[huntbytnkbel]

This is TOTALLY unforgivable,Transit workers striking at Christmas.
I lived in the City at the time of the '66 strike,although I was residing Upstate at school when it happened.I really don't remember what time of year it was,but I do remember that Transit union wanted a 35% pay raise and it sure wasn't Christmastime.
By '81 I was living in Florida Where there are no Subways to strike( no snow,either) but I could imagine the agony New Yorkers were going through,deprived of transportation and mobility for a couple weeks.

After that strike,MTA got serious about actually becoming a useable system again,and the trains got much better.I was tied to the Subways and buses for 7 years,five without a car,and public transportation for me was NOT an option,it was IT ! Daily,I would curse and loathe buses and Subways,even as I used them.I was happy to see them change into something useable again.

When I left NYC in the early '70s,the fare was 75 cents,everyone carried a pocketfull of tokens,junk and bum-filled stations were like passing through threatening landfills,the cars were all mobile Street Art museums and the Transit system had been allowed to decay to the point of abandonment.
The '81 strike spurred MTA back to life as a viable institution,and resulted in a much better way to get around,albeit a lot more expensive.
There was a corresponding increase in Subway cops,as well,and crime began to fall off underground.


The Staten Island Ferry used to cost a quarter then.

People adapted fast.New Yorkers are masters of innovation when it comes to coping with the breakdowns of society--blackouts,garbage strikes,taxi fares,finding places where you can smoke,etc,and by the third day of the strike,entrepeneurs had set up all kinds of ways to transport people,from long-distance Hansom Cab fares to rickshaw runners and "volunteer" taxis.Sneaker shops were selling out,and the bicycles pouring off the Brooklyn Bridge made the City look like Bombay.

I visited a few places this morning before posting,and learned that a lot of institutions have already set up carpools and hired limo services for the duration.Bandit Cabs are probably already on the street,and the rickshaw drivers are smelling a Christmas bonus.I bet you can find people who will carry you from place to place on their back,for a fee and a nice tip.New Yorkers can,and will cope with this.

Everybody should take their Christmas-to-New Years Sick Days NOW.Hardly anybody shows up for work during that week anyway,so connive a few permissable Days out of the Boss and start Christmas early.Just hope it doesn't snow a lot.Good luck.