People who use NJ Transit, LIRR and Amtrak to get into New York City will have to deal with months-long repairs from January until May, although they shouldn’t be as impactful as the repairs last summer. Ida Siegal reports.
What to Know
- Another phase of the Infrastructure Renewal program at Penn Station will take place from Jan. 5 through May 28, 2018
- NJ Transit, LIRR and Amtrak will experience service changes through the duration of the project
- Penn Station is experiencing ongoing repairs to fix aging infrastructure
Train commuters into New York are bracing for a second round of track repairs at Penn Station that will cause the cancellation of some trains and the re-routing of others.
The schedule changes beginning Monday won't be as significant as during last year's so-called "Summer of Hell," but will last longer -- until late May.
Amtrak embarked on the accelerated repair schedule last year after two derailments and other problems highlighted the station's aging infrastructure.
The two-month summertime repair project targeted an area of the station fed by the Hudson River tunnel, where numerous tracks crisscross to feed into 21 platforms. The work was predicted to create a "summer of hell" for commuters by Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but the disruptions turned out to be not as dire as predicted.
This time, Amtrak will demolish and replace two tracks, and replace components in an area where Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road trains are shifted east to Sunnyside Yards in Queens.
Local
NJ TRANSIT
Beginning Monday, New Jersey Transit will terminate and originate one morning and one evening train at Hoboken and one in each period at Newark Penn Station. One evening outbound train will be cancelled. More at NJTransit.com.
A.M.
NJCL train 3216, the 6:11 a.m. eastbound Long Branch departure, will now depart at 6:23 a.m. and will be diverted to Hoboken renumbered as 2604
NEC train 3122, the 7:06 a.m. eastbound departure from New Brunswick will terminate at Newark Penn Station renumbered as 5822.
P.M.
NJCL train 3267, the 5:25 p.m. departure from PSNY, will originate from Hoboken at 5:22 p.m. renumbered as 2609
NEC train 3171, the 5:43 p.m. departure from PSNY, will originate at Newark Penn Station at 6:03 p.m. renumbered as 5869
NJCL train 3441, the 6:51 p.m. departure from PSNY, will be cancelled
Alternate Travel Options
NJCL customers may consider utilizing private bus carriers such as Academy Bus from locations including the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel. Visit www.academybus.com for complete details.
NJCL customers may also consider ferry service from Monmouth County including NY Waterway’s ferry from Belford www.nywaterway.com or Seastreak ferry from Highlands or Atlantic Highlands www.seastreak.com.
NEC customers may consider private bus carriers including Suburban Transit/Coach USA bus from points in Mercer and Middlesex Counties www.coachusa.com.
Customers may also utilize NJ TRANSIT bus service on the Route 9 corridor.
The state of the region’s transit infrastructure was brought front and center following a string of major incidents involving subway and commuter trains. An Amtrak train derailed at Penn Station in March, then, less than two weeks later, a NJ Transit train derailed at the station after hitting a piece of wood. In the coming months, stalled trains, failing rail signals, track problems and power outages would lead to massive delays and service issues; a report on LIRR delays found they were the worst in 10 years. Desperate straphangers tried to break out of a sweltering, powerless subway car in early June. Weeks later, dozens of people were hurt when an A train derailed in Harlem. The next day, Gov. Cuomo declared an MTA state of emergency. Two weeks later, Amtrak began a two-month-long overhaul of the tracks below Penn Station, an effort Cuomo famously predicted would be a “summer of hell” for displaced commuters. The overhaul wasn’t as bad as predicted, but led to widespread service changes for hundreds of thousands of people.
Opioid related deaths have been rapidly climbing in the tri-state and across the nation, prompting President Trump to declare a public health emergency. About 64,000 people died from overdoses in 2016 in the U.S. In New York City alone that year, 1,075 people died of overdoses from opioids. Officials blamed the surge in deaths on potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl that are much stronger than heroin alone and which drug traffickers are increasingly producing in clandestine labs. There have been a number of big synthetics busts across the tri-state in recent months, including one sting that netted enough fentanyl to kill 32 million people. The I-Team and Telemundo 47 Investiga looked at the devastating impact of the epidemic on tri-state families.
A 29-year-old Paterson man was accused of mowing people down on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center on Halloween, killing eight people and injuring a dozen others in the deadliest terrorist attack in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001. Authorities said Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov made statements after his arrest about his allegiance to the Islamic State group, which later took credit for the attack. Among those killed were five Argentinian friends, a Belgian mother, a New Jersey project manager and a New York software developer. Saipov pleaded not guilty when he was charged in a Manhattan federal court in November. He faces federal terrorism charges that could qualify him for the death penalty.
Protests against President Trump and his policies were widespread throughout the year. The first major one was in February, when thousands protested at Kennedy Airport and Battery Park after the president announced a travel ban. Dozens were arrested in protests across the Brooklyn Bridge and at Trump Tower after the administration announced it was ending the DACA program. Perhaps the largest rally was the Women’s March in January, which saw some 400,000 people turn out. Thousands also protested about: Planned Parenthood; President’s Day; LGBTQ rights; a U.S. airstrike in Syria; immigrant rights; Trump’s tax returns; climate change; Jerusalem; and the treatment of women. In one protest, bodega owners shut their stores and immigrants walked off the job for “A Day Without Immigrants.” Statues, monuments and streets honoring controversial figures like Confederate generals and Christopher Columbus were the target of a number of protests in the wake of deadly clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia. De Blasio appointed a commission to review the statues and monuments.
A 26-year-old Bronx man was accused of intentionally mowing down pedestrians on a Times Square sidewalk, killing one and injuring 22 others in a rampage on May 18. Richard Rojas allegedly made a U-turn on Seventh Avenue at 42nd Street and started speeding down the sidewalk for about three-and-a-half blocks, mowing down pedestrians before crashing into a traffic pole. After his arrest he told investigators that he was high on PCP and wanted to “kill them all,” authorities say. The crash killed an 18-year-old woman visiting from Michigan and led to calls to further restrict cars from the Crossroads of the World.
A Bangladeshi immigrant from Brooklyn was accused of detonating a pipe bomb strapped to his body in a pedestrian tunnel linking two busy subway stations near Times Square and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Prosecutors say 27-year-old Akayed Ullah was on a mission to punish the U.S. for attacking the Islamic State group and that he planned the Dec. 11 bombing for several weeks. Ullah had apparently hoped to die, taking as many innocent people as he could with him, prosecutors said. In the end, he was the only person injured. Such an attack was long-feared by New Yorkers and renewed focus was put on how to best secure the city’s vast public transit system. In October, 29-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahimi was convicted of planting two pressure-cooker bombs on New York City streets in September 2016. One of the bombs injured dozens of people when it went off on a Chelsea street. Rahimi faces life in prison.
Life in the leafy Long Island suburbs was shaken by violence by the MS-13 gang, brutal attacks that officials say have left more than 25 people dead since 2016. Many of the victims were teenaged Latinos targeted by MS-13 members hoping to increase their stature in the gang through executions. The victims’ mutilated bodies were found in forested areas and fields. Authorities said this fall that more than a dozen people were missing. The violence attracted the attention of federal authorities. Both President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions visited Long Island with promises to help law enforcement stem the violence, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a “blitz attack” on the gang. Local authorities say they’ve arrested hundreds of MS-13 members and their associates; dozens of them have been charged federal crimes or face deportation.
Matt Lauer, a morning news mainstay for more than two decades, was terminated from NBC News after a colleague reported inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace, co-anchor Savannah Guthrie announced as an episode of “Today” opened in late November. Lauer said he was "truly sorry" in a statement a day later. Lauer’s swift downfall was one of many in the latter half of the year sparked by allegations of sexual misconduct. Powerful men in news, entertainment, politics and elsewhere resigned or were disciplined as hundreds of men and women shared their stories of harassment and assault as part of a #MeToo movement. The Metropolitan Opera suspended legendary classical music conductor James Levine amid allegations. Days after Lauer was terminated, “Today” revealed Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2017 to be the “silence breakers” who came forward.
Tri-state residents stepped up to support Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island nation, leaving millions without water, power and other essentials. New York, which is home to the U.S. mainland’s biggest Puerto Rican community, committed hundreds of workers and organized aid ranging from rescue helicopters to field rations. Gov. Cuomo announced a recovery effort and said the state would send 1,000 water filters. The outreach was immense: Thousands of Puerto Ricans were airlifted to New York; hundreds of utility workers and rescuers went down to help; NYU said it would take in dozens of students; and hundreds of homeless dogs and cats were transported for adoption. Celebrities also stepped up: Jennifer Lopez pledged $1 million; the Black Eyed Peas and other musicians encouraged their fans to donate; and New Yorker Lin-Manuel Miranda became one of the most outspoken voices of the recovery effort.
An NYPD officer and 48-year-old mother of three was shot and killed by a man as she sat in a police command vehicle in the Bronx on the morning of July 5. Miosotis Familia was the first female NYPD officer to die in the line of duty since 9/11. Police say she was shot by 34-year-old Alexander Bonds, who was killed by police a short time later. NYPD Chief Robert Boyce blamed Bonds’ “hatred of police” for the death of Familia. Bonds had apparently decried the mistreatment of people by police on social media. Police said he was taken for psychiatric treatment days before the shooting. The NYPD said it planned to retrofit NYPD command vehicles and buses with ballistic glass in the wake of Familia’s death.
A 14-year EMS veteran and mother of five was killed after a man ran her over with her stolen ambulance on the evening of March 16. The suspect – 25-year-old Jose Gonzalez – had been riding on the back of 44-year-old Yadira Arroyo’s ambulance, authorities say, and when she pulled over and got out to confront him, he hopped in the driver’s seat and backed over her before crashing the ambulance moments later. Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. He was seen smirking in the courtroom and questions about his physical and mental health have been raised. Toxicology tests revealed PCP and marijuana in his system.
A doctor wielding an assault rifle stormed Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center Friday, gunning down at least seven people before taking his own life on the afternoon of June 30. Authorities say Dr. Henry Michael Bello, a 45-year-old family medicine doctor formerly employed at the hospital, was wearing a white lab coat as he shot doctors, residents and medical students on the 16th and 17th floor of the building. One doctor, Tracy Sin-Yee Tam, died. Bello was looking to kill the doctor he blamed for forcing him to resign amid sexual harassment allegations two years earlier, but Tam was there instead. Bello was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound with an AR-15 nearby. Witnesses described a horrific scene; one patient said he saw a doctor covered in blood crying, “Why? Why? Why?”
Despite a surging number of cases of Lyme disease (tens of thousands of people were diagnosed with the disease just this summer) there’s bitter disagreement in the medical community over who actually has the disease – and how to treat it. Amid warring medical opinions and funding controversy, the I-Team investigated why the medical and government response to this public health crisis is still in disarray -- as patients pay the price. People afflicted with the devastating disease spoke out about their experiences, including a woman who takes more than 70 pills a day and a teen girl overtaken by sudden, crippling anxiety.
NBC 4 New York senior correspondent Gabe Pressman, a New York icon and pioneering reporter whose local broadcast career spanned more than six decades, died on June 23 at the age of 93. Credited with being the first television reporter in New York and inventing the craft of man on the street reporting, Pressman called NBC 4 New York home for more than half a century. New Yorkers embraced Pressman over his 60-plus years on television, and the public outpouring of memories and condolences was immediate and heartfelt. Mayor de Blasio tweeted condolences, calling Pressman "a New York City treasure" who mentored "countless reporters." A prolific reporter, Pressman won many major awards throughout his career, including 11 Emmy Awards, and met some of the 20th century’s biggest names, including Elvis, Fidel Castro, Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles and Martin Luther King Jr.
Almost four decades after first-grader Etan Patz set out for school and ended up at the heart of one of America's most influential missing-child cases, a former store clerk convicted of killing him was sentenced in April to at least 25 years in prison. Pedro Hernandez’s sentencing was the culmination of a long quest to hold someone criminally accountable in the 6-year-old’s death. He was found guilty of second-degree murder in February. A key issue during deliberations was the 2012 surprise confession Hernandez made as federal agents digging up a New York City basement in search of the boy's remains thrust the case back into the national spotlight, jurors said. Hernandez was a teenager working at a convenience shop in Patz's Manhattan neighborhood when the boy vanished in 1979. Hernandez’s lawyers say he’s mentally ill and that his confession was false. They have vowed to appeal his conviction. Patz's remains have never been found.
A Bronx high schooler who told reporters he'd been picked on stabbed and killed one of his classmates and wounded another during a class on Sept. 27, police said. Abel Cedeno, 18, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and other charges in the stabbing that left Matthew McCree, 15, dead and Ariane Laboy, 16, critically injured. Authorities say Cedeno walked into a third-period history class at Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation and stabbed the two with a switchblade as other students watched in horror. In the wake of the stabbing, officials rolled out a series of initiatives to fight what they called an epidemic of bullying. It was the first homicide on New York City school grounds since 2014, when a fight between two 14-year-old boys ended with one stabbed to death in the Bronx. The last time someone was killed inside a school was at least 20 years ago.
The federal bribery trial of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez ended in a mistrial in November when the jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked on all charges against the New Jersey politician and a wealthy donor. Prosecutors haven’t said whether they plan to retry the lawmaker. The inconclusive end to the 2½-month trial could leave the charges hanging over Menendez as he gears up for an expected run for re-election next year to the Senate, where the Republicans hold a slim edge and the Democrats need every vote they can get. Menendez, 63, was accused of using his political influence to help Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in exchange for luxury vacations, rides on a private jet, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. The defense argued the gifts were not bribes but tokens of friendship between two close friends. Menendez blasted investigators for bringing the case against him in the first place and is seeking to have the charges dismissed.
A former political blogger and high school classmate of Gov. Chris Christie's who masterminded the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane-closing scheme in a misguided political vendetta was sentenced in July to three years of probation, the likely final act in a scandal that swallowed Christie's presidential hopes and contributed to his political decline. David Wildstein’s testimony helped convict former Christie staffer Bridget Kelly and Wildstein's former supervisor, ex-Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive Bill Baroni. The three were charged with closing access lanes to the bridge, among the busiest in the world, during a week in September 2013 to cause massive gridlock in Fort Lee, whose Democratic mayor had declined to endorse the Republican governor's re-election. In March, Kelly and Baroni were sentenced to 18 months and two years in prison, respectively. Christie was not charged with any wrongdoing in the federal case.
A giraffe at an Upstate zoo became a worldwide sensation after a live stream of her pregnancy went viral and earned her millions of fans. April teased her millions of global adorers for weeks, showing signs of near-but-not-quite labor and otherwise enchanting her audience with cute right-at-the-camera gazes and nuzzling with her much younger but handsome 5-year-old beau, Oliver. April's pregnancy was vaulted into global headlines in late February after YouTube briefly yanked the Animal Adventure Park’s live stream following complaints by animal activists that it violated the site's policies concerning "nudity and sexual content." Thousands upon thousands of commenters voiced their frustration on Facebook and YouTube, and the stream was restored within an hour or so. After months of waiting, April gave birth to a baby boy on April 15 in Harpursville, New York as 1.2 million people watched online. The calf was named Tajiri, Swahili for “hope.”
A giraffe at an Upstate zoo became a worldwide sensation after a live stream of her pregnancy went viral and earned her millions of fans. April teased her millions of global adorers for weeks, showing signs of near-but-not-quite labor and otherwise enchanting her audience with cute right-at-the-camera gazes and nuzzling with her much younger but handsome 5-year-old beau, Oliver. April's pregnancy was vaulted into global headlines in late February after YouTube briefly yanked the Animal Adventure Park’s live stream following complaints by animal activists that it violated the site's policies concerning "nudity and sexual content." Thousands upon thousands of commenters voiced their frustration on Facebook and YouTube, and the stream was restored within an hour or so. After months of waiting, April gave birth to a baby boy on April 15 in Harpursville, New York as 1.2 million people watched online. The calf was named Tajiri, Swahili for “hope.”
LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD
The Long Island Rail Road says it will reroute five morning and three evening trains to accommodate the work. To compensate, the LIRR will add two post-rush hour trains in the morning and three in the evening. More at MTA.info.
Babylon Branch
The LIRR will add a new train departing Freeport at 5:43 a.m. and stopping at Baldwin, Rockville Centre and Jamaica and arriving at Penn Station at 6:24 a.m.
The 6:56 a.m. train from Wantagh, which currently stops at Bellmore and Merrick before running express to Penn Station, will add a stop at Jamaica to allow for connecting service to Penn Station, then will continue to Atlantic Terminal, where it will arrive at 7:45 a.m.
The LIRR will add two cars to the 7:35 a.m. train from Babylon making all stops to Seaford then running express to Jamaica and Penn Station. This train will be lengthened to 12 cars, from the usual 10, adding more than 200 extra seats.
The 7:44 AM train from Merrick, which currently stops at Freeport and Baldwin before running express to Penn Station, will depart 3 minutes earlier at 7:41 AM and will add a stop at Jamaica to allow customers to change for connecting service to Penn Station, then will continue to Hunterspoint Avenue, where it will arrive at 8:25 a.m.
The 8:25 a.m. train from Freeport, which currently stops at Baldwin, Rockville Centre and Jamaica en route to Penn Station, will be rerouted to Atlantic Terminal, where it will arrive at 9:07 a.m. Connecting service is available at Jamaica.
The LIRR will add two cars to the 4:34 p.m. train from Penn Station, running express to Seaford then making all stops to Babylon, lengthening the train to 12 cars from the usual 10, adding more than 200 extra seats.
To provide a later departure time for customers using Hunterspoint Avenue and traveling on the Babylon, Hempstead, Long Beach and Ronkonkoma Branches, the LIRR will add a new train departing Hunterspoint Avenue at 7:02 p.m. and stopping at Rockville Centre and Baldwin en route to arriving at Freeport at 7:42 p.m. This train makes connections at Jamaica for trains bound for Babylon, Hempstead, Long Beach and Ronkonkoma.
Far Rockaway Branch
The 8:10 a.m. train from Far Rockaway, which currently makes all local stops to Valley Stream, then Jamaica, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills and Penn Station, will be rerouted to Hunterspoint Avenue, where it will arrive at 9:04 a.m. This train will not stop at Kew Gardens or Forest Hills. Connecting service is available at Jamaica.
The train that currently originates at 5:32 p.m. at Penn Station and terminates at Far Rockaway at 6:24 p.m., will instead originate at Jamaica at 5:52 p.m. Customers at Penn Station can connect with this train by boarding the 5:23 p.m. Long Beach Branch train or the 5:24 p.m. train to Freeport and changing at Jamaica.
Hempstead Branch
The 5:38 p.m. train from Penn Station, due into Hempstead at 6:36 p.m., will originate at Atlantic Terminal at 5:47 p.m. Customers from Penn Station can connect with this train by boarding the 5:33 p.m. train to Hicksville and changing at Jamaica.
The 7:05 p.m. train from Penn Station, due into Hempstead at 7:56 p.m., will originate at Atlantic Terminal at 7:10 p.m. Customers from Penn Station can connect with this train by boarding the 7:08 p.m. Babylon Branch train and changing at Jamaica.
Long Beach Branch
The 8:03 a.m. train from Long Beach, making all local stops to Lynbrook before running express to Penn Station, will add a stop at Jamaica to allow for connecting service to Penn Station, then will continue to East New York, Nostrand Avenue and Atlantic Terminal, where it will arrive at 8:54 a.m.
The LIRR will add two cars to the 8:08 a.m. train from Long Beach, making all local stops to Valley Stream, then Jamaica, Woodside, and Penn Station. The train will be lengthened to 12 cars from the usual 10, adding more than 200 seats.
Port Jefferson Branch
The 5:06 p.m. train from Penn Station, which runs express to Syosset then stops at Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington, will not operate. Customers will be able to board the 5:17 p.m. train from Penn Station, which runs express to Westbury, then stops at Hicksville, Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington.
Port Washington Branch
The LIRR will add a new afternoon train departing Penn Station at 3:40 p.m., stopping at Woodside, then making all stops to Great Neck, where it will arrive at 4:15 p.m.
The 5:50 p.m. train from Penn Station, which runs express to Bayside, then stops at Douglaston, Little Neck and Great Neck, will not operate. Customers will be able to board the 5:56 p.m. train from Penn Station, which makes all local stops to Great Neck. The 5:56 p.m. train will have four cars added, lengthening the train to 12 cars from the usual eight, adding more than 400 seats.
The LIRR will add two cars to the 7:27 p.m. train from Penn Station, due into Port Washington at 8:04 p.m., lengthening the train to 12 cars from the usual 10, adding more than 200 seats.
Ronkonkoma Branch
The LIRR will add a new early morning train departing Farmingdale at 5:05 a.m. making local stops along the Main Line, and arriving at Penn Station at 6:00 a.m.
The LIRR will add a new early afternoon train departing Penn Station at 1:49 p.m., then stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, Bethpage, and all stops to Ronkonkoma, where it will arrive at 3:07 p.m.
AMTRAK
Amtrak also is making changes including cancelling two trains between New York and Washington D.C. More at Amtrak.com.
- Amtrak is cancelling Northeast Regional Trains 110 from Washington, D.C. (WAS) to New York Penn Station (NYP) and 127 from NYP to WAS
- Northbound Keystone Train 640 will terminate at Newark Penn Station
- Southbound Keystone Train 643 will originate at Newark Penn Station
- Southbound Train 173 will stop at Newark Airport
- Southbound Trains 129, 193 and 653 will all have earlier departure times.
- Train 170 will also depart WAS early, stop at North Philadelphia and Cornwells Heights and resume its schedule from Trenton
