All aboard the blame practice!
Mayor Eric Adams jumped into the tunnel tug-of-war — blasting Amtrak’s East River shutdown plan and demanding feds step in earlier than commuters are left stranded and steaming.
In a fiery letter to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Monday, Adams referred to as Amtrak’s proposal to shutdown a practice tunnel from Queens to Manhattan — which was authorised by the MTA — a “misstep” that might derail service for hundreds of thousands of commuters and go away your complete system uncovered to “shutdown dangers” through the three-year undertaking.
“Amtrak has refused to take heed to purpose,” Hizzoner fumed, declaring Amtrak is ignoring a extra smart repair to do the work on nights and weekends as a substitute of gutting daytime capability, which Adams mentioned “is unnecessary in any respect.”
Adams demanded federal intervention earlier than the tunnel doorways slam shut this Friday. A spokesperson for the US Division of Transportation didn’t instantly reply to The Submit on Tuesday.
The mayor joins a rising refrain of politicians — together with Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Mike Lawler and Nassau County Government Bruce Blakeman — all begging Amtrak to hit the brakes on the plan over issues it’ll drive the MTA, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains to function on fewer tracks, main to coach delays.
Adams additionally argued Amtrak’s full-speed-ahead plan may go away Queens and Lengthy Island riders stranded.
“As an alternative of doing the logical, least disruptive factor — retaining one tunnel open through the day, together with rush hours, and doing repairs over time, at evening and on weekends — Amtrak has determined to shut that one tunnel and begin repairs from scratch, instantly inflicting vital service limitations and doubtlessly jeopardizing practice service altogether,” Adams mentioned.
And Adams hit again at claims from Amtrak President Roger Harris that the century-old tubes beneath the East River are so broken from 2012’s Superstorm Sandy {that a} full closure is critical. Adams mentioned engineers at London Bridge Associates confirmed a phased method is feasible for the $1.6 billion East River Tunnel rehabilitation — although extra pricey.
Adams didn’t say what the elevated prices could be in his letter.
A spokesperson for Amtrak didn’t instantly reply to an inquiry from The Submit Tuesday, however Harris final week accused the MTA and Gov. Hochul of spinning the story by blaming Amtrak for the disastrous service plan — regardless that the MTA authorised the plan in October 2023.
The MTA Board “stunned” Amtrak execs by passing a decision condemning its steady outage plan at a board assembly final Wednesday — particularly since MTA workers had been intently working with Amtrak staffers on the plan all alongside, an Amtrak engineer advised The Submit after the decision was handed.
Amtrak will solely run 10 spherical journeys from Penn Station to Albany as a substitute of the standard 12 through the closures.
