Jan. 5, 2025 By Barbara Russo-Lennon Nearly 300 FDNY Emergency Medical Service workers say they’re ready to leave Midtown and Lower Manhattan, citing the financial burden congestion pricing will put on their costs of living, their union announced ahead of the toll program’s Sunday start. Like all NYC workers, members of FDNY Local 2507,…
Jan. 5, 2025 By Barbara Russo-Lennon After five years of debate, legal battles, false starts and logistical challenges, congestion pricing finally became a reality in New York at the stroke of midnight Sunday. The MTA’s first-in-the-nation tolling program now charges all motorists heading into areas of Manhattan south of 60th Street a $9 toll,…
Dec. 26, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon Two New York political leaders abruptly vetoed the MTA’s $68 billion budget to fix mass transit. Although the MTA Board approved the five-year spending plan on Sept. 25, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie sent the MTA a rejection letter on Christmas Eve,…
Dec. 24, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon NYC is enjoying a white Christmas Eve as the city’s sanitation crews work to keep streets clear and ice-free for all New Yorkers on Tuesday. The NYC Department of Sanitation issued a winter operations advisory as of 4 a.m. Dec. 24. New Yorkers can expect up to an…
Dec. 23, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon At least two high-profile subway crimes rocked the outer boroughs just days after Gov. Kathy Hochul added hundreds more National Guard members to the train system — leaving New Yorkers skeptical of their safety both above and below ground. Quick-thinking police, along with help from the media and members…
Dec. 22, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon A 78-year-old man has died days after being hit by a pickup truck driver while attempting to cross a busy Queens intersection earlier this month. According to law enforcement sources, the incident occurred when the victim, Jose Jimenez, was attempting to cross Jericho Turnpike at 91st Avenue in…
Dec. 18, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon More National Guard soldiers will be assigned to NYC subways this holiday season to “reinforce safety” on the nation’s largest subway system, Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a press conference at Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday. The transit system, which is state-run by the MTA, will add 250…
Dec. 18, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon and Lloyd Mitchell The MTA Board approved on Wednesday a budget plan for 2025 that includes public transportation fare hikes and toll increases slated to take effect next summer. The board unanimously voted to pass the plan during its monthly meeting on Dec. 18. The exact amount of…
Dec. 17, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon New Yorkers in the outer boroughs frustrated with poor bus service may soon breathe a small sigh of relief as dozens of buses will increase service next year, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday. The governor said that the MTA, the state agency that runs the public buses…
Dec. 17, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon Queens residents are in for extra rides, as the MTA announced on Tuesday a long-awaited redesign plan for local bus routes that the agency hopes will make commuting easier for borough-wide straphangers. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the borough’s 800,000 daily riders will get a more…