The MTA deviated from its official strategy when it shut down the transit system to the public during the snowstorm that hit New York City early in the week, NBC 4 New York has learned.
Under the so-called PLAN 5, "subway service shall be thinned out to accommodate the possibility of strategic closures of outdoor line segments." The original plan was to use heavy-duty snow throwers to keep tracks clear and get outdoor lines back in service quickly.
But the MTA closed the entire subway and bus system at 11 p.m. Monday, a somewhat last-minute decision announced during a news conference by Gov. Cuomo that afternoon. It was the first time in the subway's history that the entire system was closed for snow.
"There was very little warning given to the public," said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, a subway watchdog group.
Even the mayor said he was caught by surprise. "We found out just as it was being announced," de Blasio said Tuesday.
Some people learned too late on Monday that getting home from work would be impossible. John McGarry had just finished his construction shift at midnight, and all three of his normal subway lines had stopped.
"In the morning, I had to wait until 9:00," he said.
"It felt like we were deserted," commuter John James said. "It felt like Sandy."
Local
"It should have kept running," he added. "Real slow, local, stop at every stop. Everybody had to travel and get around, you know?"
Russianoff has the same questions. He wants to know why the MTA didn't consider keeping service on underground lines like the C, E, R and shuttle trains, where snow isn't a factor.
The MTA said it's all part of an internal review, and that it will learn from this storm just like it did in 2010, when hundreds of buses and a few elevated A trains were stranded.
"If there's possibility of safety for everybody, it would be great if the subway's running," said commuter Mao Horsley.
The union president representing transit workers is calling on the MTA to develop a plan that could keep at least the underground portions of the subway system running in a severe snowstorm.
Transit union president John Samuelsen told the Wall Street Journal that train operators and other transit employees don't believe a blizzard necessitates the full shutdown of the system, and he plans to raise the issue with the MTA's chairman this week.
But Samuelsen says he understands MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast's concern for recommending the shutdown of the system in light of this week's forecast of 2 to 3 feet of snow. In the end, everyone agreed it was better to be overprepared.
"People are trying to make decisions in real time, with constantly changing information," de Blasio told the "Today" show. "You do the best you can. Where we all agreed was safety first.”
