Bad news for night owls -- round-the-clock subway service could be on the chopping block.
The possibility will continue to gain momentum as long as Albany can't get the MTA budget moving in the right direction.
"There are historic reasons why we don't want to cancel overnight subways in New York City, but right now we're not able to rule anything out," MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said.
A nearly $2 billion deficit is possible by next year, and once-draconian measures like fare hikes now seem almost benign as straphangers consider a city without overnight subways.
"This is the start of a serious shrinkage of the transit system," Straphangers Campaign spokesman Gene Russianoff told amNY.com.
Added Upper West Side resident Noam Tidhar: "I'm pissed."
As if next month's fare hikes, service cuts and layoffs won't be bad enough, the MTA is considering a second round of each by the end of the year. It also voted Wednesday to switch the coming budget cycle from a 12-month to an 18-month plan amid fears that the situation has gone "beyond doomsday," Sander said.
MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger said there's no sense of urgency coming from Albany, giving the agency the feeling it will have to dig itself out on its own. But without releasing specifics, Gov. David Paterson said Wednesday he has a compromise that may have enough votes to pass the Legislature.
Parts of the so-called "doomsday budget" already are starting to become a reality. Hundreds of bus and subway employees got layoff notices on Tuesday and hundreds more pink slips are expected in the coming weeks.
The fare hikes -- raising base subway fares from $2 to $2.50 -- are scheduled to take effect next month.
Tim Minton and Glenn Zimmerman contributed to this report.
