'Just come to the table, figure it out and shake hands, man'
Mineola native Yohan Maldonado, a security technician who works in Manhattan, said the Penn Station shutdown threw a wrench into his commute. But he's taking it in stride and hoping for the best.
"I checked my MTA app when I woke up this morning and I saw no trains coming out — only Grand Central," he told Newsday at the Mineola station Friday morning. "Today is the first day we're dealing with it. I don't know how long repairs are going to take, but hopefully not long. We just got to take it day by day."
Maldonado said he woke up at 5:30 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. Friday to give himself extra time to get to work. His plan was to ride to Grand Central Station and then "find a subway that will take me downtown efficiently and fast."
He believes the Penn Station shutdown is likely to impact fewer people on a Friday because of remote work, but told Newsday he doesn't have that option.
"You just have to deal with it — don't let it ruin your day," he said. "It's Friday. I'm sure like 80% of the people who usually come are working remotely. Unfortunately, I can't do that. So, I'm here."
A full-scale railroad shutdown in the event of a union strike would be more problematic for Maldonado, who said he has "no idea" how it would ultimately impact his commute if it extended into next week, but told Newsday "I'm sure it will affect it greatly."
He urged union and MTA leaders to "just come to the table, figure it out and shake hands, man."
"We don't need none of this. We got people who need to commute to work, it's going to affect people greatly," he told Newsday. "Just come together and do it for the greater good."
Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
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