NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT RIDERS COUNCIL
MINUTES OF June 22, 2017
A meeting of the New York City Transit Riders Council (NYCTRC) was convened at 12:00 noon on June 22, 2017 in the 20th Floor Board Room, New York City.
The following members were present:
Andrew Albert Edith Prentiss
Stuart Goldstein Burton M. Strauss, Jr.
Christopher Greif Sharon King Hoge
The following members were absent:
William K. Guild Trudy L. Mason
Marisol Halpern Scott R. Nicholls
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson PCAC Executive Director
Angela Bellisio PCAC Planning Manager
Bradley Brashears PCAC Transportation Planner
Karyl Cafiero PCAC Research Associate
William Stanford Jr. Concerned citizen
Matt Shotkin Concerned citizen
Ken Stewart Concerned citizen
Deborah Hall-Moore NYC Transit
Victoria Kam 34th Street Partnership
| Time Point | |
| Video Part 1 | |
| 00:10 | Approval of Agenda
The agenda for the June 22, 2017 meeting was approved. |
| 01:05 | Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the May 25, 2017 meeting were approved. And the April 27, 2017 minutes as well. |
| 01:10 | Chair’s Report (The Chair’s Report is attached to minutes.) |
| 13:44 | Board Report |
| A. Albert: The return of Joe Lhota to serve as MTA Board Chairman. | |
| 14:07 | Announcement by Governor Cuomo seeking two additional seats on the MTA Board – this proposal received a generally negative response and was not voted on in this legislative session. |
| 14:50 | Due to Penn Station repairs, LIRR city stations (Long Island City, Hunters Point Ave, and Atlantic Terminal) will be designated zone 2 instead of zone 1. |
| 15:42 | Clark Street tube work. New South Ferry Terminal to open at the end of June 2017. |
| 16:24 | Cedric Fulton named new President of Bridges & Tunnels. |
| 16:43 | New MTA Board members: Randolph Glucksman, Scott Rechler, and Carl Weisbrod. |
| 18:43 | Discussion of long board meeting due to Access-A-Ride. Changes to the program: undercover riders, service apps. |
| 21:44 | K. Cafiero: Drivers go out of the way to pick someone up that it makes the service horrible. |
| 26:17 | A. Albert: Additional people at Hunters Point Ave and CBTC installment on the 7 line, how will you fit extra 7 trains? Turning trains around at Queensboro Plaza…How will they be able to do this? They have to be turned somewhere. |
| 29:20 | Freedom Ticket has great support among MTA Board members (i.e. Mitch Pally, Ira Greenberg, and Polly Trottenberg). We have to wait and see about its implementation due to Penn Station repairs. |
| 30:24 | Old Business |
| 30:50 | C. Greif: Any updates on the bus complaints? |
| 31:12 | A. Albert: We have not heard anything back yet. |
| 39:45 | K. Stewart: Bus operators are not making bus stop announcements. |
| 41:05 | E. Prentiss: Buses are not pulling all the way into the curb. Won’t pull in if can’t pull parallel. NYPD enforcement is needed. |
| 47:33 | E. Prentiss: Train arrival information in not correct at Lex-59th. No M3 for 30 nearly thirty minutes, nothing before 9:03 AM. M3 is being short-turned at 168th Street.
Action Item: Will report this incident (No buses for 30 minutes M3) |
| 51:30 | New Business |
| 55:20 | Election of NYCTRC officers. |
| 55:44 | E. Prentiss: Asks about Marisol Halper’s attendance record Requests that the bylaws be changed to address attendance for officers and board members. |
| 57:50 | B. Strauss: Include a clause for emergency/medical reasons. Review other organizations’ rules for attendance. |
| 59:30 | C. Greif: Seconds E. Prentiss motion to revisit attendance rules.
Action Item: Draft summary of attendance records and guidelines. This to be completed and discussed at the next NYCTRC meeting. |
| 1:01:18 | C. Greif: Nominates himself to the Executive Committee and S. King-Hoge seconds his nomination. |
| 1:02:40 | Introduction of Jay Krantz, NYCT Director – Rail Network Planning, Service and Ridership Impacts of Second Avenue Subway Phase I. |
| 1:04:50 | Opening ridership was 125,000 and has since climbed to 176,000 weekday riders. |
| 1:07:20 | Twenty-six percent reduction of riders at Lexington Avenue stations. Forty percent reduction during peak periods. |
| 1:07:35 | Passenger loading on 4, 5, 6 lines now within loading guidelines. |
| 1:09:08 | E. Prentiss: The stations are accessible, so many who require accessible stations have been using these new stations. |
| 1:11:05 | Dwell times have been reduced, as well as running times on the 6 line. |
| 1:15:10 | B. Strauss: How many trains are running? |
| 1:15:24 | J. Krantz: Nineteen trains per hour. |
| 1:15:40 | S. King-Hoge: States that N,W service to Queens has changed, and wondered if the Q has effected any of these changes? Many Ws are not in service at Lex-59th Street during the morning peak. |
| 1:16:00 | J. Krantz: They schedule just as many Ws as they did Qs going to Astoria. |
| 1:18:18 | E. Prentiss: What are the headways on the Q? |
| 1:18:28 | J. Krantz: Eight minutes. |
| 1:20:20 | C. Greif: They are starting W trains at Canal Street. The not-in-service trains are resulting in people being late to work. It is also confusing that Ns are running as Qs. |
| 1:23:04 | J. Krantz: Becomes difficult due to car equipment changes. Decision was made to have the train identified as its destination (Q). |
| 1:28:18 | A. Albert: At 125th Street will there be three tracks or two? Would it be able to continue up to the Bronx? |
| 1:29:02 | J. Krantz: They are considering this option. Depends on operational issues, etc… |
| 1:30:15 | E. Prentiss: What avenue will the subway go down at 125th? |
| 1:30:22 | J. Krantz: It will continue down 2nd Avenue and then left just before 125th Street. Future stations will be at 106th, 116th, and 126th Streets. |
| 1:31:42 | Mr. X: 2nd Avenue should have four tracks. |
| New Business contd… | |
| 1:33:50 | W. Henderson: NYCTRC officer voting – tie between Marisol Halpern and Christopher Greif for Executive Committee. All other incumbents reelected to their position. Will revote for the remaining Executive Committee position at next meeting. |
| 1:35:30 | E. Prentiss: Signage at Dyckman Street near the elevator saying “no downtown 1 trains” use A on Broadway. Signage is directing passengers from an accessible station to a non-accessible station. Big ADA violation. They need to be running a shuttle. |
| 1:41:28 | Adjournment |
Meeting Video: Video 1 of 1
Action Items:
- Will report M3 bus incident (No buses for 30 minutes M3).
- Draft summary of attendance records and guidelines. This to be completed and discussed at the next NYCTRC meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:51 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director