New York subways return to XNUMX/XNUMX operation: when will it happen

The metro returns to the city that never sleeps and never stops. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the 17-hour subway will return to New York City on May XNUMX. Writes about it NY Daily News.

The restoration began just over a year after the governor ordered the metro to close overnight to clean up COVID-19 and drive homeless people out of stations.

The subway opening also coincides with the end of Cuomo's pandemic curfew for bars and restaurants.

“MTA will resume its 17/XNUMX service on May XNUMX to coordinate with the growth of economic and social activity,” Cuomo said. - We have made significant progress over this period of time. Metro trains have never been cleaner than they are now. "

The change is due to an increase in vaccinations and a sharp drop in COVID-19 cases, prompting the governor to also announce the lifting of bandwidth restrictions for most businesses from May 19.

Restaurants, museums, theaters, retail stores and other businesses will be able to resume operations at full capacity, as well as in neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut.

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“This is a phased discovery. But now we are at a stage where we are going to take an important step forward in the resumption of work and this is coordinated at the regional level, ”Cuomo said.

Just last week, Cuomo announced that from May 7, city restaurants will be able to accept 75% of the capacity.

The current midnight curfew for outdoor dining will be lifted in bars and restaurants on May 17, and the closing time may be extended to 04:00 at the end of the month.

The night metro closure began on May 6 last year and lasted from 01:00 to 05:00. MTA officials in February changed the closing hours from 02:00 to 04:00.

Cuomo and transit specialists have faced intense pressure from politicians and supporters in recent weeks to reopen the round-the-clock metro. Senator Chuck Schumer said the 1-hour service should be restored as soon as possible. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has called on the MTA to return XNUMX/XNUMX work by July XNUMX.

For the past year, the department has been operating on a regular subway schedule until the start of the pandemic, but only police and transport workers have been allowed to board trains while stations are closed to passengers. MTA metro crews said it would be relatively easy to resume operations at night, noting that the biggest change would be the ability to board passengers again between 02:00 and 04:00.

A more serious obstacle to reopening is the labor shortage at MTA. Since the start of the pandemic, the agency has quietly cut more than 4000 jobs, leaving too few crews left to fully meet the bus and metro schedules.

In recent months, metro passenger numbers have begun to rise slowly as COVID-19 vaccinations have increased.

Passenger traffic on weekdays is still about 65% lower than before the pandemic, with over 2 million entries last week, up from over 5,5 million in 2019.

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An MTA poll found that 36% of passengers who used the metro before the pandemic said they "do not use public transport because of crime and harassment."

NYC Transit interim president Sarah Feinberg has called repeatedly since last year for more police on the subway to crack down on criminals so people feel safer. Both Mayor de Blasio and NYPD officials in recent weeks have said there are already enough police officers on the subway, and have accused Feinberg and other MTA leaders of fueling fear.

Local 100 transport workers' union officials, which represent about half of MTA employees, have also raised concerns about crime - and said the city must do more to protect public transport workers from emotionally disturbed passengers, many of whom are homeless.

“Restoring the 100-hour subway is a great idea, but the city needs to add more mental health services, homeless assistance and uniformed police to the system,” said Local XNUMX president Tony Utano. “Too many transit workers and passengers are being harassed and attacked with the current opening hours.”

Cuomo said NYPD should connect homeless subway passengers to social services - a task the department abandoned last year due to budget cuts. Throughout the pandemic, city homeless officials have been addressing homeless passengers on the subway.

“We cannot turn the subway back into a mobile system for the homeless,” Cuomo said.