No F Train to Queens This Weekend from RI

Sorry folks but I missed the announcement on the MTA website that

NO QUEENS BOUND subway service this weekend through the 63rd Street Tunnel affecting the following stations: Lex/63rd, Roosevelt Island, and 21st/ Queensbridge.

Starting tonight, May 16th at 12:01 am through May 18th, Monday morning at 5:00 am.

I had been relying on prior emails I had received from the MTA which did not include this disruption. Hopefully your plans were not disrupted and hopefully the Tram will pick up the slack as it usually does.

To go to Queens you will need to take the F into Manhattan to the 47-50th and transfer back to a Queens bound F which will run on the E Line through the 53rd Street Tunnel until Roosevelt Avenue.

Projected F Train Subway Service Changes: May through July 2nd

The below service changes to the F Train affecting Roosevelt Island and each of the stations serviced by the 63rd Street Tunnel are provided by Ms. Parker of the MTA but are subject to change and not all have been posted yet on the MTA website. A calendar graph of these dates is slated to appear in this week's Main Street WIRE.

Subsequent to the email received below, Ms. Parker, clarified that "weeknights" for purposes of these changes refers to Tuesdays through Fridays. Southbound refers to Trains Bound for Manhattan and Brooklyn and Northbound refers to trains coming from Manhattan bound for Queens.

------Original Message------

From: Deirdre Parker
To: Roosevelt Island 360
Sent: Apr 29, 2009 2:34 PM
Subject: RE: Projected Subway Service Changes

- Weeknights, from May 5th - June 16 (except May 26th), 12:01 AM - 5 AM, there will no southbound service at Roosevelt Island.

- Weekends, from May 23rd, 12:01 AM, to May 25th, 5 AM, and May 30th, 12:01 AM, to June 1st, 5 AM, there will be no southbound service at Roosevelt Island.

- Tuesdays to Fridays, June 23 to July 2nd, 12:01 AM to 5:00 AM, there will be no northbound service at Roosevelt Island.

These changes are needed to support tunnel and track work.

Deirdre K. Parker
Deputy Director, Public Affairs
MTA NYC Transit

Use Trip Planner @http://www.tripplanner.mta.info/ for customized subway and bus directions

Less Rush Hour F Trains? Here's Why....

Updated at 10:30 am for paragraphs 3,4, and 5:

If any residents of Roosevelt Island have noticed less frequent F Trains during the morning rush hours, resulting in more crowded trains as they do arrive, you are not imagining things. The MTA has announced just that "less frequent trains during....rush hours".

For a stations like Roosevelt Island that is the last stop before entering Manhattan proper that is like a kiss of death or at least a guarantee of greater heartache and delays. And did I mention this is to run through DECEMBER 31, 2009.

According to a story posted yesterday by amNew York:

The MTA is replacing an 800-feet stretch of track between Queens’ Roosevelt Avenue and Forest Hills-71st Avenue stations as part of ongoing subway maintenance, said NYC Transit spokeswoman Deirdre Parker.

The work is being done on the weekends, but trains must constantly travel at slower speeds because they are running over temporary track, she explained.

Ben Kabak over at Second Avenue Sagas further explained in his post yesterday that because the trains are running over the temporary track they still must, during rush hours, run at slower speeds.

We can certainly appreciate the need for track improvements. We have had less weekend service disruptions this year and while we have been promised that during the Tram outage the MTA would be considerate of our unique transportation needs this is still going to hurt a lot.

For the record this service change is NOT listed anywhere on the MTA webpage that lists such service changes for today's date.

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Note, the above photo is my own and I have not altered the MTA's poster in any way. I believe my posting this image is not violating any rule or copyright as it is being posted here to expand the rider base that is aware of these service changes.

Subway Update re 3/26-4/10 Weeknight Disruptions

Update per MTA website: The service changes to the F Line described below, between 3/26 and 4/10, are only in effect on Tuesdays through Fridays Midnight through 5:am.

179 St-bound "F Trains" trains run on the "V Line" from 47-50 Sts to Queens Plaza Late night.

For service from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge, take the "F Train" to Roosevelt Av and transfer to a Coney Island-bound "F Train" .

-----Original Message-----
From: Parker, Deirdre, MTA Spokesperson.
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:27:41
To: <rooseveltisland360@Gmail.Com>
Subject: RE: FW: Roosevelt Islands

Please be advised that due to emergency work, there will be no northbound F service at Roosevelt Island on weeknights from 12:01 AM - 5AM, March 26th to April 10th. We apologize for any inconvenience thismay cause.

Weekend Subway Service Update thru June 1st

[Image Created by RI360]

Yesterday evening I received the following e-mail from Deidre Parker, the MTA NYC Transit Spokeperson, regarding F Train weekend subway service affecting Roosevelt Island and the two other stations that are served by the 63rd Street Tunnel. In short we can expect three weekends of service disruptions between now and June 1st:

"From Deidre Parker
To: Roosevelt Island 360
Date: Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 6:22 PM
Subject:: F Train Weekend Service
Changes Affecting 63rd St Tunnel ???

Eric,

There is no northbound F service on the weekend of April 4-6. There is no southbound F service on May 23-26 and May 30-June 1 weekends. Transit is trying to avoid work that affects 63rd Street during the time of the tram outage and will only do a reroute if there is an emergency.

Deirdre Parker"

Escalator Update: Early and Delayed Returns

Escalators ?

Good news and bad news regarding our Roosevelt Island subway escalators. According to the advisory posters the remaining two sets of escalators were slated to both return on September 25th but that is no longer the case.

According to Deirdre Parker, NYC Transit spokeswoman, the ES 413/416 set is scheduled to re-open on September 19th, six days early. The ES 412/415 set however is expected to return to service in mid-October two weeks late. No reason has been reported at this time for the delay.

Weekend Service Disruptions ?

Unrelated to the escalator construction, Ms. Parker indicated that there are no scheduled service disruptions scheduled for any weekend affecting the 63rd Street Tunnel stations, including Roosevelt Island, through the end of October. So we can expect approximately 6 weeks of full weekend subway service to run through Roosevelt Island.

Will Hana Fears Cancel MTA Service Disruptions?

Roosevelt Island residents as well as many other riders got lucky one weekend this past Winter when snow forecasts prompted the MTA to cancel weekend service disruptions.

Hopefully this weekend that will happen again restoring normal weekend schedules. The possibility of high winds forcing the tram to stop service and no subway service to Queens through the 63rd Street Tunnel is not a thrilling prospect.

Fun Weekend: Trop. Storm Hanna & No Queens F

They are predicting tropical storm winds of up to 60 miles per hour this weekend which will make life a bit fun on Roosevelt Island. As most island residents know if the winds exceed 30 mph the tram is shut down and with no Queens bound F train service the possibility of no tram service is not a good thing. Granted residents looking to return from Manhattan and/ or Brooklyn to Roosevelt Island can merely take the subway out to Roosevelt Ave in Queens and then switch back to a Manhattan bound F but that is too annoying.

F Train Transit Advisories : Aug 23-25

F

Manhattan-bound F trains run on the V from Roosevelt Avto 47-50 Sts
Aug 23 – 25, 12:01 AM Sat to 5 AM Mon

Jamaica-bound F trains run local from 21 St-Queensbridgeto Roosevelt Av
Aug 24, 12:30 AM to 5 AM

Sunday Manhattan-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Avto 21 St-Queensbridge
Aug 23, 12:01 AM to 5 AM Saturday

For more detailed information about these scheduled service changes, click

http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/subsrvnweekend.htm

Subway Disruptions: Scheduled for July - September

According to a representative of the MTA that attended this evening's Community Board 8 meeting the subway will NOT stop on Roosevelt Island (also Lex/63rd and 21st St. / Queensbridge) in one direction on the following Summer weekends:

July 12-14 Northbound / Queensbound trains
August 9 - 11 Northbound / Queensbound trains
August 23-25 Southbound / Manhattan trains
August 30-Sept 1 Southbound / Manhattan trains
September 6 - 8 Northbound / Queensbound trains

This weekend there are no service disruptions planned for Saturday June 28th through Monday morning June 30th. This weekend is the 26th weekend of the 2008 year and we have had 13 weekends of disruption putting us at 50% which is simply unacceptable.

I understand the need for many of the track projects required to maintain and expand the system but for riders to be displaced this often is bordering on unfair.

No Subway Disruptions This Weekend – A Milestone !

This weekend marks the third time this year that Roosevelt Island (and each of the other stations sharing the 63rd Street Tunnel) have had no subway service disruptions for two weekends in a row. This weekend is the 22nd weekend of the 2008 calendar year and we have had to date 13 weekends of disrupted service. ]

Another four disruption free weekends and we actually may be batting .500. It’s pretty sad that we have had undisrupted service less than 50% of the time.

No Queens Bound F Train May 17-19 for Roosevelt Island

This weekend's subway disruption brings the tally for Roosevelt Island and the entire 63rd Street Subway Tunnel up to 13 weekends with disrupted service out of 20 weekends during 2008 so far.

Does anyone know what the record is for subway service disruptions in a single calendar year for a single station? I am just curious what we are working against and if we will ever have to claim such title if we hit it? I am assuming stations along the 7 line with all the construction they have had over the years will beat us easily but I am curious.

The complete tally includes: (1) 1/5-7; (2) 1/12-14; (3) 1/19-21; (4) 1/26-28; (5) 2/2-4; (6) 2/16-18; (7) 3/1-3; (8) 3/8-10; (9) 3/15-17; (10) 3/29-31; (11) 4/5-7 (12) 4/26-27 and; (13) 5/17-19

Subway Advisory: April 26-28 : Queens Bound F Train to Run on E Line

For this the 12th weekend this year (out of a possible 17 ) the 63rd Street Tunnel subway stations (including Roosevelt Island) are enduring a service disruption. The MTA NYCTA is making life interesting this weekend by re-routing the Queens Bound F Train onto the E line. So from West 4th Street, Manhattan to Roosevelt Ave, Queens the F Train will be running as an E.

To get to Roosevelt Island from Manhattan, transit riders will need to travel to Roosevelt AVENUE and then transfer back onto a Manhattan F Train much as we do other weekends when the Queens Bound F is diverted. The only real difference is more stations in Manhattan are effected this weekend.

Roosevelt Island Weekend Subway Disruptions: 11 of 14 Weeks and Running

Today's NY Times included a column by Clyde Haberman bemoaning the fact that for many New Yorkers the arrival of the weekend just brings another headache ...the weekend subway service disruption.

This is something the residents of Roosevelt Island certainly know about. By my count, including this weekend, we will have had reduced service for 11 weekends out 14 weekends so far in 2008. I would like to see which station is hit the hardest throughout the system. I can't imagine there are too many that beat us but at least we have the Tram, for now, to offset the outages.

Any bets on how many weekends we will get to by the end of 2008? The closest gets a pizza on me.

The tally so far includes:
(1) 1/5-7; (2) 1/12-14; (3) 1/19-21; (4) 1/26-28; (5) 2/2-4; (6) 2/16-18; (7) 3/1-3; (8) 3/8-10; (9) 3/15-17; (10) 3/29-31; and (11) 4/5-7

-----Original Message-----
From: Clyde Haberman
Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:30:23
To:rooseveltisland360@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Fw: Your NYT Weekend Subway Disruption Column

Many thanks for your note and the link to the blog. It does indeed sound as if Roosevelt I. may win the weekend disruption derby, dubious though that title may be.

What can I say except, Happy Trails.
All the best,
Clyde Haberman

Reminder: Subway Disruptions March 29-31

So effectively no Manhattan bound service running through Roosevelt Island. The Tram will depending on the number of riders will increase service accordingly.

Next Two Weeks: No Weekend Subway Service to Manhattan from Roosevelt Island

For planning purposes be aware that subway riders looking to go into Manhattan from Roosevelt Island on either of the next two weekends will need to take the Tram or find alternative transportation as the F train will be diverted to the V line by-passing Roosevelt Island.

Don't even get me started.

Subway Disruptions: Continue into Future

The bad news is the MTA has notified RIOC of the planned disruptions for the next several weeks. The good news is the disruptions seems to lighten up from every weekend to a pattern of one weekend of disruptions then two weeks without disruptions.

-----Original Message-----
From: "Stephen Shane"
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:09:19
To:,,
Subject: MTA track work

See latest info from MTA:

Here is the most up-to-date information on F line diversions. Please note that these plans are subject to change and that these are the work dates we are aware of at this time. We anticipate more weekend work in the near future.

F Line Diversions:

March 15 - 17 (southbound)
March 29 - 31 (southbound)
April 5 - 7 (southbound)
April 26 - 28 (northbound)
May 17 - 19 (northbound)
Customers will be able to travel in the opposite direction and back-ride to their desired location. We encourage you to check http://www.blogger.com/www.mta.info for the latest updates on service diversions. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Stephen H. Shane
President & CEO
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp.

Subway Reminder - Service Disruptions This Weekend 3/8-10 (And Next 3/15-17)

As a reminder yet again this weekend (and next) we will be dealing with subway service cut off in one drection. This weekend marks 8 out 10 weekends in 2008 and next will make it 9 out of 11 weekends involving disruptions.

It is just so nice of the MTA to give us a week's notice just to remind us that it will never end.

I am beginning to feel sorry for the MTA staffer whose job is to generate all these service update posters as life must be pretty dull. Same old choices of text. Either Queens Bound or Manhattan Bound. You wonder if they get a bit silly in that office what the posters must look like. Do they wonder if we'd notice if they published one that read "Staten Island Bound Trains Will Run on ...". Yes I am losing it.

Reminder: No F Train to Manhattan This Weekend and Fare Increases

Just a reminder that there is NO subway service (F Train) directly from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan this weekend and that fare increases go into effect tomorrow March 2, 2008.

Additional information regarding "hoarding" of unlimited fare cards purchased prior to March 2, 2008 can be found at Second Avenue Sagas and on a poster the MTA has released on the issue.

Also the MTA has already announced next weekend we will as always be losing service in one direction. Next week no Queens bound service from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. This announcement raises the tally to 8 weeks of service disruption out of a total of 10 weeks this year. Remember we got a break last weekend when they cancelled track work due to the snow.

I can’t even fathom how we will do this when the Tram is out. Red buses to Queensboro plaza I guess.

Weather Disrupts F Train Service Disruption (This Week Only)

UPDATED 4:33pm

The Main Street WIRE is reporting that the MTA has announced that all scheduled track work, for THIS weekend, FEBRUARY 23-25, 2008, has been CANCELLED due to the weather. I see no announcement on the MTA website and the MTA advisories I have received did not include this statement. However the NY Times City Room blog is reporting the same report but again with no links to official notices.

The WIRE states that the MTA annnouncement makes no specific mention regarding the F Train so the announcement should be questioned until you see specific signage at the subway station.

At the same time the MTA has already announced that service NEXT weekend, March 1-3 is scheduled to be disrupted. If this weekend's service is "restored" then next weekend will represent disruption weekend # 7 out of 9 total weekends this year.