Transit Strike!

As you may have seen in the news, the New York transit workers’ union went on strike last week for three days. This was my first experience with a big city “crisis”, and it was as cold as it was interesting.

Last Tuesday, when the strike began, I walked from Brooklyn to Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge (about 3 miles). From Chinatown, I hopped in a cab with three other strangers and went 34th street to get to work.

The first day was chaos. Cab drivers didn’t know what to charge, so they just bargained with riders. Cars had to have at least four passengers in order to enter Manhattan, so drivers were inviting strangers into their cars before crossing bridges.

The next two days weren’t so bad getting to work. My company and many others provided bus services to and from work. It turned out my company’s bus picked up a few blocks from my apartment. I did a lot of walking after work, though. To meet up with friends both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I walked about 30 blocks in 20 degree weather. This week, it’s in the 40’s and feels like spring!