In a surprise announcement today, New York City Transit Authority interim president Sarah Feinberg said subways will take the first step back toward full time service next week.
In May as the pandemic raged, New York subways initiated a first ever regular, planned closing.
Trains were officially shutdown from 1:00 to 5:00 a.m. daily, allowing for deep cleaning in combating the coronavirus. Some trains kept running on a limited basis, however, because city employees needed them and because the MTA simply didn’t have anywhere to park all the idled trains.
It was also widely seen as a tactic for removing homeless New Yorkers out of the system and into shelters.
But that’s changing, a positive sign on short notice.
Effective Monday, February 22nd, NYCTA will limit closings to a window of 2:00 to 4:00 a.m.
Feinberg characterized it as the start of a “return to normalcy,” music to a lot of ears.
What the Promenade Remembers
The light on the East River in the early morning is different from the light anywhere else on the Island. It comes in low and sideways, catching the water in long, uneven flashes. On certain days it makes the promenade feel less like a walkway and more like a corridor someone once meant to finish but never quite did. When I was younger I found the suggestion to stop and look at it faintly ridiculous.
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