NYC will halt subway service overnight to disinfect trains

The New York City subway, a 24/7 behemoth that rarely shuts down, is shutting down — but just at night.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will suspend subway service for four hours every evening to disinfect trains and deal with an uptick in homelessness, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

New York City’s reputation as a “city that never sleeps” is mostly thanks to its 24-hour subway service. But with COVID-19 continuing to ravage the city, Cuomo said the step was necessary to protect transit workers who have been especially hard hit by the virus.

“This is going to be one of the most aggressive, creative, challenging undertakings the MTA has done,” Cuomo said.

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