Latest news with #JannoLieber
CBS News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Gov. Hochul touts installation of subway barriers on 56 platforms
Gov. Kathy Hochul says the MTA is on track to complete two subway safety milestones this year. Hochul said the MTA has installed barriers on 56 subway platforms, and over 100 more platforms should have them by the end of the year. The MTA says the barriers are designed to help prevent what they call "intrusion" on the tracks, or any unauthorized entry, including preventing people from falling, or potentially being pushed. The MTA says a recent customer survey showed a majority of respondents have said the presence of platform barriers in the station makes them feel safer. "New Yorkers' safety will always be my number one priority, and customers need to both feel and be secure every time they ride the subway," Hochul said. "At my direction, the MTA has ramped up the installation of protective platform barriers, building on their efforts to brighten stations with LED lighting and equip every subway car with security cameras. Transit crime is down in 2025, and these efforts will make the subway system safer for everyone." "With new platform barriers, MTA's thousands of new security cameras, increased deployments from the NYPD, and 10 percent less crime before COVID, it's no wonder customer satisfaction has risen dramatically this year," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. The agency has also installed LED bulbs at 342 stations, which puts it on track to hit 472 by the end of the year. It's part of an effort to brighten the lights on subway platforms. According to the MTA, there are now barriers at: Brooklyn: Manhattan: Queens:
CBS News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
After storms cause massive subway flooding, MTA chief calls on NYC to grow sewer capacity
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber is calling on New York City to build up its sewer system after massive subway flooding during Monday's storm. He spoke to CBS News New York's Dick Brennan about what happened and how to fix things for future storms. Video from the West 28th Street station in Chelsea showed water gushing from a drain and completely flooding the platform. "This manhole cover was levitating about this high because there was the water pressure actually exploded it out," Lieber said. Out of the subway system's over 490 total stations, about 20 were put out of service during the storm. "That's no excuse for those 20 stations that were unavailable, had bad conditions. But this is not going to knock out the whole system and we were ready to go the next morning," Lieber said. He said hundreds of people worked overnight to make sure the trains were back up and running for the Tuesday morning commute. During those storms, the subway system got hit with a double whammy — torrential rain from above and a sewer system that couldn't handle it below. New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala says they've done a good job to maintain the sewer system, but climate change is sending storms nobody could have expected. "Addressing storm water resilience to fix this underground infrastructure is going to be the work of tens of years, decades. We put out our report last spring that estimated a total cost of roughly $30 billion," Aggarwala said. But Lieber says the city has to step up and pay up to fix their sewers. "Because the rainfalls are going to keep happening, we need them to grow the capacity so it doesn't back up into the subways," he said. Lieber says the city could focus area by area if the money is there. "There is no quick solution to the big issue, but you can do it in a localized way," he said. In the meantime, Lieber says the MTA is hardening its infrastructure. One of the improvements to fight subway flooding the so-called step-up into the station. By placing a raised platform at the entrances to underground subway stations, the water then has to rise higher before it goes cascading down the steps into the station. Lieber says the MTA already spent $8 billion on resiliency after Hurricane Sandy and has spent close to $1 billion from the new capital budget. He says the system has a knack for bouncing back and is hoping to be ready when the next storm hits.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
How climate crisis makes rainstorms that flooded New York more common
Monday night's downpour was one of the most intense rainstorms in New York City history, the kind of storm that's now happening much more often due to climate warming. More than 2in of rain fell in New York City's Central Park in the 7pm hour on Monday evening, part of a regional downpour that filled the city's highways and subway tunnels and prompted several water rescues. Rains were even more intense elsewhere in the region. More than 2in of rain fell in just 30 minutes in Brewster, New York, in the Hudson Valley. In Union County, New Jersey, more than 6in of rain fell in little more than an hour and at least two people died as the vehicle they were traveling in was washed off the road. Phil Murphy, the New Jersey governor, declared a state of emergency due to the heavy rainfall and advised people to avoid unnecessary travel. 'Jersey is FLOODING. I've never ever seen the highways flood. This is crazy. The climate crisis is literally outside right now,' wrote one person from New Jersey on social media. The rains came as the result of what the National Weather Service called a 'quickly evolving scenario' as a slow-moving cold front began interacting with extremely moisture-laden air drawn westward from the warmer-than-normal Atlantic Ocean. The NWS had given the hardest-hit regions, including New York City, advanced notice with numerous flood warnings. Intense periods of rain like the one on Monday have been causing increasing problems throughout the region as the climate changes. NYC now endures one extra day of heavy rain each year, on average, compared with the late 19th century. A widely shared video appeared to show floodwaters erupting from the sewer system like a geyser at the 28th Street station in midtown Manhattan, pouring into a stalled subway car filled with people. 'What happened last night is something that is a reality for our system,' said Janno Lieber, CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in an interview with a New York City television station. 'The storm water system gets backed up and gets overwhelmed and tunnels into the stations.' While the city's subway systems are designed to drain a maximum of 1.75in of rainwater per hour, the 2.07in of rain was the sixth-highest hourly total since New York City weather records began in 1869 and the most intense rainstorm since the remnants of Hurricane Ida in September 2021. Ida caused 14 deaths in the north-east, most of whom died in flooded basement apartments. A rainstorm exceeding the subway design limit had never been recorded before 1991 but has happened six times since then, including Monday's rains. A study published last year showed rainstorms like the one during Ida are now between four and 52 times more likely due to the climate crisis. A separate study in 2021 found a similar result and also found that rainstorms in the north-east region are the fastest increasing in the nation. Over the past three years, Eric Adams, the New York City mayor, has allocated more than $1bn to stormwater improvements in the city. Still, that amount is far lower than what experts say is needed to update the city's ageing infrastructure for the current climate reality, not even what is expected in the future. 'We have an infrastructure that was designed for an environment we no longer live in,' Rohit Aggarwala, New York City's chief climate officer, told the New York Times. In addition to the rising impact of freshwater floods, the region also has to deal with a simultaneously increasing threat from the expanding Atlantic Ocean. The city's flood resiliency plan anticipates it will need $46bn to protect against a one-in-100-year storm. The flooding in New Jersey comes as the state is contemplating sweeping changes to expand its flood zones and require new properties to be elevated if they are built in areas likely to flood at least once in the next 100 years. Related: Are we heading for 'managed retreat'? Everything you need to know about floods Research published this month shows wintertime storms in the north-east are also getting more destructive as sea levels rise and the receding Arctic sea ice helps morph weather patterns into more exaggerated and powerful iterations. The most destructive recent example of this kind of storm was Superstorm Sandy, a hybrid nor'easter and hurricane that filled New York City's subway tunnels with saltwater and caused $19bn of damage in the city. As climate warming continues, it's likely that flooding is going to keep getting worse. Rainfall intensity in the north-east could increase by a further 52% by the end of the century, according to a recent study. The heavy rains in north-east US come as several other parts of the country, including central Texas, endure one of the most intense flood seasons in recent memory. According to statistics compiled by meteorologist Michael Lowry, the NWS has issued more flood warnings this year than in any other year since that type of warning began in 1986. On Monday alone, 96 flood warnings were issued – the most for any July day on record. Eric Holthaus is a meteorologist and climate journalist based in Minnesota
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Climate
- News.com.au
Chaos in NYC as flash flooding sends city underwater
New York City was resembling its fictional counterpart Gotham yesterday as the city experienced its second wettest hour in history. The Big Apple was overcome by 2.07 inches (52mm) between 6.51pm and 7.51pm in Central Park – bested only by the nearly three inches of rain that fell during the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in 2021. The heavy downpour wreaked havoc in the city with commuters trapped in flooded subway tunnels, roofs leaking, power outrages and major bridges closures. Footage from a train on the 1 line shows water rapidly pouring into the station and into the carriages, forcing commuters to stand on top of the seats. 'Attention passengers: I'm going to call this one in, I can't open the doors, it's not safe,' the conductor can be heard saying. Twenty stations were closed while 16 others had delays and partial closures. Meanwhile, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports were struck by significant delays, with 2,000 flights cancelled nationwide. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) chief executive Janno Lieber told local media the city's sewer system became overwhelmed by rain, which backed up into the subway tunnels and stations. 'What happened last night is something that is, you know, a reality in our system,' Mr Lieber said. 'We've been working with the city of New York to try to get them to increase the capacity of the system at these key locations.' During a morning press briefing, Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala told media that the city's sewers were designed to deal with a rainstorm of up to 1.75 inches (44.45mm) per hour. 'What happened last night is really quite simple. The pipes were designed for a certain amount of water. A lot more water fell from the sky and was trying to get into them,' he said. Mayor Eric Adams praised the 'early communication shared with New Yorkers and the quick response of teams'. 'Everyone's morning commute went smoothly earlier today, and we saw no deaths and had no major injuries reported,' Mr Adams said. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency after two women were tragically killed when their car was swept into a nearby brook in Plainfield. Authorities said their vehicle was swept into the small lake during the height of the storm and first responders were unable to save them. Just 10 minutes away, a home caught fire and exploded, moments after a family evacuated due to flood warnings. With rain still expected for the majority of the week, New Yorkers are now being told to brace for a heatwave, with temperatures sitting between 30-32 degrees celsius. The insane weather event comes just over a week after devastating floods tore through Texas, killing at least 134 people. About 100 people still remain unaccounted for as authorities issue a new flash flood watch.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Two dead in New Jersey after heavy storm sends floodwaters gushing into New York city subway station
Two people have been killed after their vehicle was swept up in floodwaters during a storm that moved across the US north-east overnight, authorities have said. The intense rainfall over New Jersey and New York caused severe flooding in the region and sent water gushing into a subway train platform, causing delays. Authorities have issued several flash flood warnings across the New York City metropolitan area. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, urged citizens to "stay alert". "We're not unique, but we're in one of these sort of high-humidity, high-temperature, high-storm-intensity patterns right now," he said. The names of the two victims were not immediately released but local officials said the vehicle they were riding in was swept into a brook during the height of the storm. "Emergency personnel responded quickly but tragically, both individuals were pronounced dead at the scene," according to a statement the city posted online. The heavy rains also caused flash floods in south-central Pennsylvania on Monday night local time into early Tuesday, prompting road and public transport closures. It was the second-highest 1-hour rainfall ever recorded in Central Park at more than 5 centimetres, surpassed only by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021, according to local officials. Janno Lieber, chair and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, told ABC 7 in New York the city's sewer system got overwhelmed by the rain and backed up into the subway tunnels and to the stations. In several cases, he said, the backup "popped a manhole", creating the dramatic "geyser" seen in some videos online. "What happened last night is something that is, you know, a reality in our system," he said on live television. "We've been working with the city of New York to try to get them to increase the capacity of the system at these key locations." City officials said their venerable sewer system worked as well as it could, but it simply was not built to handle that much rain. "Imagine putting a 2-litre bottle of water into a 1-litre bottle. Some of it's going to spill," Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala said. Mr Lieber said full service was restored to the subway, as well as commuter rails, after hundreds of people worked overnight to restore operations. Flooding has proven to be a stubborn problem for New York's subway system, despite years and billions of dollars worth of efforts to waterproof it. Reuters/AP
