The government of Andrew Cuomo made the announcement during a press briefing on Monday.
Starting February 22, overnight stop hours will be adjusted from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m., instead of 1 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“COVID numbers have gone down, so we are adjusting, we have adjusted the indoor table, the extinguishing nest, today we will discuss the MTA and increase capacity,” Cuomo said.
The governor said that in those overnight hours, the trains will continue to be cleaned and sanitized.
“The CDC says, say health professionals, the COVID virus is not transmitted as much as they initially suggested on surfaces, but it can still be transmitted,” Cuomo said. “You want to be safe in the MTA against crime and COVID. When you’re as old as me, trains have never been as clean as they are now.”
The subway stops overnight for almost 10 months. Transitional President Sarah Feinberg said adjustments to the overnight closure are beginning to return to normal.
“We planned our own reopening and return to overnight service and determined that the shortened overnight closure is an important step towards a non-stop return to service,” Feinberg said. “To be clear, we will continue the cleaning regime, we will continue to clean and disinfect our system 24 hours a day.”
Feinberg said the MTA is confident it can maintain the cleaning and disinfection they have managed to do so far.
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