Queens Commuters Face Second Day Of Transit Disruptions
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It was another tough morning for Queens commuters Thursday, a day after the big storm. NY1’s Roger Clark filed the following story.
Before the sun came up, straphangers who tried to get an early start at the Van Wyck station in Briarwood were instead getting a second helping of transit troubles.
"There's no service down there for the F. They say there should be shuttle buses but there are no buses out here,” said one commuter.
Service disruptions caused by Wednesday's heavy rain spilled into Thursday for riders on the Queens Boulevard portion of the F line. There was no Manhattan-bound service until 6:30 between 179th Street in Jamaica and Continental Avenue in Forest Hills, forcing riders to grab a bus or livery car to get them to their train.
"Frustrating, very frustrating is what it is,” said one commuter facing all the disruptions.
Once service was back, New York City Transit was still warning there would be delays on the F, E and R lines in Queens.
Riders say this was nothing new for this section of the subway system that it is prone to flooding problems.
"It always happens on the E and F lines when it rains, so it's not really a big deal, so I am kind of used to it,” said one commuter.
"This Queens Boulevard line has some serious problems, every time," added another.
Problems that commuters we talked with would like to see addressed.
"I think that given the fact we live in the largest city in this country, given the taxes that we pay, we deserve a lot better than just, we'll get to work two hours late as opposed to three hours late,” said a commuter. “I can’t understand why, because it rains, it shuts the whole subway system down, it shuts the whole transit system down. It's ridiculous."
With rain in the forecast Thursday night and into Friday morning, commuters who spoke with NY1 said they were expecting the worst. One commuter said if the rain comes, he’ll work from home, but that’s not an option for many. Most have no choice but to face another tough commute to work Friday morning.
— Roger Clark