March 9, 2015 By Christian Murray
He’s bombarded with Tweets, Facebook messages and E-mails whenever the No. 7 train goes down.
He hears stories of people freezing on the platforms, standing in overcrowded stairwells, as well as commuting on jam-packed trains.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, the recipient of a growing number of messages, will be sharing some of these stories at 8:00 am Wednesday when he holds a rally at the 40th Street subway station.
“The morning rush hour into Manhattan has gone from bad to worse and the MTA should hear about it,” Van Bramer said.
Several No. 7 train riders will be providing their own accounts of how the poor service has inconvenienced them.
“I am fed up and the MTA needs to hear from all of us,” Van Bramer said. He said that it didn’t matter that the MTA is a state-run agency–they just need to hear from the public.
Van Bramer said the delays are affecting people’s quality of life. “Many people are late to work or have to leave much earlier to ensure they arrive on time.”
Van Bramer said that the MTA’s response to his complaints have been insulting: “They say the No. 7 train is one of the best in the city… and that the delays are caused by people jamming onto the train,” he said. “This is blaming the victim.”
“The weekend closures are bad enough,” he said, “but compounded by all these rush-hour delays—it’s a disgrace.”
Rally:
Date: Wednesday, March 11
Time: 8:00 am
Location: 40th Street Station/Plaza
