'No passengers. No passengers. No passengers.'
A sign at Moynihan Train Hall announces, "No passengers" for each upcoming train Friday morning. Credit: Newsday/Joshua Solomon
The screens in Penn Station that typically display the train schedule show "No passengers" in black and white, written over and over again.
There is no information as to why. There is no information on the signs about trains rerouted to Grand Central Madison. And there is no information that warns of the looming strike.
Multiple passengers trying to get to work stared at the schedule board.
Annette Olivia Brown, of Queens, said she was routed to multiple trains and there was a lack of information at Jamaica before she arrived at Penn. Despite the confusion, she said she supports a potential strike.
"I don't take the train that often but I do support the union and the fact that they need to use this method," Brown said.
Reishon Cordero walked up with her friend to the board, looking for the Babylon train to get to a funeral.
Cordero, who lives in New York City, followed her phone's counsel: A train would depart out of Penn Station in three minutes.
"There's no signage anywhere," Cordero said. "Everyone is just misguided and lost."
Fitzgerald Valme was returning from a visit with his sister on Long Island when he was confronted with the morning commute chaos.
"It was rough," Valme said. "It happens. It's a just daily part of New York life."
He said he expected fares to go up if there is a strike, passing on the cost to the consumer.
The fact the strike was looming, and the fire in a Penn Station tunnel the day before snarled the commute before the strike, left him with more questions.
"I can't even say how coincidental it is that those things fall but it's just the way it is," Valme said.
He plans to work remotely if there is a strike, he said, adding that with the cost of gas and the increase in tolls, he wouldn't drive. Eventually, he said, you consider moving to another state, like Texas.
By 9:38 a.m., for the first time in the hour, a public service announcement explained that there were no LIRR trains going out of Penn Station.
"We apologize for this inconvenience," the MTA voice said over the intercom.
