Latest news with #NYCTransit
CBS News
01-07-2025
- CBS News
Brooklyn MTA station agent says 2 female fare evaders beat her up
A Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker says she was assaulted on the job in Brooklyn over the weekend while trying to help an elderly man who was having trouble in transit. The woman said she fears for her health and safety, especially with the suspects still on the run. "They're fare beaters. They wanted a ride" Marshalee Reid said the attack left her badly bruised and bleeding, "I was attacked by two girls while I was on the job. They jumped me. They assaulted me," Reid said. "They're fare beaters. They wanted a ride." Reid, a 51-year-old station agent, was working at the New Lots Avenue station in East New York on Saturday afternoon, when she says she was assisting an elderly man with an oxygen tank through a door. She says as she was helping him, a woman jumped the turnstile, and then another woman asked to go through the door, to which Reid responded that she had to pay the fare. "Just because I said that, that's all, they started to fight me," Reid said. "The girl was punching me in the face with keys that she had. She also had a pocket knife." NYC Transit boss calls attack "outrageous" Police are looking for two suspects. Union leaders say the two had a child with them at the time of the assault. In a statement, NYC Transit President Crichlow called the attack "outrageous." "[It's] another example of how fare evaders are often the perpetrators of assaults," Crichlow said, adding, "When the NYPD catches the suspects, which they will, we will be at the courthouse to insist that maximum justice is delivered for our colleague." "I want you to catch these girls," Reid said. "There's consequences for their crimes." Until then, Reid says she fears taking the train, or returning to work. And after just having brain surgery last year, she's focusing on her recovery, both physically and emotionally. TWU implores NYC to put more police underground The Transport Workers Union sounded off about safety in the subway system. "At the time of this assault, there was no police anywhere to be found -- mezzanine, platform, nowhere in sight," TWU Local 100 Vice President of Stations Robert Kelley said. "We have station agents, train operators, conductors, cleaners, every day getting assaulted either verbally or physically. I call on the mayor again to surge the police into these areas," TWU Local 100 President John Chiarello said. "We feel as many police officers as possible, we want in the system. That's why were bringing on 4,000 new officers, increasing the numbers," Mayor Eric Adams said. Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on X, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MTA board looks at fare and toll enforcement and service
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Jumping the turnstile or covering a license plate will get commuters in trouble. The MTA has been increasing fare and toll enforcement. More Local News At the monthly board meeting on Wednesday, officials discussed a number of major topics. The MTA reports that fare evasion in transit is down 30 percent. Fake plates and covered licenses are also a problem. The MTA has estimated losses of around $700 million a year. Enforcement actions at the bridges and tunnels happen weekly. During a Joint Task Force Update, recent numbers show more than 1,000 drivers have been arrested, 47,000 summonses have been written, and more than 4,500 vehicles were towed during a year of enforcement. Security personnel have been assigned to some stations, and the MTA says fare evasion has dropped at those locations. Money from fares and tolls goes to the operational expenses of the MTA. Service and ridership were also discussed. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow gave a presentation with the headline 'best subway performance in a generation. ' More work is on the way. The MTA Board officially approved the capital plan. It's for a span of 5 years and amounts to $68 billion. Projects include new trains and buses, station and track work, and elevators. The focus is on the state of good repair and maintenance projects. Paying for the plan is always a discussion point. The state raised the payroll mobility tax on businesses that make more than $10 million a year. Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature also included significant funding in the budget. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Report: Trump taps Andy Byford, ‘Train Daddy,' to head Penn Station rebuild
Former NYC Transit head Andy Byford has been chosen by President Trump to head up the effort to rebuild Penn Station, according to the White House. Trump's apparent selection of Byford — a respected authority on railroad and transit operations who has run systems in Toronto, New York, London and Sydney — comes one month after the federal government pulled the stalled project away from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The news was first reported Friday by the West Side Spirit. Byford's leadership could signal an unexpected commitment to the project on the part of the mercurial Trump administration, and signal a departure from prior elements of Amtrak's plan — such as possibly abandoning the demolition of a city block south of the station in order to build more tracks for NJ Transit. Byford — whose short two-year stint at the head of NYC Transit endeared him to transit workers and riders alike, earning him the nickname 'Train Daddy' — has been working at Amtrak on high-speed rail since 2023. That same year, as previously reported by The News, Byford opined — albeit in a personal capacity — on several of the more controversial elements of the Penn Station plan at a public talk about the station. '[I]t would break my heart to see beautiful buildings torn down on Eighth and Seventh Aves. when they don't need to be,' he said at the time. Byford also indicated his support for so-called 'through-running,' an arrangement that would see trains continue on to other destinations beyond Penn Station before turning around or reversing — an arrangement that would reduce the time trains sit stationary at Penn and could allow for more frequent service. Despite the fact that many NJ Transit trains do, in fact, travel on to a yard in Queens after making their last stop at Penn, Amtrak has historically argued that through-running is not possible, citing incompatibilities among the equipment used by the three railroads — Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit — that use the station. It was unclear on Friday whether Byford would have the authority to change Amtrak's existing plans, like the proposed demolition of Block 780 — the city block between W. 31st and W. 30th Sts., bounded by Seventh and Eighth Aves. — in order to create more platform space for NJ Transit commuter trains. The news of Byford's involvement was welcomed by close watchers of Penn's redevelopment. Layla Law-Gisiko — who heads the City Club of New York, a preservation group that opposes the plan to demolish the blocks around Penn — described Byford as an 'obvious' choice. 'I am overjoyed,' she told The News. 'He knows rail. He knows infrastructure. He knows community engagement in New York. He has the highest level of integrity. This guy has no ego.' Samuel Turvey of the advocacy group ReThinkNYC, who also opposes the state plan, described Byford's selection as 'a really great choice for everyone in the New York region.' 'Andy Byford has had great success on three continents, including his time in New York, and will bring integrity, competence and advanced leadership skills to the multi-decade conundrum at Penn Station,' he said. 'He will not, however, be able to do this on his own. He will need all of us to help him succeed.'
New York Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
NYC's ‘Train Daddy' Andy Byford is coming back to take over long-troubled Penn Station overhaul
New York's 'Train Daddy' is coming home. Former NYC Transit President Andy Byford — who infamously resigned after clashing with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — has been brought on by the White House to take over the long-delayed revamp of Penn Station. Byford, now an executive at Amtrak, will oversee one of the most prominent transit projects in the country, White House officials confirmed Friday. Advertisement Andy Byford is back to takeover the ailing project. AFP via Getty Images The move, first reported by Gothamist, puts the British transit official on a collision course with MTA Chair Janno Lieber, who had the project torn away from his agency by US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The Trump administration instead gave the massive job to Amtrak, where Byford has worked since 2023. Advertisement Trump announced his administration would be taking over the project — to the chagrin of Kathy Hochul. Getty Images The beloved transportation exec, who has also led the Sydney, Toronto and London systems, was run out of New York in 2020 by Cuomo. Byford said at the time that Cuomo — who is now running for New York City mayor — undermined him to the point that his job became 'intolerable.'
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NYC Transit tackles signal system challenges with training and upgrades
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The signal system keeps the subways running, but it's old and complicated, contributing to many delays. The light you see from the platform is part of the signal system that keeps the trains properly spaced on the tracks and prevents crashes. More Local News Inside NYC Transit Signal School, crews are trained on the system. It's located underground in a station complex under 14th Street in Manhattan. Signal crews are in training for about five months in the classroom and in the field. Signal maintainers learn how the mechanism works, how it operates, and what can go wrong. Most of the signal technology is about a century old, and some of the parts are 60 to 70 years old. NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow started with the MTA 28 years ago as a signal man. He celebrated his anniversary with a visit to the training center on Wednesday. He spoke with class members and discussed the challenges of the system. 'It's never just the bulb in the field. It's a complicated system of old relays and track wires that tie into them. They don't know what's causing a failure. We have different crafts to identify the problem and get the right tools there,' he said. NYC Transit stages response teams in busy areas or places with complex operations. In 2009, signal technology was introduced along the L line. Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) is also installed currently along the 7 line. The upgrades allow more trains to run. Maintainers and signal crews are trained in the old and new systems. Projects to install the new signals along the Culver Line in Brooklyn and along the Queens Boulevard line have been funded. More than $5 billion of the next $68 billion capital improvement plan would be spent on new, upgraded signal technology. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
