MTA and LIRR negotiators were working into the evening Wednesday in a bid to stave off a devastating strike scheduled to begin Sunday — and promised to continue the talks around the clock.
At the urging of Gov. Cuomo, the sides gathered in a 28th-floor Times Square law office trying to hash out an agreement.
“Both the MTA and the LIRR unions need to put the interests of New Yorkers first by returning to the table today and working continuously to avoid a strike,” Cuomo said Wednesday morning.
MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast arrived for the talks shortly before 12:50 p.m. after leaving the agency’s Madison Avenue headquarters and taking the 42nd Street subway shuttle from Grand Central to Times Square.
Lead union negotiator Anthony Simon, who has been staying at the Hilton Times Square hotel on 42nd Street, went next door to the offices of the Proskauer Rose law firm at about 1:30 p.m.
“As everybody’s aware, the governor has ordered the MTA and the unions back to the table,” Simon said outside the talks.
“The unions never planned on leaving the table, so at the governor’s request we are here to sit back down and try to resolve this matter.”
The conference-room talks began at about 2 p.m., and Prendergast left at 3:40 p.m. to return to the helm of his agency’s operations.
His executive director of labor relations, Anita Miller, stayed at the table until both sides went their separate ways at 6:45 p.m.
They agreed to keep talking via phone and Skype.
Miller was recently involved in negotiations between the MTA and Transport Workers Union Local 100, representing NYC Transit workers, and reached a new deal in April without strike threats.
“I think it’s a good sign that they’re at the table talking,” said MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg.
“I don’t want to give you any false hopes about progress, but the fact that they’re talking is an important one for people who hope that both sides can reach a resolution on this.”
It was the first time Prendergast and Simon had met since Monday, when talks broke off after just 45 minutes.
Prendergast said then there was still a “gulf” between the two sides.
Wednesday morning, Simon released a fiery letter to riders blaming the MTA for a potential strike, but later put on a rosy face before entering the day’s talks.
“We are going to go in there with an open mind like we always have, and we are going to work hard to prevent a strike that would be crippling to all,” he said.
The previous day, the MTA put out a letter describing its offer to LIRR workers, including an average $22,000 retroactive payment.
Additional reporting Amber Sutherland