Commuter getting on train at Massapequa LIRR station this morning.Carolyn James/Herald
As the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and five Long Island Rail Road unions continued negotiations ahead of a strike deadline set for 12:01 a.m. Friday, commuters at stations across the South Shore expressed varying levels of concern about how a work stoppage could disrupt travel for nearly 300,000 daily riders.
At the Babylon station, Adrianna Londond said she was unsure how she would get to work if train service stopped.
“I don’t know what I am going to do if there is a strike,” Londond said. “I guess I could get a bus, but they are really unreliable.”
Crews from Forte Construction Group also continued renovation work at the Babylon station while negotiations continued. One worker, who declined to give his name, said he was unsure how a strike could affect the construction crews.
“Really not sure,” he said. “But it’s not good because ‘no work, no pay.’”
At the Massapequa station, James Mansi said he would likely rely on buses if service stopped.
“The only way I could get to work would be to take the bus, I guess,” Mansi said.
Celia Reyes, who travels by LIRR from Jamaica to Massapequa to help care for elderly residents, said a strike would create major challenges.
“A strike would be a big problem for me — and for the family I work for,” Reyes said.
Source: Massapequa Post
