No rush at Penn Station
Roro Notoadisardjono, 48, of Shirley, and her son, Hampton Haryadi, 12, back in New York after a trip, are stuck at Penn Station. Credit: Matthew Chayes
The beehive of commuters who are typically buzzing through Penn Station during rush hour was a fraction Monday of normal.
"No Passengers," read one screen. "Service Suspended," read another.
Babylon, Hempstead, Oyster Bay, "+ 8 Lines" are suspended, read a third screen.
In place of the usual commuters waiting for, or sometimes running for, trains home were mostly stranded travelers and homeless people taking refuge from the snow, both groups in disproportionate numbers to usual. Roughly half of the stores and eateries were open, including Shake Shack, Raising Cane's and Starbucks. Some, including Le Café Coffee, closed early. The stranded travelers — some having gotten off Amtrak trains, themselves delayed though not canceled — clustered in the open eateries and where commuters typically wait.
Roro Notoadisardjono, 48, of Shirley, just arrived in from Florida, where she went with her son, seventh grader Hampton Haryadi, 12.
She had brought her son, who has autism, on a train trip so he could experience an overnight train. He was excited to be on the train but confused about why they were in New York but not home, she said.
Notoadisardjono, who works in a hotel overnight in Hampton Bays, wasn't sure whether she'd get a room for the night in the city or take the train — whenever it starts running again.
"I’m just debating whether I should take a hotel or I should wait another 3 hours," she said around 3:30 p.m.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
Arraignment in fatal drag race ... Dix Hills fire victim ID'd ... Gas prices soaring ... What's up on LI
