In Jamaica, long lines wait for buses back to LI
LIRR riders in line to take the bus back to Long Island in Jamaica, Queens. Credit: Marcus Santos
The F train to Jamaica at midafternoon Monday was mostly empty by the time it reached the last stop at 179th Street. Yellow and black signs directed passengers to “Free LIRR shuttle buses,” though few passengers were headed that way.
However, on the street above, it was a different story: More than 100 people waited for 3 p.m. buses to Huntington and Ronkonkoma. Some managed to step into the shade, but others weren't so fortunate as the sun beat down and the mercury hit the 80s.
Craig Grassi, 57, an IT worker from Huntington, arrived at 1 p.m. and had been waiting for an hour and a half. He said he works a hybrid schedule with some days in the office and others working remotely from home.
“I had to be in the office today, there was physical hardware I had to deal with,” Grassi said as he stood on line waiting for a white charter bus to open its doors. The pandemic prepared people for remote work, he said.
“I’m not too worried about this going on for a weeks; I can manage,” Grassi said. ““It’s an inconvenience for work, sure, I’ve been doing a lot on my phone, communicating with co-workers.”
Grassi said his wife drove him to Flushing, where he picked up the 7 train into Manhattan this morning, which he said took about two hours in traffic.
“The only confusing part for me is I was led to believe that there would be non-rush hour buses,” Grassi said, referring to his long wait for the bus.
Jim Griffin, 64, of Centereach, who works in private security, waited on line for the bus to Ronkonkoma.
Griffin said he normally leaves his home at 5:30 a.m., but today he left at 4:30.
“This morning they were well prepared and everything was smooth, Griffin said. “Normally it takes me about an hour and half, today it took me two hours [to get to work].”
He said he was not a “complainer” but “hopefully it doesn’t go for a long time.”
When the bus arrived for Ronkonkoma, it filled to capacity, and a second bus pulled up to take the overflow. The Huntington bus did not fill up and pulled out at 2:58 p.m.
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