Local Commuters Take Transit Strike in Stride

by Judy Silberstein

(December 22, 2005) A thoroughly unscientific poll taken at the Larchmont train station on Thursday morning between 7:45 and 8:45 am led to the following conclusions:

• Larchmont commuters (and the many from New Rochelle who use the Larchmont station) are a laid back bunch and they were experiencing very
  little inconvenience from a New York City transit strike that was in its third day.
  
  
• Metro North on the New Haven Line had been operating with only minor changes.
  
  
• Gridlock at Grand Central Station was a problem, but overall things were not bad for those traveling into Manhattan by train.

An additional survey from around Larchmont and Mamaroneck picked up somewhat more problems. But by noon the whole exercise had become somewhat academic as commuters got news that the strike had been called off – though it may take a while for conditions to be completely back to normal. There is still a contract to be negotiated, but union leaders and transit authority negotiators had agreed to resume bargaining.

The lessons learned from a morning of informal research suggest there are a lot of local folks working in midtown where they can easily hoof it a few blocks to the office. Of course, this leaves out the early birds – many of whom may have been skipping the trains and carpooling with neighbors.

“Not much” of an impact said Jerry Connor from Larchmont. “The train is a little more crowded than usual.” Tuesday morning was light, but Wednesday was “really overcrowded and slow.” When he got off the train, it was a pleasant 10-minute walk instead of his usual 2-minute cab ride.

Melissa Baranowski from Mamaroneck thought Tuesday’s trains were only half as busy as usual; Wednesday was busy but not uncomfortable. The larger effect was on the streets where Fifth Avenue was shut down to car traffic. “That was weird,” she said. She works in the Garment District and said “people commuting from Brooklyn and Long Island – it’s a disaster. I feel sorry for them.”

Bill Schrag, a layer from New Rochelle, has his office only a block from Grand Central, but he took a dim view of the strike. “It’s illegal. The union is blind to what’s going on in the private sector,” he said.

One of the most satisfied commuters was Mary Matthews. “I live in the Bronx, but my aunt in Larchmont [Marion Robb] has very kindly opened her house to me,” which she also did during the 1980 strike. Ms. Matthews usually takes an express bus from the Bronx that drops her right near her work. From the train “I still have to walk 14 blocks,” but she was not complaining.

Charity Adu, a home health aide in Larchmont, was taking the local to Fordham in the Bronx, where she faced a 50-minute walk home. “I like it this way,” she said. “I win by exercising.” She was in support of the strikers. “They really need what they’re asking for,” she said.

Larchmonter Alyssa Beaver hadn’t noticed much of a difference at her public relations job. “Just about everyone has come to work,” she said, but she did get caught up in the crush at Grand Central when police cordoned off her usual entrance. “I missed my train – but there was another one,” she said.

“Where I feel bad is for the business downtown,” said Tony Bush, a Larchmonter with a business in manufacturing. “For me, it isn’t bad, I don’t have to punch a clock. But the stores and restaurants are completely dead,” he said.

Tony Paddock, another Larchmonter, said “I don’t pay any attention to the strike – I just let it wash over me.” But he said the strike “was inappropriate. I hope the union goes bankrupt.”

“My commutes been going just fine,” said Ralph Engel, an attorney with a mid-town office, but his wife, Diane Engel,. had been avoiding Manhattan for the past few days. “I have a three-mile walk and usually take the subway,” she said as she dashed for the train.

How about those going further downtown?

Contacted by phone, Brad Stein, an attorney from Mamaroneck, said his commute down to the World Trade Center had almost doubled, from 3 hours round-trip to 4.5 hours, partly because the PATH trains shuttling downtown made frequent stops and went through New Jersey before doubling back to lower Manhattan. From outside a jam-packed Grand Central Station, he could see signs announcing his train home was leaving as police kept him and hundreds of other commuters lined-up on the street.

Ernie Odierna, the Town of Mamaroneck Councilman, had an appointment at Union Square on Tuesday: that was 28 blocks one way and 28 blocks back. There were plenty of cabs, he reported, but “being a little bit cheap and enjoying a walk” he went on foot.

Driving was another option. “Instead of heading in first thing, I went in at 11:00 am when the HOV [High Occupancy Vehicle] rule changed,” said Ned Benton, a professor who typically drives in from Larchmont much earlier. “It was like rush hour traffic but it cleared up pretty quickly and the drive home around 5:00 pm was painless.”

Mark Fichtel, a consultant with a home office in Larchmont, had canceled all his Manhattan meetings for the week – “not for me, but because the people I’m meeting with have offices downtown and it’s just too much trouble for them to come to midtown for a meeting. I feel really bad for the restaurants – this must be really killing them,” he said.

Keith Roach, a physician from Larchmont who was waiting for the morning train, hadn’t been impacted much and had sympathy for both sides. “I wish the two sides would get back to the negotiation tables,” he said.

That appears to be what is happening. By Thursday evening, bus and subway workers were reporting back for their next shifts. It might take a day before everything is back to normal, however, so commuters would do well to check out Metropolitan Transit Authority and Metro-North websites for specifics on the trains, buses or subways they plan to use.

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