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The train and Path cars are so overcrowded to the point that New Yorkers are opting for riding bikes to work.There is an eeriness that lingers through the NJ Transit, the Path stations, and the subways of New York. It’s like nothing any commuter has ever seen before in the over populated tri-state area. 

People who rely on public transportation for their daily commute are potentially exposing themselves everyday. After 4 p.m. during rush hour, social distancing doesn’t exist. Certain subway and Path lines still get stuffed like sardine cans. Everyone is obligated to wear a mask while taking public transportation. The MTA issues $50 fines to anyone not wearing masks, yet there are people who still refuse to follow the covid safety guidelines. Coronavirus cases are increasing each day in New Jersey and New York and many commuters are in constant worry of their safety.

Between the months of October and November, I rode NJ Transit from Elizabeth, New Jersey, to the Q subway line that takes you to Coney Island, and everything in-between to photograph what the new version of commuting looks like. Here is what I encountered above and underground. 

A person sits looking at their phone while riding the NJ Transit towards Newark Penn Station. October 26, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person reading on the Path from New Jersey to New York. November 9, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person carries flowers off the Path at Newark Penn Station in New Jersey. October 27, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person sleeps on the subway in Manhattan, New York. November 17, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

People on the subway in Manhattan, New York. November 14, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

People on the D subway line heading to Coney Island, New York. November 17, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

People coming and going from the Path at the World Trade Center Station. November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person sleeping listening to their earphones on the L train in Brooklyn, New York. November 20, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A family on the Q subway line going to Coney Island, New York. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

The subway doors close as a person looks into the subway car. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person taking the Q subway line to Coney Island, New York. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

The view of Luna Park at Coney Island, New York though the Q subway line. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

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With the closing of museums, Broadway theaters and restaurants, the coronavirus pandemic has slammed NYC’s tourism industry. Major tourist destinations such as Times Square and Chinatown are no longer packed with cars and tourists. Airports and subway  stations  are empty. .

The White House’s coronavirus response coordinator said that the virus “attack rate” in the New York area was five times that in other areas. New York State saw an increase of more than 4,000 confirmed cases since Sunday night, putting the total at 20,909 as of Monday afternoon.

One of the most popular attractions for tourists – the staircase located at Times Square is almost empty because of the coronavirus outbreak. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

As one of the last costumed characters at Times Square, the man dressed up as the Statue of Liberty stands still even though there are few  tourists to take pictures with him. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

Gift shops near Times Square are empty. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

A musician sings in  an empty  23rd street subway station. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

A Chinese woman sits alone on a nearly empty subway car with a mask in NYC. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

An old man walks around in Chinatown with a mask on. As one of the most popular tourism attractions, NYC’s Chinatown is now in sleep mode. Shops and restaurants are closed. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

Hung Lee Co. is one of the few grocery stories that remain open in NYC’s Chinatown under the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

Empty luggage carousels  in the departure level at Newark Liberty International Airport . Photo by Shiyu Xu.

The departure level at Newark Liberty International Airport has been nearly empty since coronavirus hit the area. Photo by Shiyu Xu.

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It was 12:45 a.m. Sunday and Darryl Kelly’s nine-hour shift at a Walgreens in Flushing, Queens had just ended. His backpack was stuffed with his work vest, battery pack and snacks that he will munch on as he makes his way to Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Now, he sat in a McDonald’s a block away peering out the window to watch for his bus to Jamaica Station. If he misses the 1 a.m. Q25, the next one won’t arrive for another 30 minutes—and that’s only the first leg of the journey. From there he must transfer to the J train to Broadway Junction, then take the A train to Nostrand Avenue. When he gets off, he still has a 10-minute walk to his doorstep.

Kelly, 34, makes this 2-hour trip twice every weekend.

“Honestly, I hate my voyage, I wouldn’t mind working so far from home if I had a reliable transit service to get me home in a timely manner,” Kelly said. “When I finally make it to the J train at Jamaica, I have to take a shuttle bus to the A train, I just be wanting to get home.”

For many New Yorkers who work after the MTA’s peak hours of 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., it’s a hassle to get home. Trains and buses slow down their service, with the former making only local stops and the latter running 30 minutes apart at best.

“When it is so late at nights you have to be precise in all transit decisions you make,” Kelly said. “One false judgment of time and missing your bus or connection could mean another hour of travel or getting home later.”

According to MTA data, ridership is at its lowest from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. — and that’s when the transit authority uses the time for station and track maintenance.

With the subway system in need of repair, the only way to improve the system is to shut down major portions of it. MTA president Andy Byford has called for a sweeping $40 billion plan to install modern signals on several lines, meaning stations will be closed on most nights and weekends for the next two and a half years.

In light of this, Kelly, who is a manager at Walgreens, said he’s asked his bosses about working closer to home. But he is also at the disposal of his company, and where he is needed is where he has to go.

“I know that not a lot of people ride the trains and buses at night or what MTA officials might consider peak times, but some of us still do,” Kelly said. “We have to get home just like everyone during the day.”

“An Uber or Lyft would cost me like over $30  to get from Queens to Brooklyn,” he added, noting that he lives too far away to take a for-hire vehicle to his doorsteps. “That’s a part of my budget I can’t add as an expense. I’m stuck with the MTA.”

According to the MTA, workers have started to upgrade signals on the Queens Boulevard line from Rockefeller Center in Manhattan to Kew Gardens in Queens. The F train in Brooklyn and the 8th Avenue line in Manhattan are next.

“During station closings on nights and weekends, riders could have other options like extra buses,” said an MTA spokesperson in an email. “Because the system is so large and interconnected, there are often alternate subway lines nearby.”

This is not always the case in far-flung corners of the city.

For straphanger Angie DeJesus, the late-night commute from where she works in Jamaica, Queens to her Lower East Side apartment is already a struggle. She must wait for buses and a train that never arrives on time. DeJesus lives where New Yorkers call her area a transit desert. No trains run close by and limited bus service.

DeJesus 25, who works at a Blink Fitness until close at 11pm,

“I want to move to an area that’s like closer to more shops and trains and like closer to a hub,” DeJesus said. “But that cost money. It’s already expensive in this city, so I live where I can afford too. Just sucks that a city works against the lesser man.”

Joe Cutrufo, a spokesman for the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, which fights to improve public transit, said the city must provide alternatives to trains if they plan to shut down subway lines for night repairs.

“[One option is to] have dedicated bus lanes whose sole purpose is to bus transit riders from point A to B,” he said. “Especially at nights when there is no traffic, utilize bus services to pick up the slack where subways might be closed of going through repairs.”

She bounced around from workforce programs looking for a job. She took the first one that looked past her record and hired her.

DeJesus, who plead guilty to burglary charges in 2015 and served three years for the crime, said she is very thankful for the job she has. Without late night busses and subways, she’d lose the gig and her sense of independence.

“I know that the entire transit system is old, and they need repairs, but they have to be considerate of everyone riding the trains and all hours of the day,” she said. “This is supposed to be the city that never sleeps right, then our subway shouldn’t sleep either.”

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Last Thursday, the MTA board postponed their vote to increase Metrocard fares to $3. The board will cast their vote in February, leaving some New Yorkers irritated by the impending hike.

“They’ve been increasing the fare at a steady pace, which is ridiculous to begin with,” said Vanessa Sooknanan, 31 of Brooklyn.

Sooknanan, an elementary school teacher, said that she hasn’t seen any improvements in the MTA.

“They’re not improving their services. So why are you asking for more money?” she asked.

The MTA is considering two fare hike proposals. One would include increasing the base Metrocard fare from $2.75 to $3. The other option would keep the base fare at $2.75 and eliminate the purchasing bonus.

If approved, the changes could be implemented in April 2019.

The MTA board and Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided to delay the vote to explore more options.  

Although the MTA is proposing a higher fare, they’re also considering service cuts like reducing transit service or the number of cleanings of subway cars.

Martin Caceres, 39 , also an elementary school teacher, said that he understands the need for the increase in fares. He lives by the 2/3 line and finds it reliable to get to work. “NYC happens to have one of the oldest train systems in the world – going back to like early 1904,” Caceres said.

“We have so many different train lines. So, as much as I don’t want them to hike up the price, it’s a very expensive system to maintain. I see both sides. ”

He believes that riders often cause the delays and it’s less of a mechanical issue.

Yovanna Ramirez, 22, of Inwood said that the hike will only waste her money and time.

“I’d prefer to have my own car, instead of buying unlimited metrocards every month,” Ramirez said. “I’m dying to get my permit because I can’t take it anymore.”

She said that the 1 train constantly has delays, which she takes to the Upper West Side for work.

“It gets me so stressed out – thinking I should have left my house earlier,” she said.

Other New Yorkers have opted to relieve themselves of the mental stress by paying a hefty price tag.

“I completely stopped using the MTA a year ago because it’s so horrible,” said Rene Fagundo, 37, of the Bronx.

“Ubers are more expensive than metrocards, but it’s worth it.”

Fagundo said that he pays an average of $60 a day to get to work in Manhattan from the Bronx.

“You get to talk to your cabbie, play music, and it’s cleaner,” he said. “You get door-to-door service.”

Fagundo doesn’t see the MTA fixing their delays in the near future. He believes that riders have no choice but to pay for bad service – even if it means 25 more cents.

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NY People: The Duck Man from Pavement Pieces on Vimeo.

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Old South Ferry Station reopens, restores 1-line service from Lower Manhattan from Pavement Pieces on Vimeo.

It is out with the new and in with the old at the South Ferry station.

Built in 1905, the old platform station was built higher above ground and suffered less damage from Hurricane Sandy than the new station.

The century-old station has been closed since the new South Ferry Station opened in 2009, but was pressed into service last week to accommodate the more than 10,000 daily riders in Lower Manhattan whose commutes were disrupted after the new South Ferry station suffered massive flooding from Sandy.

“You had to wait or you had to switch at another station,” said Laurie Ferrari of Tottenville, Staten Island. “Here you can just grab the 1 (train) and go.”

Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers quickly began work on restoring lighting and repainting station walls after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last month that service on the 1 line would be restored in Lower Manhattan.

“As MTA New York City Transit assessed the extent of damage to the new South Ferry station, it became clear that the time necessary to repair it would be too long a period to deny our customers a direct link to lower Manhattan,” said MTA Interim Executive Director Thomas F. Prendergast in a press release.

Riders who normally took the 1 to or from South Ferry station had to walk four blocks to the nearest 1 line stop on Rector Street, or two blocks west to the 4/5 Bowling Green station. The rush of commuters to the 4/5 lines packed subway cars, with people often fending off others to cram onto the trains during rush hour.

“Having to walk to the 5 train was very inconvenient, especially during the cold weather,” said Gary Dennis of West Brighton, Staten Island.

The recently refurbished South Ferry station that underwent a $545 million renovation and expansion was inundated by Sandy’s storm surges that filled 15 million gallons of salt water into the station, coating walls with a blue-green residue and corroding switch boards, relay switches and circuit breakers. Two window panels on the mezzanine level were also blown out onto the tracks.

Trains began pulling into the station as of 5 a.m. Thursday morning, and include a new connection point between the new station mezzanine and the old South Ferry station, allowing transfers between the 1 train and the R train’s Whitehall Street station.

MTA officials estimate it will take at least two years and cost $600 million to fully restore the South Ferry station. Sandy caused nearly $5 billion in damages to New York subways, according to the MTA. (http://).

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