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Snowed-In Crowd Commandeers N Train In Coney Island
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 27, 2011
Modified Jan 27, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 27, 2011
Modified Jan 27, 2011
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When the trains and busses stop running, what happens to the people still riding the rails? They wait. During the Blizzageddon we heard all about the poor folks who spent 32 hours on an A train and today the Post already has the story of some angry straphangers stuck in Coney Island who commandeered a stalled N train and, through force of will, persuaded the MTA and the NYPD to turn on the heat while they waited out the storm.
The insanity started on a Brooklyn-bound D train that abruptly made its last stop at 36th Street in Brooklyn. At the station the conductor told riders to wait for another D soon. But an N came next, around 12:30 a.m., and passengers were then told they'd need to ride that to Coney and then double-back if they wanted to get to their destination. So that's what they did.
Except the snow was really intense at that point and when the train reached Coney Island an hour-and-a-half later conductors announced that the train was shuttered and riders would have to find another way home. No easy feat since the MTA had just suspended bus service!
The increasingly cold and miserable mob then did what such mobs do best, they persuaded a friendly conductor to let them wait in a dry N train. All was ok, until some MTA personelle tried to get them off the train so it could go to the yard. Apparently some screaming from both sides ensued as the tired, cold, and huddled passengers simply refused to move. Finally exasperated workers gave up and just turned the heat on for them so the stranded could settle in for the night.
Around 6 a.m. the train started back up and made its way back towards Manhattan.
We've seen other reports of trains stuck around—did the MTA hold you prisoner last night?
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Garth Johnston
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