'You Quickly Feel Shamed': Subway Chief On Commuting Sans Mask

As reopening begins, the trains seem very clean [View this email in your browser]( The Subways Seem Cleaner. Don't Let Your Guard Down. Plus: Thousands of cyclists have been holding solidarity rides to protest police brutality and systemic racism. The city is committing to 20 new miles of bus lanes and busways by year's end. And France and Japan may have stopped the spread of COVID-19 on mass transit because people don't talk on the train. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) [a commuter stands near one of the new placards on subway platforms meant to keep people spaced apart] Scott Lynch/Gothamist Social distancing markers have been laid down. The hand sanitizer is out. And overnight disinfecting has been kicked into overdrive, creating an unrecognizably clean environment for commuters returning to the subway as Phase 1 of reopening gets underway. "The tiles, the floor, and even when you go in the train system itself, you can smell the complete difference," [said Chad Brown]( an electrician from East Flatbush who's returning to work this week. The [New York Times]( made a similar observation yesterday, noting that the subway floors lacked their signature spilled drink residue, and "some train cars even smelled like lemons." With ridership expected to be only 15 percent of the pre-pandemic norm with the start of Phase 1, it may even be possible to keep six feet away from others — especially at off-peak times, or in parts of the city with lower concentrations of essential workers. To encourage social distancing, the MTA placed yellow squares on some platforms to give commuters a guide to spacing out. All of this will hopefully encourage more commuters to enter the public transit system — [early indications]( show that car traffic will quickly reach untenable levels if more New Yorkers choose to drive to work. "It just feels good," New York City Transit's interim chief, Sara Feinberg, [told WNYC's Brian Lehrer this morning](. "It feels like people have a spring in their step, there’s a bit of a bustle, people are entering the system with confidence. It feels like New York is coming back a little bit." But as Lehrer was quick to counter, the coronavirus is invisible. The smell of lemons won't protect people from an illness that has, to date, killed [nearly 22,000 city residents]( including at least 131 MTA workers. And Feinberg conceded that the CDC's idea of proper social distancing won't be possible in a city where millions of people have no choice but to take public transit to work. So, in addition to cleaning, the MTA has ramped up its messaging around mask requirements. [The MTA has put up digital billboards instructing commuters to wear a mask] Stephen Nessen/Gothamist "The public health experts say that if 70 percent of the population are wearing masks, you hit a tipping point where you are really limiting the spread," said Feinberg. "When you get to 90 percent, that’s another tipping point where you’re basically stopping it. We’re at 92 percent compliance on mask usage. I want us to get to 100." Feinberg said that while the NYPD and MTA police won't be issuing tickets or arresting anyone for not wearing masks, they will be enforcing mask usage at station entrances. "If you enter the system and you aren’t wearing a mask, all of those folks are going to say, 'You can’t be in here without a mask,'" Feinberg said. "And if you don’t have a mask, they’re gonna say, 'We have a mask for you in the booth, please go to the station booth and get a mask.'" [Gothamist]( and [others]( reported this week that mask usage — including proper, cover-your-mouth-AND-nose usage — was not universal. Beyond enforcement from the authorities, the NYC Transit boss suggested that the riding public could play a role in keeping everyone's faces covered. "Sure, there are probably some people who are going to sneak by, the police aren’t going to see them, MTA officials aren’t going to see them," Feinberg said. "I will tell you, when they get on a subway car or they get on a bus, all of their fellow passengers see them, and they start taking photos, and people start looking at them, and you quickly feel pretty shamed. My message is, don’t let that happen to you." Using your camera to shame other people's subway etiquette is a tricky subject, and one we've addressed in the past. But in this case, our guidance may be hard to square. [The rule we came up with]( It's okay to photograph a stranger's bad behavior if their face isn't in the picture. The City Is Getting 20 More Miles of Busways And Bus Lanes. The MTA Wanted A Lot More. [A bus cruises along the 14th Street busway] Courtesy of the MTA In addition to making the 14th Street busway permanent (it had been a pilot program), the city's Department of Transportation said this week that it's adding a total of 20 miles of busways and bus lanes. Busways, which essentially ban passenger cars during peak commuting times, have proven effective. On 14th Street, the average one-end-to-the-other times for the M14A/D buses have sped up by five minutes since that busway went into effect. The DOT said it's adding five more busways to the city, the longest (besides 14th Street) being a 1.1 mile stretch of 5th Avenue in Midtown. In addition, four bus lane projects will be installed, including 6-mile stretches in Queens and Staten Island. The MTA — a state agency that doesn't control city streets — had asked Mayor de Blasio's administration for 60 miles of new bus lanes. Regarding the 20 miles the city agreed to install, de Blasio said this marked "a major step" that "opens the door to something really positive." DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said her agency hopes to be done installing the bus lanes by the end of 2020. — [Reporting by Jen Carlson]( Thousands Of Cyclists Have Been Holding Solidarity Rides To Protest Systemic Racism And Police Brutality [protesters on bikes ride across the Williamsburg Bridge on Monday night ] Jake Offenhartz/Gothamist On [Monday]( and again [last night]( thousands of cyclists gathered in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn for mass rides in solidarity with those protesting against police violence. "[We're] riding, yelling, having a good time, making people's nights who are in the streets, maybe making some people uncomfortable, but that's alright, that's what we're here for," said Ernie, a 38-year-old cyclist who was riding on Monday evening. Many of the cyclists eventually crossed the Williamsburg Bridge, cruised through lower Manhattan, and made their way up the West Side Highway. On Monday, some protesters who chose to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge said they had to get off and walk because it was so crowded. [These rides]( also emerged after footage from last week showed police [confiscating protesters' bikes]( and [beating cyclists](. Here's What Else Is Happening The union for Staten Island bus operators is upset that its members didn't get the same pay raise as other MTA workers. TWU Local 100, the city's largest transit workers union, reached a new contract back in January that includes a 10% raise over four years for its members. ATU Local 726, which represents bus drivers, cleaners, and mechanics on Staten Island, did not get a new contract. After working on the front lines during the peak of the coronavirus crisis, the union is arguing that its workers deserve a raise — but the MTA is saying that because of its massive drop in revenue, it can't negotiate new union contracts at this time. ([silive.com]( ...Meanwhile, the union that did get a raise back in January is upset its members aren't getting another pay bump for working through COVID-19. "I tell you this, the MTA are a bunch of bums," said TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano. "We move this goddamn city, night and day in the middle of a pandemic. And then you guys go to the bargaining table and they tell you they got no money? I tell you that’s total bullsh*t." While the MTA is providing death benefits to the families of workers who die from the coronavirus, the MTA says it wants the federal government to provide the money for hazard pay. ([AM New York]( The Long Island Rail Road is operating at 90% compared to its normal weekday service. By running 680 trains a day, the LIRR is almost back to pre-pandemic service levels. Though riders have reported near-empty cars, the agency says it has workers on standby to add extra trains in the event of overcrowding. All fares are currently off-peak. ([News 12 Long Island]( Neither France nor Japan have detected coronavirus "clusters" on public transit. Public health officials in both countries who've been tracking down groups of three or more connected COVID-19 cases haven't identified any instances where mass transit was the site of the spread. Their hypothesis: Commuters have kept each other safe, in part, by not talking on the train. ([CityLab]( LaGuardia's Shiny New Terminal Has...Half-Opened [La Guardia's new terminal has opened up, and it has a nice fountain] Stephen Nessen/Gothamist Air travel in the New York City area is down 95 percent due to the coronavirus. But if you have a good reason to fly and are comfortable doing so, LaGuardia's new Terminal B — half of which opened last weekend — has a lot of hand sanitizer and wipes available, along with quicker-to-get-through body scanners. There's also a Hill Country BBQ and a Junior's! The $8 billion terminal renovation, which the Port Authority says should be completely done in a year and a half, will eventually include a new pedestrian walkway. "From worst airport in the country, to the best," Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Rick Cotton said Wednesday. "From the laughing stock on [Saturday Night Live skits]( to bringing into reality the extraordinary vision of Governor Cuomo to have a world class airport worthy of New York." — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( Weekend Service Changes: Night of June 12th – Early Morning on June 15th This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. Note: The entire subway system is closed each night from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. until further notice. train service between 96 St and 148 St will be replaced by trains, M7 and M102 buses. Saturday and Sunday, Hudson Yards-bound trains will skip 111, 103, 90, 82, 74, 69, 52, 46, 40 and 33 Sts. Jamaica Center-bound trains will skip 75 Av and Briarwood. trains will not run between Church Av and Coney Island-Stillwell Av, and Jamaica-bound trains will skip Sutphin Blvd, Briarwood and 75 Av. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. [a close-up of James Ramsay sitting on a vespa] James Ramsay does not talk on the train. He listens to podcasts from [WNYC Studios](. (Photo by James Ramsay) Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. 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