Anxiety across the region as Monday looms
A digital sign at the LIRR Jamaica station on Sunday. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
Across Long Island Sunday there was a clear sense of unease, a collective anxiety caused by the full suspension of service on the striking Long Island Rail Road and the expected gridlock that could bring chaos to our roads Monday.
On its website Sunday, the LIRR said the strike “will have a devastating impact on the nearly 300,000 passengers who depend on the LIRR to get where they need to go every single day.”
The message went on: “Unfortunately, there is no substitute for the Long Island Rail Road, and its shutdown will cause severe congestion and delays.”
The message added: “Avoid nonessential travel and work from home if possible.”
That dire warning was echoed by experts and riders Saturday, the first day of the shutdown caused by striking unions. Traffic was snarled on Long Island’s major thoroughfares, somewhat more so than on a typical Saturday.
"I think gridlocks like we’ve never seen before will happen," said Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast. "There really are no good alternatives."
No talks between the MTA and the unions were scheduled early Sunday. Gov. Kathy Hochul scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference in New York.
'I've never seen fire sitting on the water' Three Newsday photographers talk to NewsdayTV's Macy Egeland about covering the tragic crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.
