LIRR strike forces NYC employees into ‘nightmare’ journey that provides hours to commute

The Long Island Rail Road strike compelled some commuters to waste two additional hours on the highway as they scrambled to catch shuttle buses whereas motorists who drove into the town struggled to seek out parking Monday morning.

Nassau and Suffolk county residents who sometimes depend on the LIRR to get into work described their journey into the Big Apple as a “nightmare” and “hell” as they had been diminished to pawns within the heated bickering between the MTA and the picketing unions.

“Everyone’s miserable, but the people really getting screwed are the ones who physically have to show up somewhere,” Wantagh native Kevin Haller, 38, informed The Post as he boarded a bus on the Bellmore station.

Diane Carlucci, 54, was compelled to go away her home at 5:30 a.m. to catch a shuttle bus from the identical station and it took her practically three hours to succeed in her job the place she works as a billing coordinator at a physician’s workplace.

Usually, she would enter Penn Station in lower than an hour as she blasted the unions for the prepare shutdown that began Saturday morning.

“So it’s really terrible, and I’m getting palpitations thinking about doing this every day while those stubborn a–holes – who already get paid way above national average and get out-of-control overtime – stop the system and make life hell for hundreds of thousands of people,” the Bellmore resident fumed.

The MTA-provided buses picked up employees from six places throughout Long Island, then dropped them off at completely different subway stations in Queens, leaving employees to take subways the remainder of the way in which as prepare employees picketed outdoors Penn Station and different spots within the area.

Paralegal Marisol Vega, 39, stated her commute, which concerned a bus, a subway after which one other bus added nearly two hours to her journey.

“I’m already exhausted before I even start work,” the Seaford resident stated.

Ricky Persaud, who took a bus from Ronkonkoma to Queens referred to as the association “mayhem,” whereas Andrea, who didn’t need to share her final title, described her commute from the identical station as a “nightmare.”

“I now have to spend 30 hours per week just commuting, on top of working my regular 40 hours per week,” added Matt, who’s a building undertaking supervisor.

“Go to work, do the work, go home, go to sleep, repeat — nonstop,” he griped as he estimated he’ll spend 10 additional hours on the highway this week if the strike drags on.  

The coalition of 5 labor teams and the MTA continued to be at odds largely over how a lot of a pay increase union employees ought to obtain over the subsequent a number of years.

The MTA’s chief negotiator Gary Dellaverson stated at a press convention Monday he was “pretty optimistic” about reaching a deal predawn Monday morning, however progress appeared to stall.

“Look, it is 2 o’clock,” he stated Monday afternoon. “That didn’t happen.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul bizarrely claimed the morning commute “went smoother than expected” as she thanked workplace employees who labored from house as a substitute of venturing into the town.

“Our goal is get this over as soon as possible,” she stated. “We know people are inconvenienced.”

While the MTA supplied buses that would decide up about 13,000 passengers for the AM and PM rush hours, the company informed the New York Times fewer than 2,200 riders have taken benefit of the service.

Other employees who didn’t take the bus ended up driving, resulting in extra frustration and confusion.

Drivers had been suggested by officers to park at Citi Field in Queens after which catch a 7 subway prepare into different elements of the town – however had been really directed to drop their automobiles off at heaps throughout the road, that are MTA prepare yard and bus yard heaps.

“There’s no signage. No signage, really. I came from Long Island. I saw it on the news this morning,” stated Northport resident Steve Betzios.

“You could get to Citi Field and park here all day for 6 bucks and take the 7 train in and you can get to Manhattan. I come down here and I’ve been going around the block trying to find where the parking is.”

Motorists had been additionally caught ready to get into Midtown garages, together with Icon Parking close to Penn Station the place a line of automobiles led to gridlock on the road.

“This is my normal parking garage — I’ve been parking here for over 10 years — I’ve never seen it this bad before,” stated Ronnette, who lives within the space.

A Connecticut resident who drives in stated he needed to swing by three heaps earlier than lastly getting a spot.

“I have never seen it like this,” he added. 

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s workplace warned final week earlier than the strike started that the area would lose about $61 million every day if the prepare employees walked off the job.

“A LIRR strike will be felt far beyond the tracks, triggering the loss of millions of dollars per day in lost economic activity, disrupting thousands of riders and throwing the region’s transit service into chaos and gridlock,” DiNapoli in an announcement.