Subway riders who were stranded in blizzard for 10 hours without food, water or heat to get $2,500 each in compensation 

  • Settlements reached with 38 riders who sued Metropolitan Transportation Authority
  • 500 passengers aboard A train that was stopped by two feet of snow
  • Passengers spent the night huddled together in one of the five cars to create some body heat, they said

By JILL REILLY FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Passengers stranded for hours on a freezing subway train during a 2010 blizzard are getting $2,500 from New York City's transit agency.

The settlements were reached with 38 riders who sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 

They were among some 500 passengers aboard A train that was trapped by two feet of snow.

Some passengers stranded for hours on a freezing subway train during a 2010 blizzard are getting $2,500 from New York City's transit agency. Pictured: One of the passengers talks of his ordeal in 2010

Some passengers stranded for hours on a freezing subway train during a 2010 blizzard are getting $2,500 from New York City's transit agency. Pictured: One of the passengers talks of his ordeal in 2010

Passengers sat on the train for 10 hours without food, water or heat.

'When I think about it now, I can't believe it happened in New York City,' said Agnes Hui, one of two-dozen plaintiffs named in the biggest among a number of lawsuits. 

'It was horrific,' she told the New York Daily News.

Passengers on the stranded train said their frantic cellphone calls to 911 and the MTA did not result in any action - or even helpful information. 

With frost developing on the subway windows inside, passengers spent the night huddled together in one of the five cars to create some body heat, they said.

One woman resorted to a makeshift toilet - outside between subway cars. 

Others urinated or defecated in the car filled with riders, some standing for hours because there wasn't enough room, according to the complaint.

Passengers on the stranded train (pictured in 2010) said their frantic cellphone calls to 911 and the MTA did not result in any action - or even helpful information 

Passengers on the stranded train (pictured in 2010) said their frantic cellphone calls to 911 and the MTA did not result in any action - or even helpful information 

Several passengers (pictured) had to be hospitalized after finally being rescued from the Manhattan-bound train, which was stuck on the tracks between the Aqueduct and Rockaway Boulevard stations

Several passengers (pictured) had to be hospitalized after finally being rescued from the Manhattan-bound train, which was stuck on the tracks between the Aqueduct and Rockaway Boulevard stations

Several others had to be hospitalized after finally being rescued from the Manhattan-bound train, which was stuck on the tracks between the Aqueduct and Rockaway Boulevard stations. 

One rider developed bronchitis, another pneumonia.

'When the train was finally moved, the passengers were off-loaded at the next stop, in the freezing cold, with about three feet of snow on the ground,' the plaintiffs said in their lawsuit.

Aymen Aboushi, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs, tells the Daily News, the goal of the suit was to ensure it did not happen again.

MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz called it 'a fair settlement for all parties involved.'

Among measures the agency adopted after the storm was a customer advocate to ensure riders' well-being on stuck vehicles.

But Hui, who was returning with her daughter from JFK Airport after a flight was canceled, said it 'was really maddening the MTA never apologized.'

The blizzard was part of a mammoth blizzard that stretched from Florida to Maine.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration was criticized for its slow response to the foul weather and its aftermath (file photo 2014)

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration was criticized for its slow response to the foul weather and its aftermath (file photo 2014)

More than 2 feet of snow fell on some parts of New York City, combined with strong winds that led to a massive transportation gridlock. 

Hundreds of buses were stuck on streets, commuter trains were frozen onto tracks and major airports closed.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration was criticized for its slow response to the foul weather and its aftermath. 

Streets went unplowed for days, and cars, buses and other vehicles were stranded. 

Bloomberg acknowledged the response was not good enough.

 

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