Update 7:23 a.m. on May 17, 2021
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – New York City’s reopening continues this week as 24/7 subway service returns and a curfew on outdoor dining is lifted.
Around-the-clock subway service returned at 4 a.m. Sunday, MTA Chairman Pat Foye said at a press conference later in the afternoon.
“There will be no more closure going forward,” Foye said. “The city that never sleeps is again going to have 24/7 subway service.”
“This is a special moment for the city,” he said.
The challenge now is continuing to bring riders back to mass transit, Foye said while announcing new initiatives to do just that.
Subway ridership is now up to 2.1 million riders per week day, while buses are at 1.2 million riders.
"3.3 million customers a week day," Foye said. "That is substantially higher than the low number of riders we were carrying in March and April of last year during the worst days of the pandemic."
Before the pandemic, daily subway ridership exceeded 5 million.
Back in May 2020, the MTA shut down subways from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. nightly for COVID-related deep-cleaning and disinfecting at all 472 stations and on thousands of trains. In February of this year, the MTA began closing the subway for just two hours, between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that standards of cleanliness should remain high even after the overnight closures end.
“We will keep cleaning and scrubbing, and customers must continue to wear their masks, but we can loudly and proudly say, ‘Welcome back, New York,’” Sarah Meyer, the MTA’s chief customer officer, said Sunday.
Foye said stations will be cleaned at terminal stations.
"At the end of the line, we're going to ask passengers to leave the train and continue as we have since the pandemic started a disinfecting regime. WE're not going to clean cars where there are passengers sitting on them, but we've become a lot more efficient and conversing with how to get disinfecting efficiently and without customer disruption," Foye said.
Even as COVID has receded, the past year has seen a rise in violent crime in the transit system, with a slashing spree on the Lexington Avenue line in Manhattan making headlines last week.
Foye would like to see an additional 600 to 800 police officers in stations or on trains, as well as a substantial increase in mental health resources.
“The subway is safe, but it’s not as safe as it can and should be,” he said. “More police officers would bring a greater visible presence to our customer, and frankly, to our employees.”
On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an additional 250 NYPD officers will be deployed into the transit system, but he called on the MTA fill several vacancies within its own police force.
In addition to the resumption of 24/7 subway service, a midnight curfew on outdoor dining will be lifted on Monday.
And this Wednesday, capacity restrictions on businesses — including restaurants, offices, beauty salons and gyms — will be lifted in New York and its neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut.
The midnight curfew on indoor dining will expire on May 31.
Even as restrictions ease at restaurants, some questions still remain, said New York State Restaurant Association President Melissa Fleischut.
“What are we going to do with masks now based on the CDC’s announcement? That really came as a surprise to us,” she said. “And then six feet of social distancing really is a challenge still.”
While restaurants will be able to operate at 100% capacity, there still must be six feet between parties. For smaller restaurants, that’s still less than full capacity.
Fleischut said the state should also lift some other restrictions.
“We have to roll up the silverware wearing masks and gloves, instead of having silverware stacked on the table,” she said. “Tables are restricted to 10 people. We’d like to see them be able to seat more at a table if that’s possible.”
Fleischut’s message to restaurant-goers is to be patient, as a lot of restaurants still have staffing issues.
The easing of restrictions comes as more and more New Yorkers get vaccinated. Cuomo announced this weekend that more than 50% of adults in the state had completed their COVID-19 vaccine series.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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