Metro

MTA unveils plan in case of LIRR strike

Any Long Islander traveling to New York City during the July 20 LIRR strike will have a miserable commute.

“We hope we never have to put this plan into place,” said MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast. “We are doing everything we can at the collective bargaining table.”

Commuters taking shuttle buses will pack into 350 school buses, many without air conditioning, that will carry 15,000 riders a day to three subway stations in Queens, according to an MTA emergency plan released Friday.

The buses will leave from the LIRR stations in Freeport, Bellmore, Seaford, Manhasset, Deer Park, Ronkonkoma, and Hicksville, as well as Nassau Community College.

The Freeport, Bellmore, Seaford, and Nassau Community College shuttle buses will run to the A-train station in Howard Beach. There is also a Seastreak ferry nearby that runs to Manhattan.

Shuttles from Manhasset, Deer Park, and Ronkonkoma will bring LIRR riders to the Mets-Willet Point 7 subway stop in Citi Fields.

And buses from Hicksville will take commuters to the Woodhaven station, used by the M and R trains.

The MTA will monitor the crowds and run gap subway trains to meet the demand.

The authority will offer a ferry service from Glen Cove to Midtown, which is expected to handle about 1,000 people.

The ferries and buses will be free.

Commuters who drive in can use two park and ride lots at Citi Field and the Aqueduct Racetrack. The lots will have 7,000 free spaces available that will be guarded by the MTA Police, NYPD, Port Authority and state troopers.

The MTA says there are another 100 public and private parking lots near Queens and Brooklyn subway stations, and riders can go to mta.info for more information.

We hope we never have to put this plan into place. We are doing everything we can at the collective bargaining table.

 - MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast
HOV lanes on Long Island highways will require three or more passengers in a vehicle to encourage drivers to carpool. Riders can use the website 511ny.org/rideshare to find other people to drive in with.

Nassau and Suffolk cops will enforce the tougher HOV lane requirements.

The MTA is urging riders to stay home and telecommute, or take a vacation. It has launched a campaign to employers to let workers stay home, and almost 20,000 people have agreed to telecommute so far.

New York City hotels are also working with the authority to make sure there are enough rooms available for people who plan to stay in the city.

The MTA will use Google crisis maps to track the strike, and communicate to riders through their website, LIRR app, and twitter account.

There hasn’t been an LIRR strike since 1994. “It’s a different landscape,” said Prendergast, who headed the LIRR at that time.