JFK Update 2 10/31/12

Good evening Team,

Fantastic job getting in and getting it done today! Unfortunately, the heat will really be turned on tomorrow and through the weekend as wethe rest of the airport community try to get all of the stranded folks to their destinations safely. You will notice TSA brothers and sisters from across the country flowing in tonight and tomorrow to assist as we feel the crunch of this difficult situation…hang in there over the next few days.

Good news is that mass transportation is quickly being revived…bad news is that we no longer get the opportunity to park at the terminals for free after tonight. We will continue to run the shuttles tonight and tomorrow and will reassess the need for them at the end of the day (Thursday 1 Nov).

Finding folks has been a challenge, and we still have no contact with about 400 of our team…a list of the names of those people will be distributed to the terminals tomorrow in hopes that some of you may either have better contact numbers or know how we might reach them…we will not stop until we get 100% accountability, even if it means canvassing areas to find them. Please help us out in this regard.

Many of you have already worked some long hours, and we are still days from getting closer to normal. We continue to ask you to serve to the extent that you can and will be offering a lot of overtime to get the mission done….please stay safe though.

Our priorities in the next couple of days are:  1) gain 100% accountability, 2) restore 100% security service at JFK, 3) assess the needs of those who’ve suffered significant loss (and there are many) and assist to the extent possible.

Thank you all for your service!

Honored to serve,

Gary Renfrow

DFSD

Latest MTA Info

LIRR

LIRR update: hrly service today restored btwn Jamaica & Atlantic Terminal, BK at 2PM

#LIRR update: starting tomorrow, LIRR customers can access bus shuttles from Barclays Center (Atlantic Terminal) to Manhattan

#LIRR’s goal: by rush hour tom restore hrly service on Ronkonkoma branch & Port Washington branch (from Great Neck) to Penn Station

Currently, primary obstacle for #LIRR to restoring service is restoration of power at substations along branches that feed the 3rd rail

More than 20 substations along #LIRR's branches remain without power

#LIRR update on fares: Off-Peak in effect on all trains until full service is restored // no onboard penalty fees will be charged

#LIRR customers advised to hold on to Oct. monthly tickets, which will be honored through Mon.

NYC Subway

#Subway update: 1 trains will operate local between 242nd Street (Bronx) and Times Square-42nd Street

#Subway update: 2 trains will operate between 241st Str (Bronx) & Times Square-42nd St, w express service btwn 96th St & Times Square

#Subway update: 4 trains will operate in 2 sections making all local stops btwn Woodlawn (Bronx) & 42nd St, btwn Borough Hall & New Lots Ave

#Subway update: 5 trains will operate express in BK between Atlantic Ave-Barclays Ctr & Flatbush Ave

#Subway update: 6 trains will operate local between Pelham Bay Park & Grand Central-42nd St

#Subway update: 7 trains suspended, 42nd St Shuttle S trains will operate btwn Times Square & Grand Central

#subway update: A trains will operate in 2 sections locally: btwn 168th St Manhattan & 34th St | btwn Jay Street & Lefferts Blvd.

#Subway update: 7, B, C, E, G, Q train service is still suspended

#subway update: F trains operate in 2 sections making all local stops: btwn 179th St (Queens) & 34th St | in BK, btwn Jay St & Ave X

#subway update: J trains operate btwn Jamaica Center & Hewes St mkg all local stops| M trains btwn Myrtle Ave-Broadway & Metropolitan Ave

#subway update: N trains operate btwn Ditmars Blvd. (Queens) & 34th St making all local stops

#subway update: R trains operate in BK btwn Jay St & 95th St making all local stops

Subways will be starting tomorrow morning, not 2PM today

All info provided by Governor Andrew Cuomo's office

Some MTA Service to Resume Tomorrow Nov. 1st

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Announces Restoration of Limited Commuter Railroad and Subway Service

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that beginning this afternoon, both Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad will begin to provide limited service on part of their respective networks. The Governor also announced that beginning Thursday morning, there will be limited subway service on several routes, supplemented by a bus shuttle between Downtown Brooklyn and Midtown. There will be no subway service between 34th St in Midtown and Downtown Brooklyn.  Earlier today, Local, Limited-Stop and Express Bus service began operating as close to a normal weekday schedule as possible. As was the case yesterday, bus service will operate on a fare-free basis today.  Access-A-Ride also began limited service today, as well as accepting reservations for travel after Noon tomorrow.

All of the bridges operated by MTA Bridges & Tunnels are open to traffic. The Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown Tunnels remain closed after suffering extensive flooding.

While both limited rail and subway service is being restored on a line by line and branch by branch basis, the work to restore full service on the commuter rail and subway network is ongoing. Thousands of MTA workers are still out across the entire 5,000 square mile MTA service region inspecting and repairing the damage caused the massively destructive storm of historic proportions. Metro-North Railroad is working to regain electric power and clear debris from on the Hudson Line and east to New Haven on the New Haven Line. The Long Island Rail Road continues to remove debris and make repairs to its West Side Yard and clear flooding in two East River tunnels. Both railroads spent the better part of Tuesday removing downed power lines and trees along the right of way, in addition to removing mud and other debris that washed up on to the tracks, including pleasure boats that washed ashore near the Ossining Station on the Hudson Line and the Island Park Station on the Long Beach branch.
Bridges and Tunnels suffered major damage with flooding of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water.  Damage is extremely heavy in downtown Manhattan where several subway lines converge.  The South Ferry station was filled track to ceiling with water as were several of the subway tunnels. Water remediation work is continuing in several underwater tunnels.
It is still too early to say how long it will take to restore the system to full service. This is will be an exhaustive, time-consuming process with one goal: to restore safe and efficient service to 8.5 million daily MTA customers.  It must be noted, however, that this process could have taken much longer had we not taken the pre-emptive measure of suspending all service to safeguard our equipment and prepare facilities to the best of our ability.    

Transportation Update from DFSD Gary Renfrow

Good morning Team,

Because there are difficulties with some of the mass transit we have established the following transportation rally points:

Brooklyn – Broadway Junction Station

Queens – Jamaica Station

Bronx – Parkchester Station/177 Street

We will begin having van service from each of these locations departing every 2 hours beginning at 1400 today.  Also we encourage those who are driving to pass these locations on their way in and pickup employees on their way in. Finally, although the Air Train is still inoperative, there will be a Port Authority shuttle from the Long Term Parking lot until Air Train service is restored. 

Please continue to monitor the JFK website for the latest information: www.tsajfkemergencystatus.blogspot.com .

Honored to serve,

Gary Renfrow

DFSD

Status Update from DFSD Gary Renfrow

Hello again Team JFK,

The airport is opening tomorrow and we have officers coming in from across the country, but we are still short. Regardless of your RDOs, if you are able to get to work tomorrow, please do so – TSOs on the AM can report to your regularly assigned terminal at 1000, and TSOs on the PM can report in to your assigned terminals at 1500. Liberal overtime is available over the next few days.

As a reminder, you can park on the top level at the terminals for tomorrow, and for tomorrow only at no cost.

Thank you for your service,

Gary Renfrow

DFSD

A Message From DFSD Gary Renfrow

Good afternoon Team JFK,

We continue to reach out to everyone for accountability and damage assessment. Communications remains a significant challenge, so if you receive this email and have not spoken with our Coordination Center or another representative in the last 24 hours, please call them at 718-917-3925/3929. Many of you have been contacted several times…we apologize for the inconvenience, but will continue to reach out over the next couple of days.

Everyone should plan on reporting for work at your normally scheduled hours tomorrow, Wednesday 10/31/2012. If you are not scheduled, but are able and willing to work please call the Coordination Center to volunteer. For those that report, there will likely be considerable opportunity for overtime over the next couple of days. Also, for tomorrow the Port Authority is permitting us to use Terminal Parking instead of long term. For those that make it in on Mass Transit, there will be a shuttle bus running from the long term lot to the terminals since the Air Train is down (and will likely be down for the next few days).

We fully understand that some of you simply will not be able to make it in due to storm damage and limited transportation. Please take care of yourselves and your family, and let us know what your needs and limitations are as soon as possible.

To stay updated on JFK’s status please check the Blog:

http://tsajfkemergencystatus.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your service,

DFSD Gary Renfrow

Message From JFK Coordination Center

Hello Team JFK,

At this time we are reaching out to all for Accountability and Damage assessment.

Everyone should plan on reporting for work at normal schedule hours for tomorrow 10/31/2012.

We fully understand that there are some staff that  simply will not be able to make it in due to storm damage and limited transportation.

There will be liberal use of overtime to fill the gaps. 

We are looking for volunteers  to potentially report for some operations late this afternoon….

Let your supervisors Know if you are willing and able. 

To stay updated on JFK’s status please check the Blog (link below)

http://tsajfkemergencystatus.blogspot.com/