New York City restaurants and bars are inching closer and closer to the big dates later this month, when they will no longer have to close by midnight.

Yet it’s still not clear when 24-hour subway service will resume, and there is now a major push to bring it back soon. 

For Enisa Santiago of the Bronx, taking the subway is her preferred way of getting to her favorite bars in Hell’s Kitchen. 

What You Need To Know

  • By May 31, midnight curfew will end for bars and restaurants in NYC, allowing them to stay open further into the overnight hours

  • Some bar goers and workers are concerned that lack of 24-hour service will make it more difficult for people to get around at an affordable price

  • Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling for the MTA to resume 24-hour subway service immediately

It’s also her preferred way of getting home to Tremont, since the price of an Uber tends to skyrocket after last call.

“It can cost up to $100 just to get back to the Bronx,” said Santiago, “which is maybe a 30 minute, 20 minute ride. That’s ridiculous!”

While Santiago was initially excited to hear that, by May 31, bars in New York City will once again be able to stay open til 4 a.m., she says if the subways don’t resume 24-hour service, you’ll find many people like herself who would have loved to have stayed out late, going home by 1 a.m. to save money on transportation costs.

“The trains stop at 2 and all the places that want to stay open til 4,” said Santiato. “You’re not really going to make any money because no one is going to want to stay out because there’s no way to get home.”

Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agrees. On Sunday, Schumer cited a jump in ridership and a significant drop in COVID-19 cases, as he called on the MTA to restore 24-hour subway service immediately, now that the city has begun to reopen.

“Newsflash: this is New York City. People work at 2 a.m., 3 a.m., 4 a.m.,” said Schumer. “That’s how we are.”

Back in February, the MTA reduced the overnight subway closures from four hours to two hours so that cleaning crews could combat the pandemic and sanitize trains. 

Subway rider William Lewis of Harlem is part of the Broadway community, as an engineer for the Shubert Organization. 

And while he would prefer to take the train home, whenever he is asked to work late, into the overnight hours, he says he’ll accept the overnight closures and ride the bus or walk home, if the MTA truly needs that time to clean the trains. 

 “I prefer cleanliness to availability,” said Lewis. 

When asked for comment, the MTA referred NY1 to an earlier statement that said 24-hour service would be coming soon, but did not provide an exact date.