the Wayne Manor in the Batman TV series.  The actual address of this famous house is 380 South San Rafael Ave in Pasadena, CA/ 



Three shows which appealed to diverse audiences and original for their time.  1966 was a golden year for television as these three iconic shows set the bar for great TV viewing for generations to come.
   

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy Y2K + 16

Happy New Year everyone.

Now that reality is settling for 2016, I wish you prosperity, happiness and goodwill for 2016.  I personally have a running gag each year about the Y2K bug (or the Millennium bug) most of us were bracing for and never happened so this year marks Y2K plus 16.  :-).

Anyway, here's what to expect for 2016.

1.  We will elect our 45th President - - and it most likely be Donald Trump.  Trump has been on a tear in the polls and next month is the start of the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary.  All this will lead into the summer RNC and DNC conventions and General Elections.  Imagine if Trump took 40 or more primary states before his coronation.  Personally, I have yet to see how Trump will really focus on the middle class if he is keeping his promise to increase taxes for his Wall Street "friends", while lowering taxes for the middle class (Do you hear that Governor Cuomo???).

2. We may be in prosperity or a long recession.  The stock market's mood swings are more frequent  than changing diapers on a baby - - one day the market may gain 500 points or lose it all the next.  The U.S. economy is clearly not in the best shape now.

3. The Second AVE subway may finally open in December 2016 - - don't hold your breath given the MTA's poor track record.

4.  New Apple Watch 2 coming in March as well as the new Apple 7 series, Samsung Galaxy Note 6 and S7 phones.  The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (later this month) and Barcelona's Mobile World Congress (next month) shows give us a dazzling taste of new mobile technologies and gadgets that can make Q branch blush.


All in all, be safe this year.