Blakeman: Thousands of shuttle bus seats available

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman addressed commuters, MTA officials and Gov. Kathy Hochul in a news conference Monday afternoon, describing the morning commute: “People were miserable. I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”

The MTA deployed shuttle buses to accommodate 13,000 Long Islanders during their Monday morning commute, but only 2,100 people used the buses, Blakeman said. “People are either working from home or they’re choosing to drive into the city,” he said.

NICE deployed six extra buses that each hold 70 people, Blakeman said. The bus system will make up to 30 extra trips each day from Hicksville, Mineola, Great Neck and Freeport to subway hubs in Jamaica and Flushing.

Blakeman, who is running for governor, also called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to suspend congestion pricing.

“It is a shame that we will charge people in New York State an additional $9 to travel on an public roadway that they already paid for with tax dollars, especially during this strike, when they have no choice in many instances but to use their cars,” Blakeman said.

He encouraged commuters to carpool with co-workers, friends and neighbors, and use parking lots in Nassau's parks like Eisenhower and Wantagh Park to leave extra cars. "Long Islanders are resilient; they’re tough. We will get through this crisis together," he said.