Day One: Surreal and disruptive
The Babylon LIRR station on Saturday morning. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The first signs of the Long Island Rail Road strike on Saturday morning were quiet.
Platforms were deserted, devoid of whirring engines, departure announcements and dinging bells warning of closing doors. A railyard in Ronkonkoma was filled with trains destined for nowhere as Day One of the strike got underway.
For the first time since 1994, LIRR service halted just after midnight Saturday as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and five labor unions remain locked in contract negotiations.
Nearly a dozen Newsday reporters fanned across Long Island and New York City to document the scenes that marked Day 1 of the strike that has the potential to be a great disruptor on the lives of many Long Islanders, should it stretch into Monday.
Knicks parade today ... Brunson, Hart throw first pitch at Yankees game ... JD Vance visited Long Island ... What's Up On Long Island
