New York City subways will soon run longer into the night, transit officials announced on Monday, marking a step toward resuming normal life amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Starting next Monday, the subway system will only shut down from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. instead of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., said Patrick J. Foye, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees transit in New York City.
Mr Foye described the move as a gradual reopening, but did not give a date when officials will fully end the first scheduled night-shift closure in history.
The overnight shutdown began last May when the virus struck New York and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo ordered the city’s famous 24-hour subway system to shut down overnight for disinfection. Mr Cuomo, who controls the New York transit agency, said the subway would resume 24-hour operations once the pandemic ends. The governor has been heavily criticized for the closure, which, according to proponents of the transit, injured thousands of key workers who were forced to find alternative travel options.
For decades, the city’s sprawling subway system has provided protection of last resort to thousands of homeless New Yorkers. During the winter months in particular, many who are wary of the city’s often overcrowded and sometimes violent shelters climb into the system from the parks and streets above and seek shelter on their trains around the clock.
Now, homeless people who live on the streets are facing a dangerous mix of winter weather and a lack of indoor public spaces – such as subway stations, trains, and fast food restaurants – that once provided a break every night.
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