Нью-Йорк Никс Сан-Антонио Спөрсийг буулган авч, аваргалсны дараа Манхэттэн хотод болсон баярын үеэр Дэлхийн цомын хөгжөөн дэмжигчдэд зориулсан таван автобус эвдэрч сүйдлээ.
Нью-Йорк, Нью-Жерсигийн зохион байгуулах хорооноос МетЛайф цэнгэлдэх хүрээлэн рүү зорчигчдыг тээвэрлэхээр түрээсэлсэн есөн шар автобусны тавыг нь олон мянган хүн цугларсан баярын үеэр эвдэлж, заримыг нь шатаасан байна. Нью-Йоркийн цагдаагийн газраас мэдээлснээр, уг үйл явдлын улмаас 63 хүнийг баривчилж, цагдаагийн албан хаагчид руу халдсан, зэвсэг эзэмшсэн болон олон нийтийн эмх замбараагүй байдал үүсгэсэн зэрэг хэргээр шалгаж байна.
Зохион байгуулагчдын зүгээс уг үйл явдлын үеэр автобусанд зорчигч байгаагүй бөгөөд жолооч нар гэмтэж бэртээгүй болохыг мэдэгдлээ. Түүнчлэн, энэ удаагийн эмх замбараагүй байдал нь ирэх Дэлхийн цомын тэмцээний тээврийн үйлчилгээнд нөлөөлөхгүй бөгөөд төлөвлөсөн хуваарийн дагуу хэвийн үргэлжлэх болно гэв.
Никс-ийн ялалтын баярын үеэр Бродвэй болон 43-р гудамжны орчимд буудалцаан болж, 17 настай өсвөр насны хүүхэд гэмтсэн байна. Баярын цуглаан хэтэрхий их байснаас түргэн тусламжийн машин хэргийн газарт очих боломжгүй болсон тул цагдаагийн албан хаагчид хохирогчийг тээвэрлэн хүргэжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Nine yellow school buses hired to transport soccer fans from MetLife Stadium had to be abandoned by drivers and passengers on Saturday night during the raucous New York Knicks celebrations in Manhattan, with five buses were set on fire or destroyed by vandalism or trampling.
As part of the transportation plan to take fans to MetLife Stadium for World Cup games this summer, the New York New Jersey host committee organized a shuttle bus service to and from Manhattan. This was originally supposed to carry 10,000 supporters but, following a $6 million investment from New York State, this expanded to lease 150 yellow school buses on non-school days in order to increase the affordable travel options available to World Cup match-goers.
Some of these buses were caught in the crosshairs of the uglier side of the Knicks celebrations, as tens of thousands of people descended onto the streets of Manhattan in the early hours following the Game 5 win over the Spurs in San Antonio. The New York Police Department confirmed that five of these World Cup school buses were destroyed. At least one was set on fire, while police said people jumped on the buses or hit them with bats in some cases.
A shooting, unrelated to those traveling via the buses, also took place at 43rd and Broadway and the victim was a 17-year-old who needed to be transported by the police as an ambulance could not access the street which had been taken over by fans.
(Adam Gray / Getty Images)
Across the night, 63 people were arrested for offences which included assault against a police officer, possession of a gun, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration.
A New York New Jersey World Cup host committee spokesperson told The Athletic: “Last night, following New York Knicks championship celebrations, a limited number of the Official Stadium Shuttle buses were severely damaged or destroyed in acts of vandalism. No passengers were on board at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported.
“While we recognize the excitement and pride surrounding the city’s celebration, the vandalism and destruction of property that occurred is unacceptable.
“We are grateful that none of our drivers were harmed and commend them for their professionalism throughout these acts of vandalism. We also appreciate the patience and understanding of those whose travel plans were impacted by resulting service disruptions.
“We remain in close communication with the New York City Police Department. Importantly, these incidents will have no impact on transportation services for our remaining World Cup matches or fan events. All planned stadium shuttle operations will continue as scheduled.”
How the buses fared on World Cup debut
The yellow bus plan sprang into action after a major backlash when New Jersey Transit, under the direction of New Jersey governor Mikie Sherill, set a price of $150 for travellers to go from New York Penn Station to MetLife Stadium, up from the usual cost of $12.90. This was subsequently reduced to $98. The initial shuttle bus service was also set at $80, but the funding injection from New York governor Kathy Hochul helped the price to be brought down to $20.
However, the bus plan encountered several significant challenges for the first World Cup game at MetLife Stadium between Morocco and Brazil. On the way to the game, the service operated smoothly, ensuring that all fans who travelled via the service arrived on time for the game, even if there was some usual matchday traffic en route.
After the game, it was more fraught. When The Athletic joined the line around 30 minutes after the final whistle, long lines snaked around as fans waited to climb on board one of the bus services. There was one moment where those lines started to tighten into a bottleneck, but it swiftly eased.
This reporter waited for around an hour but organizers were helped by at that point pleasant weather conditions and the warm spirits of Moroccan and Brazilian fans, who largely sang their way through the wait. The bus journey away from the stadium, however, was held up by gridlocked traffic on the way to the Lincoln Tunnel, with the journey to enter Manhattan taking around two hours. Upon arrival in Manhattan, at that point during the latter stages of the Knicks game, it had become almost impossible for the buses to do much more than crawl along towards their destination.
(Adam Gray / Getty Images)
The gridlock on the way out of Jersey was likely not helped by the relatively low amount of tickets sold by NJ Transit, as it appears more people than hoped decided to travel by car. In a transportation briefing presented in May, it was forecast that 40,000 fans would travel by the rail service but only 21,578 fans, according to NJ Transit’s numbers on Saturday night, decided to pay the $98 price. Around 16,000 travelled via the bus service, which had availability up to 18,000.
The importance of the rail service is also further ramped up because, while there are ordinarily 23,000 car parking spaces available at the venue, this number will be vastly lower during the tournament, owing to the security demands and space requirements of the games.
