Just talked to MTA Chairman Joe Lhota. Buses likely to resume before subways. Bridges expected to open soon with lighter winds.
— Pat Kiernan (@patkiernan) October 30, 2012
For the many asking:Tonight’s NBA games will be played. We are still assessing the situation with regards to the rest of the week.
— Tim Frank (@tfrank14) October 30, 2012
The Brooklyn Nets open their season Thursday night against the New York Knicks, and since the Barclays Center opening have implored people to use public transportation to get to arena events. Eleven Trains. One Destination. But with a submerged subway system, it’s hard to imagine the damage Lhota calls the worst in the MTA’s 108-year history getting cleaned up in 48 hours. With just 600 parking spaces near the arena, that may make the event an impossibility.
The Nets have no official statement yet regarding Thursday’s game.
New York City (and about 1,000 miles of surrounding land) was hit by Hurricane Sandy over the past two days. Reports of flooding, high winds, and lost power dominated the airwaves. According to the official statement from MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota, Sandy decimated NYC’s transit lines:
As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line. The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water. We are assessing the extent of the damage and beginning the process of recovery
Read more: Statement from MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota on Service Recovery
