Transit Reporter on the Move, Hard Hat Required

Caffe Latte... It's right under GCS, I was given a tour recently over 100 feet below the street. If your a transit reader you would know about the East Side Access project. Bringing the LIR into GCS. To all the other nay sayers of the MTA, just try to use mass transit in any other city in Noth or South America, you.ll be happy to be back riding the MTA. It ain't perfect but it ain't bad either. Have we all forgotten the 70's?

You come of age as a reporter covering construction when you have your own hard hat.
(your bike helmet doesn't count :) )
Infrastructure construction and maintenance is interesting stuff. Have fun!

Yes, it was a nice story by who I am sure is a very nice woman. She is clearly a competent writer. However, when are New Yorkers going to get a reporter who isn't a mouth piece for the MTA? Considering the necessity of the subway and the fact that the hardware already exists, it's hard for me to find a more inept and poorly managed system. And as the old saying goes, "The fish stinks from the head." The employees are generally subpar and surly. Tired and bothered. As if their job isn't one of the best in the civil service.

Every try and ride the subway on weekends? The alphabet soup of "letter-mandying" is beyond description. Only the tourists who are on an adventure seem to not mind. "The express runs express until it runs local until it runs express again. But it's not running this weekend, but next weekend it's running, but not after 10pm to resume at 5am." Oh, ok, I'll just ask the token both clerk. Oh, there's no one there. Just like City Hall.

Love your pieces, thanks to the NYT for some actual news reporting on something that affects me directly.

I see more and more bike commuters, though not near as much as Toronto. I find it the easiest, fastest way to get around (even/especially in the rain).

So use those Timberlands for taking Metro North up to Cold Spring for a hike, and put on your nice comfortable flats and start commuting to work by bike daily.

What are the best steps to take if someone is pushed off the subway waiting platform and then can not get help to get back out of that area before an oncoming train passes by? Can someone actually lie down flat between the rails of the train track so the train will pass over them---or is there some kind of a lip where they can avoid getting hit by the train?

Important issue in the daily lives of NYers-so vital yet such a source of stress, lateness and still a lack of proper communication when problems arise all too often. Glad you are writing about what truly concerns average NYers-(as opposed to the constant multi-million dollare real estate features) This one of the assets that makes NYC one of the greatest cities but needs improvement and attention. Looking forward to more in depth articles.

woah. 12 stories down? that doesn't make sense! where is the link to *that* article?

The subway system is "mostly reliable"??? Do you actually use it??? On a regular basis??? Are you not familiar with the NY State Auditor's report that shows conclusively that delays on the subway are bad and getting worse??? Shame on you! Go read about that report: http://ny.curbed.com/2016/4/8/11395032/nyc-subway-wait-times-are-getting...

One of the bigger problems with the US is the lack of investment in public transport, at least outside NYC. The use of autos to carry people to work from the suburbs is a great waste of time, fuel and money. For a fight for better climate, take the bus or train!

I was born in 1942, but didn't get to ride on the subways until I was 5 because my mom and I stayed with her family in Brooklyn. I recall the rattan seats and the front window of the train which allowed me to look out at the rails and be amazed by what I saw. We'd get off at 9th Street, walk up to 5th Avenue turned right for 22nd Street, but had to stop at a store where they sold goldfish, ice cream, and toys for a dime. I'm sure it had other items, but I never noticed them.

There was also a great trolley system in Brooklyn - one stopped right at the bottom of 22nd Street and took my grandpa and me to the zoo in Prospect Park. He would sit on a bench, open a bag, and take out a beer (but not before admonishing me not to even think about running away). An hour or so later, one of my uncles would come and rescue me and my grandpa.

I took MTA buses to and from elementary and high school in Flushing, and then I took the bus and subway back and forth to college when I went to Cooper Union. My wife and I still live and work in Flushing, and I still love the buses and subways, but I've traveled on buses and subways in China (especially), Japan, etc. So, I have one naive question:

If China can have baggage screening devices at every subway entrance, why can't we have even one at Penn Station or Grand Central, let alone the rest of the stations in the system, including trains and buses. "If you see something, say something" doesn't work. Who can you say something to?

Thanks for this well-written piece. And kudos for the NYT for choosing to afford a "transit" reporter.

Brilliant Reporter on a necessary beat!