Dan's Papers - November 23, 2007 - The Hampton Subway Newsletter

November 19-26
Riders 6,210
Riders Miles 52,433

Delays: There were forty-minute delays on the D line between Westhampton and Quiogue on Monday afternoon as maintenance men removed a woman's red handbag that somehow got onto the track. It contains identification, but it is our policy not to publicly state the person's name for the sake of personal privacy. If you lost a red handbag, call 631- 4SUBWAY x343.

Employee of the Week: Eleanor Freebin, token clerk celebrating her 35th year at the Bridgehampton station.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Why does the Hampton Subway still use tokens when other subway systems have upgraded to magnetized cards?

ANSWER OF THE WEEK: Hampton Subway saves money by using the discarded New York Transit tokens. Recycling is good for the environment.

HELP WANTED: Resumes are being accepted for a new "voice of the Hampton Subway." Successful applicant will be female, between the ages of 18 and 45, foreign accent free and have the ability to announce the upcoming stations over the PA system in a clear, friendly voice. Part time.

HAMPTON SUBWAY WINS STATE SAFETY AWARD

Last Thursday, in a ceremony in the Teddy Roosevelt Room at the State Capitol in Albany, Governor Spitzer presented Commissioner Bill Aspinall with the 2007 Subway Public Safety Award.
"This award honors Hampton Subway for its twenty-one consecutive years of casualty-free service for the community it serves. It is a tribute to the work of Commissioner Bill Aspinall and his staff that the subway service, which operates day and night, has continued on without a single accident causing a fatality during all these years."
The award, consisting of a silver serving bowl and ladle, was received by the Commissioner with the comment that this award was really not meant for him, but for the 230 employees of the Hampton Subway whose dedication and care have made this possible. He said he would place the award not in the glass case at the Hampton Subway headquarters, which is overflowing with awards, but in the glass awards case in the dining room of his home in East Hampton, where, at the end of his term, he would authorize this serving service be passed on to the next commissioner.
About 250 people attended. And photographs were taken of the two shaking hands.
Another award, consisting of a small silver cigarette case, was handed out as a "second prize" for safety to the only other subway system in the state, the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City, which has only gone seventeen months without a fatality.

BREAKING NEWS: GLADYS GOODING KILLED IN FREAK ACCIDENT

As we go to press, we have learned that Gladys Gooding of Southampton, a longtime resident of that town, and one other woman who has not yet been identified, have died after falling onto the tracks in front of an arriving westbound subway train at the Southampton Station. Ms. Gooding was a part time employee of Hampton Subway. Further details next week.

COMMISSIONER ASPINALL'S WEEKLY MESSAGE

It is a sad day here at Hampton Subway. After receiving a safety award up in Albany last Wednesday, and then spending the next few days at Foxwoods in Connecticut relaxing and having a little mini-vacation, I arrived back here to our headquarters to learn that - such irony - Gladys Gooding, "the voice of the Hampton Subway" was killed on the tracks in Southampton after falling in front of an arriving westbound D Local.
Ms. Gooding has been our "voice" for the last nine years, cheerfully recording and then re-recording as our tape system required, the messages that you hear on the train as it approaches a station. "Next stop, Shinnecock," she might say. Or "Now arriving in Shinnecock." Or "Be careful of the closing doors." New recordings, as the old ones wore out - they were in use 24 hours a day 7 days a week - were made in a sound studio at LTV in Wainscott for Hampton Subway. Ms. Gooding always did this work cheerfully and efficiently. And she rarely, if ever, made a mistake that resulted in something that had to be recorded a second time. She will be missed.
I was not here at the time of the accident, and I don't use the subways anyway because of a medical condition that I have, but from those that were there, apparently what happened was that Ms. Gooding had brought a weekend guest staying at her house down to the subway platform in Southampton so her guest could see where she worked and hear her recorded voice.
While on the platform, a heavyset woman with a red handbag, standing nearby and overhearing the two talk, recognized Ms. Gooding's voice and in an ecstasy of enthusiasm came running over to embrace her shouting, "I recognize you. You're the Voice of the Hamptons!"
Police say the guest told them that at that moment Ms. Gooding was pointing at the place in the ceiling where special chandeliers for a proposed new first class area of the platform may be put up, and so she was taken by surprise. The impact of the heavyset woman's embrace sent both of them tumbling down onto the tracks where, well, the D train was just arriving and motorman Ellis Frank simply could not swerve out of the way in time. So you know the rest.
Ms. Gooding's guest has requested that his name not be made public and we will honor that. Apparently, they are both married, but to other people, and Ms. Gooding's husband was in Columbia, South Carolina at the time of the accident. But of course he has hurried home.
Several people on the subway platform in Southampton were treated for shock, three on the platform recovered with the aid of our three new defibrillators that we have there. Two others were taken to Southampton Hospital, treated and released.
The identity of the heavyset woman is not yet known. She was apparently alone on the platform at the time of the accident. She was well dressed but not carrying identification. And no one has stepped forward to report a missing person. If you know of one, please call the police or us here at 631-4SUBWAY where operators are standing by.
Personally, I was so distraught by this occurrence that I stated that I wished to return the award presented to me in Albany on Wednesday. But our Board of Directors voted 3 to 2 that I keep it.
Our deepest best wishes and condolences go out to the Gooding family.
Ms. Gooding's family says that it was her wish to be cremated and her ashes sprinkled along the tracks of the Hampton Bays Station, which serves the town in which she was born. A funeral ceremony will take place next Thursday on the platform where Ms. Gooding's wishes will be carried out. Everyone is invited.