Posted on 12/10/2002 10:20:57 AM PST by jjm2111
Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a transit doomsday plan yesterday that relies on drastic car-pooling rules and New Yorkers' toughness to keep the city moving during a subway and bus strike. "We have to prepare for the worst," Bloomberg said.
But he vowed the city will continue to function even if transit workers walk out next week.
"New Yorkers are going to band together," Bloomberg said. "If there is a strike, New York City is not shutting down."
He said he would urge people to walk and ride bicycles to work.
The mayor, who takes the subway from his upper East Side home to City Hall, said he planned to buy a new bike and pedal to his office.
At the same, City Hall was pushing hard on the legal front to prevent a transit strike - which is illegal under the state's Taylor Law. Bloomberg vowed to pursue every legal remedy, saying: "You can't let a group of irresponsible people bring the city to its knees."
Car pool, or else
If there is a strike, traffic restrictions will be even more onerous than after the World Trade Center attacks.
For starters, cars carrying fewer than four people could not enter or leave Manhattan over any bridge or through any tunnel on weekdays, 24 hours a day. The minimum on weekends would be two people per car.
The same ban would apply to stretches of several major highways, such as the Long Island Expressway, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Harlem River Drive and Henry Hudson Parkway.
Some major midtown streets would be closed to traffic. Only emergency vehicles, taxis and buses could drive on sections of Fifth and Madison Aves., as well as on several key cross streets.
Bloomberg said the city would establish staging areas near bridges and tunnels where drivers could pick up riders.
"I know nobody likes to ride in crowded cars," he said. "I know nobody likes to ride with strangers. But make no mistake about it: This is an emergency."
The mayor tried to reassure New Yorkers who might recoil from the idea of hitchhiking, saying he believes passengers traveling on crowded bridges will be safe.
"I can't guarantee it," he admitted. "These are New Yorkers."
City schools will start two hours later if there's a walkout.
Transit workers voted last week to authorize a strike if they don't have a deal by the time their contract expires Sunday night.
No strike date has been set. The Transport Workers Union Local 100 has indicated in court papers that it will negotiate through Sunday and update its members Monday.
Bloomberg said a strike would be dangerous, expensive and crippling to the city's shaky economy. "The gridlock and clogged streets caused by a transit strike could well double response time for ambulances and fire trucks, and that could literally prove to be a matter of life and death," he said.
Union officials urged Bloomberg to press for pay raises instead of pointing fingers. "The mayor should come to the bargaining table himself, and not throw fuel on the fire," said Ed Watt, the union's secretary/treasurer.
Raising a stink
Bus and subway workers want a 24% pay hike over three years. Transit officials say there's no money - and want any pay hikes linked to productivity.
Transit Authority President Larry Reuter expressed optimism. "I'm not worried about a transit strike," he said. "This is the way it works. We've been through this before."
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| Riders might long for these cramped quarters if the MTA strikes. |
Here's my plan: Lock up the union officers; sue the union.
Billions of taxpayer dollars flowed to NY and the thank you is gimme gimme gimme and to hell with everyone else.
Bloomberg screws the outer borough people yet again. Limousine liberals will be able to tool around Manhattan solo all they want, but the rest of us will have to pick up strangers in order to make it to work.
I sort of like this idea.
That low down capitalist pig.
Sarcasm button off
Imagine that, they want 8% per year and give the same service levels.
If the strike is illegal, put the guy in jail with some big ole' lover boys.
New York will be moving again in a week
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