The MTA is planning a crippling shutdown of mass transit beginning tomorrow night in preparation for Hurricane Irene — an unprecedented move that would leave millions of people with no way to get around the region.
“What we have here is a storm with projected winds that would exceed the level at which the MTA can safely operate services,” agency boss Jay Walder said yesterday.
The plan is to completely shutter all service on buses, subways and the LIRR and Metro-North before winds reach 39 mph, which is expected to happen on Sunday.
COMPLETE HURRICANE IRENE COVERAGE
NYC OEM: HURRICANE EVACUATION ZONE FINDER
The MTA plans to stop service late tomorrow, if necessary, since it takes at least eight hours to halt the country’s largest transit system.
The only recent systemwide shutdowns were briefly following the 9/11 attacks and during the 2005 transit strike.
The massive systemwide closing would likely leave service suspended at least through the Monday-morning commute.
“Given the severity of this storm and given the movement of our equipment, much of which is moved away from low-lying areas, it may take us some time to get the services back,” Walder said.
Some parts of the plan went into effect yesterday.
The MTA canceled all scheduled time off for employees, and rushed in extra workers to deal with necessary work to prep the system for Mother Nature’s fury.
Since even minor storms can paralyze the subway pump system, staffers were sent to clear drains and remove equipment from low-flood zones.
The Port Authority said it plans to stock extra bottled water, diapers, cots and blankets for stranded passengers at the local airports.
And most Amtrak trains south of Washington, DC, have been cancelled for this weekend, as have numerous trains originating in Penn Station.
At the same time, city officials scrambled to cobble together a worst-case scenario plan to evacuate people from flood-prone areas.
Mandatory evacuations seem certain, said Mayor Bloomberg, although an official announcement won’t come until 8 a.m. tomorrow. Affected residents would be moved to high schools on higher ground, officials with the Office of Emergency Management said.
The most vulnerable areas — slated as Zone A by the city — include Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn; Far Rockaway and Broad Channel in Queens; and beach and low-lying areas of Staten Island and Battery Park City.
“Mass transit is not going to be an option if you are ordered, mandatory ordered, to leave the low-lying Zone A . . .” said Mayor Bloomberg.
The NYPD has already inundated those areas with about 50 boats to prep for the storm, with another two dozen at the ready.
Alternate-side parking and meter rules are suspended for tomorrow and Monday.
A Web site that the mayor set up to provide evacuation data crashed soon after it was launched, but was back in business by yesterday afternoon.