Locals come up
with different
contingency plans
The Long Island railroad brings thousands of residents on Long Island to their workplace destination each day. In the event of a possible strike, commuters at Garden City train station shared their alternative travel plans.
“I have family members that live in Forest Hills so I can park my car in their driveway and take the subway in,” said Ruby Mancuso. “That’s my alternate plan for now.”
“Right now I’m probably going to be telecommuting,” said Erica MacDonald. “I’ll probably just be working from home.” Some people at MacDonald’s job will be carpooling the drive into work. “I think there are four of them that will pick each other up along the way.”
Businesses that depend on the commuters who take the Long Island railroad everyday may also become affected, losing customers whole the strike is in action.
In the case of Linda’s Café, the coffee shop in the waiting room of the Garden City train station, it will have no other choice but to close down, according to owner Linda Ciappa, “It’s looking more and more that the strike is going to happen,” commented Ciappa. “I will take a forced vacation. What else can I do?”
While some businesses are going to suffer from the strike, Checker Cab driver Walter Mazura, expects the strike will help his company.
“We’re not looking to rip anybody off,” said Mazura. In a normal cab ride to Manhattan, the cost is $75 plus tolls. “In the case of a strike, we’re doing fifty dollars a head and splitting the tolls between passengers,” said Mazura. “We make money, they get to work.”
