Two small holes in parking garage ramps and some cracked steel beams.
That's all it took to stop some critical train service in its tracks this week.
Now, consider what could have happened if the owner of a private Manhattan parking garage hadn't discovered the holes and cracks.
This week's disruption to Amtrak's Empire Line service occurred because of structural issues in a parking garage on West 51st Street near 10th Avenue directly above Amtrak tracks. It illustrated clearly just how much our public transit lifeline, and the broader economy it sustains, depends on aging, deteriorating infrastructure — and what could happen when it doesn't hold up.
For the Hudson View Garage, it's not just what's below that matters. Above it sits a 30-story high-rise apartment building. And those holes in the ramps might be small, but they're frightening. Photos show the concrete had cracked enough to reveal the tracks directly below. It's pretty easy to envision a scenario where things could have gone terribly wrong.
Inspections and attention to garages like that one increased after a parking structure in lower Manhattan collapsed last spring, killing one employee, injuring several others, and destroying dozens of cars. Now consider how many older buildings, garages and other structures sit above railroad tracks and subway lines across Manhattan and the outer boroughs. Where else are there undiscovered holes and cracks?
That worry isn't limited to the Amtrak routes heading north from Penn Station. The Long Island Rail Road, too, uses tracks that run underneath buildings, ramps and roads across Manhattan and Queens and remains dependent on the surrounding infrastructure. And it's not just the concrete and steel. A weather-related mudslide last month dumped hundreds of cubic yards of debris onto Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line tracks, limiting service for days. It, too, could have been much worse.
Even when decrepit infrastructure is addressed before something terrible happens, the ripple effects can be enormous. Amtrak's Empire Line has been disrupted since Sunday, affecting trains from Penn Station to Albany and those outside the Northeast region heading our way. Metro-North provides some redundancy, but Amtrak's importance to the region can't be overstated. It's still unclear when service will restart, causing Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday to send state officials to help.
For the trains and tracks themselves, the threats are many — electrical work that fails, tunnels that crack and corrode, tracks that need replacement, stations that require upgrades. Look at the East River Tunnels, where Superstorm Sandy-related damage was severe and the danger has been real. More than a decade later, they'll finally get their long-awaited fix, thanks to $1.3 billion in federal funding secured by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
But what about problems that don't get that spotlight? What we don't know might be more troubling than what we do know — all of which reminds us just how fragile our all-important public transit system is.
While the ribbon cuttings and big projects are great, it's the less-flashy small stuff, from inspections to upkeep to repair, that keeps the trains — and all of us — moving safely. Paying attention is critical. Because when we don't, a real catastrophe could occur.
We got lucky this time. We shouldn't count on such luck again.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
On infrastructure, small stuff matters
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15.11.2023
Two small holes in parking garage ramps and some cracked steel beams.
That's all it took to stop some critical train service in its tracks this week.
Now, consider what could have happened if the owner of a private Manhattan parking garage hadn't discovered the holes and cracks.
This week's disruption to Amtrak's Empire Line service occurred because of structural issues in a parking garage on West 51st Street near 10th Avenue directly above Amtrak tracks. It illustrated clearly just how much our public transit lifeline, and the broader economy it sustains, depends on aging, deteriorating infrastructure — and what could happen when it doesn't hold up.
For the Hudson View Garage, it's not just what's below that matters. Above it sits a 30-story high-rise apartment building. And those holes in the ramps might be small, but they're frightening. Photos show the........
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