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☆ 4 Children From Gaza Arrive in U.S. for Medical Treatment
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The four children had survived horrors in Gaza. But on Sunday morning, they reached the end of an arduous journey out of the conflict zone and into American hospitals to receive urgent medical care. They flew from Cairo to Kennedy Airport, where they were greeted with much fanfare by a crowd of about 50 people carrying plush toys, flowers and bobbing balloons. Among the children was Fadi Alzant, 6, a gaunt boy with pale skin and strawberry blond hair who appeared dazed as the crowd rushed around his wheelchair. An airport employee grew agitated and shouted at people to disperse and to put away their cameras.

Persons: Fadi Alzant, gaunt Organizations: Kennedy Airport, Palestine Children’s Relief, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza, Cairo

☆ Congestion Pricing Will Start on June 30 in New York City, M.T.A. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first congestion pricing program in the United States will begin in New York City on June 30, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Friday, signaling the possible end of a bitter fight over a plan that promises to ease some of the worst traffic in the nation. With months still to go before the program’s scheduled rollout, legal and political clashes still threaten to dilute or stop it altogether. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, influential unions and some elected New York City officials — have ratcheted up a long-running effort to keep congestion pricing from taking effect. Under the program, most passenger cars will be charged $15 a day to enter a congestion zone below 60th Street in Manhattan. Taxi fares would increase by $1.25, and Uber and Lyft fares would rise by $2.50.

Persons: Philip D, Murphy, Uber Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Gov, New York, Trucks Locations: United States, New York City, Murphy of New Jersey, Manhattan

☆ New York Will Test Gun-Detecting Technology in Subway System, Mayor Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Hurubie Meko | Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced that New York City planned to test technology to detect guns in its subway system as officials seek to make transit riders feel safe after a deadly shoving attack earlier in the week. The technology pilot, which would not begin for several months, would roll out in a few stations, Mr. Adams said at a news conference, and could help provide a sense of security among transit riders, who have been unnerved recently by several high-profile acts of violence. The new technology will be introduced in partnership with Evolv Technology, a Massachusetts start-up, Mr. Adams said. The city has no contract with Evolv, and the announcement was meant to be an open call to any firm with similar products, a city spokeswoman said, clarifying the mayor’s earlier comments.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams Organizations: New, Evolv Technology, Evolv Locations: New York City, Massachusetts

☆ What Would Make the Subway Feel Safer? Experts Have 5 Suggestions.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A string of frightening attacks in the subway amid a broader increase in crime in the system so far this year has put some New Yorkers on edge. Kathy Hochul deployed National Guard members and State Police troopers to the transit system this month, she said her goal was twofold: to fight crime and to make riders feel safe. The subway is crucial to New York’s vitality, and passengers’ needs are a top priority for her and other public officials as they navigate the city’s post-pandemic recovery. But just days after the reinforcements arrived, a shooting on an A train in Brooklyn underscored how fragile any sense of security can be and undermined officials’ message, supported by data, that the subway is safe. Leaders in the fields of transportation, criminal justice and social services often disagree about the best way to make the subway safer, with some calling for more police and others suggesting a softer approach.

Persons: Kathy Hochul Organizations: National Guard, State Police Locations: Brooklyn

New York City Transit workers, responding to an overnight slashing attack that injured a train conductor, stopped work to file safety complaints on Thursday morning, causing severe disruptions in subway service. During the morning rush hours, workers staged the job action at the 207th Street station on the A line and the 168th Street station on the A and C lines in Manhattan. The workers declined to fulfill their assigned jobs, leading to the disruptions, according to two transit officials with knowledge of the situation. At a news conference Thursday afternoon, union leaders said that transit workers and union representatives had submitted safety forms following the attack in the morning — a procedure allowed by their contract — and that trains had experienced delays as a result. A major concern was the lack of police presence in the subway station following the Brooklyn attack, they said.

Organizations: York City Transit, 207th, 168th, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: York, Brooklyn, Manhattan

In the aftermath of that storm, safety experts offered advice on how people can stay safe if they are stuck in their vehicles. First, do not leave your car, experts said. If you run out of water, drink melted snow, Dr. Mitchell said. Drive slowly to avoid skidding, and note that it takes longer to decelerate in icy road conditions, according to AAA. Drivers should inspect tires monthly and before long trips, according to guidance issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Persons: Ken Zafren, ”, Gordon Giesbrecht, Steve Mitchell, Grant Lipman, Mitchell, Lipman Organizations: Woodrow, Stanford University, Alaska Native Medical Center, University of Manitoba, Credit, . Virginia Department of Transportation, Associated Press, American Kennel Club, National Weather Service, AAA, National, Traffic Safety Administration Locations: Alexandria, Va, Virginia, Alaska, Anchorage , Alaska, Seattle, Fredericksburg

☆ New Subway Fare Gates and Platform Barriers Fail to Impress New Yorkers
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Transit officials have struggled for years with two of the subway system’s most vexing problems: the dozens of people struck by trains every year and the millions of dollars lost to fare beaters. In the latest efforts to find solutions, they are testing new fare gates to stop turnstile jumpers and metal platform barriers to keep riders safe. About 15 miles away at the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue station in Queens, transit crews have replaced the system’s familiar turnstiles with glowing green fare gates that feature panels that swing open like saloon doors. Over the last three years, as more riders have returned to transit, more have been hit and killed by trains. And fare evasion drains millions of dollars annually from a system that, until recently, had been on the brink of a fiscal crisis.

Organizations: 191st Locations: Manhattan, Archer, Queens

New York is on the verge of becoming the first U.S. city to charge drivers for entering its busiest areas, but it is following three cities overseas where such tolling systems have become a way of life. London, Stockholm and Singapore all went ahead with congestion pricing while it was still just an idea in New York, one that stalled for years amid opposition from many commuters and elected officials. The three cities have become real-life testing grounds for congestion pricing. But carrying out congestion pricing has not been easy and the fees, which have risen over the years, continue to draw complaints from drivers and from civic and business leaders. Now, these cities’ experiences provide a glimpse of the challenges that lie ahead for New York.

Organizations: New Locations: York, U.S, London, Stockholm, Singapore, New York

☆ Congestion Pricing Is Coming. Its Opponents Are Still Furious.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sarah M. Kaufman, the executive director of the Rudin Center for Transportation at N.Y.U., said that other cities with congestion pricing programs have usually experienced resistance from the public during its first six months in operation, but eventually support grows. Mr. Samuelsen said the fees, credits and exemptions being considered by the authority do not do enough to help drivers who cannot use transit or who cannot afford added costs. should drastically improve service before the launch of the congestion pricing program in order to encourage more people to ride subways and buses. has stubbornly and moronically stuck to its position that the status quo is adequate,” Mr. Samuelsen wrote in a statement. “As a result, we have a congestion pricing plan that is all stick and no carrot.”Congestion pricing could also drive up the authority’s debt.

Persons: Sarah M, Kaufman, they’ve, Ms, John Samuelsen, Samuelsen, moronically, Mr, Thomas P, DiNapoli Organizations: Rudin Center, Transportation, Transport Workers Union Locations: N.Y.U

☆ $15 Tolls Likely for Nation’s First Congestion Pricing Program
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first congestion pricing program in the United States is taking final shape in New York City, and most drivers appear likely to pay $15 to enter some of the busiest streets in Manhattan as soon as next spring. Transit officials on Wednesday provided the clearest picture yet of the tolls they hope to implement to collect roughly $1 billion annually to fund improvements to the subway and bus networks. In a 19-page report, transit officials narrowed down a dizzying list of tolling possibilities that had been studied over the past year to a single set. Cars will pay a toll of up to $15 once per day, and commercial trucks will pay as much as $36. The report also showed who will get the biggest discounts, credits and exemptions, which have been hotly debated questions.

Locations: United States, New York City, Manhattan, New York

☆ Thanksgiving Travel Days Expected to Be Busiest in Nearly 20 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More holiday travelers will pack airports and highways this Thanksgiving as a drop in airfare and gas prices stokes the nation’s busiest travel time of the year. Even as travel demand holds strong, a severe weather forecast threatens to cause flight delays and traffic jams across swaths of the country. “For many Americans, Thanksgiving and travel go hand in hand, and this holiday, we expect more people on the roads, skies and seas compared to 2022,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement. “Travel demand has been strong all year.”AAA, the automobile owners’ group that also tracks air travel, expects that 4.7 million people will fly between Wednesday and Sunday. That is an increase of 6.6 percent compared with last year, and the highest number of Thanksgiving air travelers in nearly two decades.

Persons: ” Paula Twidale Organizations: AAA Travel, ” AAA

☆ Does Anyone Know How to Behave on the Subway Anymore?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Hearing feedback from New Yorkers, we sort of encapsulated a lot of the things that drive people crazy,” said Shanifah Rieara, who oversees rider satisfaction efforts for the authority. The authority has launched such marketing campaigns perennially. In 2017, the authority gave pregnant women blue-and-yellow buttons with a message asking fellow passengers to offer them a seat. is under pressure to improve service and win riders back, in part because the state has mandated that it do so as part of a budget deal. Transit advocates have said that the authority would need to focus on communicating effectively with riders to keep them happy, and its new marketing campaign aims to do that.

Persons: ”, Shanifah Rieara, Mr, Reyes Organizations: Transit

☆ Uber and Lyft Agree to $328 Million Payout for New York Drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Uber and Lyft have agreed to pay New York drivers a $328 million settlement after the state attorney general investigated a wage-theft complaint charging that the companies collected certain taxes and fees from drivers rather than passengers. Uber will pay $290 million and Lyft will provide $38 million into two funds that will payout claims that roughly 100,000 current and former drivers in New York State are eligible to file. The ride-hailing companies did not admit fault in the settlement. The investigation by the office of the attorney general, Letitia James, also looked into whether the companies failed to provide drivers with paid sick leave available to employees in the state. “We thank Attorney General James and her team for their hard work in delivering a resolution that balances accountability and innovation while addressing the true needs of these hard working drivers in New York,” said Tony West, chief legal officer for Uber, in a statement.

Persons: Lyft, Letitia James, James, ”, Tony West, Uber Organizations: New York, New York State Locations: New York

☆ Shoving Attack Renews Calls for M.T.A. to Make Subway Platforms Safer
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Familiar questions about the safety of the transit system have resurfaced. The attack has also renewed calls for the authority to install additional protective features like platform barriers that could help keep transit riders from falling onto the tracks. This year through Oct. 15, there had been 15 people pushed off subway platforms in New York City, compared with 22 during the same period last year, the police said. are sensitive not only to crime rates in the system, but also to how safe riders feel. Even though violent attacks in the system are relatively uncommon, the idea of being pushed onto train tracks is a powerful fear for many riders.

Persons: Alex, “ Locations: New York City

“He’s known to us in the subway system,” the chief said, adding that video from security cameras in the station had helped investigators identify Mr. Jones as the suspect. Being shoved suddenly on a subway platform in particular is a perennial urban nightmare. Through Oct. 15, there had been 15 people pushed off subway platforms in New York City this year, compared with 22 in the same period last year, the police said. In May, a woman was critically injured after a man shoved her head against a moving subway train at the Lexington Avenue/63rd Street station. The woman, Emine Yilmaz Ozsoy, 35, was partially paralyzed in the attack.

Persons: “, Jones, Emine Yilmaz Organizations: Bowery, Committee, Lexington Locations: New York City

New York City’s subway system is a maze of obstructions for people who have difficulty walking. New York has lagged far behind other major American cities in building access points for people with disabilities. Upgrading the entire subway — the continent’s biggest transit network — will take decades and cost billions of dollars. with long and uncertain timelines have diminished many disabled riders’ faith in the authority’s ability to deliver. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Yimbert Remigio, 24, who lives in the Bronx and has always relied on a wheelchair.

Persons: “, ”, Yimbert Remigio Organizations: Yorkers Locations: York, New York, Bronx

☆ How Billions of Dollars Might Upgrade New York City’s Subways
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A long and expensive wish list to upgrade New York City’s subway system is about to get a multibillion-dollar investment from the state’s much-contested plan to toll drivers for entering Midtown Manhattan. The congestion pricing program, which got crucial final approval from the federal government in June, would raise money while discouraging drivers from contributing to traffic and pollution by charging them a fee to enter south of 60th Street. Officials have said the tolls could begin as soon as spring 2024, although a legal challenge from New Jersey could threaten that timeline. The tolls collected by the program would be used by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, to make changes to the city’s public transit network. has not specified how it could spend congestion pricing proceeds.

Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: New York, Midtown Manhattan, New Jersey

☆ New Jersey Sues Over Congestion Pricing in New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New Jersey is suing the federal government to halt a congestion pricing program that will charge drivers to enter Midtown Manhattan, citing concerns that the tolling program will place unfair financial and environmental burdens on the state’s residents. In its complaint, filed on Friday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, the state said it was challenging the Federal Highway Administration’s “decision to rubber-stamp” its approval of congestion pricing last month, which was the program’s final federal hurdle. The authority said the program, which aims to reduce traffic in New York City while raising billions of dollars for mass transit, could begin as soon as spring 2024. The lawsuit comes two days after a local panel appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority convened for the first time to decide on toll rates. At that meeting, dozens of drivers, which included suburbanites, protested against the tolls.

Persons: suburbanites Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: New Jersey, Midtown Manhattan, New York City

☆ Price of N.Y.C. Subway Ride Is Set to Go Up for the First Time in Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic decimated subway ridership in New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has resisted raising the price of a ride out of fear that even more people would abandon mass transit. But after years of financial uncertainty, the authority now intends to balance its budget, and to do so, it wants to raise the base fare for subway and bus trips for the first time in eight years, to $2.90 from $2.75 by late August. On Wednesday, the M.T.A.’s board is widely expected to vote to approve the proposed fare increase. The decision will almost certainly reverberate across the United States, where transit systems of every size have experienced steep and lingering losses as many white-collar commuters continue to work from home at least part of the time. A May 2023 survey by the American Public Transportation Association found that larger cities have been hit especially hard — 71 percent of transit agencies with budgets greater than $200 million are predicting shortfalls in their operating budgets.

Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, American Public Transportation Association Locations: New York City, United States

☆ How Might Congestion Pricing Actually Work in New York?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

New York City is ready to build a first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program, designed to collect billions of dollars to fund mass transit while discouraging drivers from jamming up Midtown Manhattan. It is an ambitious undertaking that will serve as either a model or cautionary tale for cities across the country with similar climate change and traffic reduction goals. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday celebrated the plan’s final approval by the federal government, which paved the way for a local panel to begin deciding on toll rates, discounts, exemptions and other allowances. The group was appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the region’s subway and bus network, and it will hold its first meeting July 19. The authority says the program could begin as soon as spring 2024.

Persons: Kathy Hochul Organizations: Gov, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: York City, Manhattan

☆ Why Migrant Women Are Turning Toward Construction Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Stefanos Chen | Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Roxana García sat in a packed classroom on a recent night in Jackson Heights, Queens, with 38 strangers — a chef, an I.T. technician, and a business manager among them — all with a single goal: To get a job in construction, one of the few industries open to New York’s surging migrant population. Ms. García, 36, a nurse who flew to New York three months ago from Guayaquil, Ecuador, with her partner and two children, has subsisted since then on housecleaning jobs, but in construction, she sees a future: being able to afford better care for her prediabetic teenager and the means to take her family to Disneyland. “I came here with a suitcase full of dreams,” she said in Spanish. “If I can make this into a career, that would be excellent, because I can’t focus on what I once was.”

Persons: Roxana García, García, ” Locations: Jackson Heights , Queens, New York, Guayaquil, Ecuador

☆ Congestion Pricing Plan in New York City Clears Final Federal Hurdle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The authority says the tolling program could begin as soon as spring 2024. Supporters of congestion pricing hailed the news of federal approval. “Congestion pricing is going to help us do that by clearing up clogged roads, by investing in mass transit.”Congestion pricing, which New York lawmakers approved in 2019, is expected to generate $1 billion annually for the M.T.A. The money will be used to improve the city’s public transit network, including by building new elevators in the subways and modernizing signals that keep trains moving. By law, the money can only be used to pay for capital projects, not operating costs.

Persons: “, ”, Renae Reynolds Organizations: Tri - State Transportation Campaign, New Locations: New York

☆ Man Charged With Manslaughter After Subway Stabbing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Hurubie Meko | Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A Queens man was charged with stabbing and killing a man during a dispute on a New York City subway train on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, the police said. The man, Jordan Williams, 20, stabbed the victim, Devictor Ouedraogo, 36, on a northbound J train, the police said. Mr. Williams was arrested and charged on Wednesday with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. A woman who was taken into custody along with Mr. Williams was released. Before the men’s encounter, Mr. Ouedraogo had gotten into a dispute with passengers on the train, including Mr. Williams’s girlfriend, according to law enforcement sources.

Persons: Jordan Williams, Devictor Ouedraogo, Ouedraogo, Williams, Williams’s Organizations: Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital Locations: New York City, Brooklyn, Marcy, Williamsburg

☆ Can Technology Solve the M.T.A.’s Persistent Fare Evasion Problem?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many American cities like New York struggle to rein in losses from fare evasion, in part because the cost of penalizing transit users can exceed the amount of money collected from fining them. For New York, police enforcement is “part of the solution in the long run,” Janno Lieber, the authority’s chairman, said during a news conference about the new study. Police officials declared a crackdown on so-called quality-of-life offenses in March 2022, and enforcement rose by about 28 percent to 80,000 fare evasion summonses that year compared with 62,380 in 2021, according to the M.T.A. Arrests and summonses for fare evasion have disproportionately fallen on Black and Latino New Yorkers, giving fuel to critics of the approach. During 2022, they accounted for 73 percent of people arrested and given a summons for fare evasion among all incidents in which race and ethnicity were reported by the police, according to an analysis by Harold Stolper, an economist at Columbia University who studies fare evasion policing patterns in the city.

Persons: ” Janno Lieber, Harold Stolper, ”, Molly Griffard Organizations: Police, Yorkers, Columbia University, Legal Aid Society Locations: New York, San Francisco, Seattle, York, “, New York City

☆ New Jersey’s Senators Push Back on Congestion Pricing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Many transit advocates, community leaders and urban planning experts in New York have celebrated the progress made toward congestion pricing this month, saying it was long overdue. The loudest opposition to the program has come from New Jersey. Mr. Murphy on Monday also unveiled an advertising campaign criticizing the program, complete with billboards near interstate crossings. Other opponents of congestion pricing have included taxi drivers and Lyft and Uber drivers, who worry that fare increases triggered by the tolls could slash demand for taxis and for-hire rides by up to 17 percent. says the program, which would affect drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street, could begin as soon as spring 2024.

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