NYC bars, hotels to offer commuters summer discounts for rail relief

Kaitlyn Kanzler | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Amtrak CEO discusses Penn Station improvements Amtrak CEO discusses Penn Station improvements

Several New York City hotels and bars are attempting to provide some relief for commuters who are facing frustrations with the changes to train schedules due to the work being done to Penn Station.

A number of hotels are offering discounts for commuters to make the trek to their jobs easier and some bars are offering complimentary drinks to commuters to help dull the pain of the commute and delays.

Hotel 50 Bowery, a new hotel located in Chinatown, will offer commuters a 20 percent discount on rooms for all of July and August. Guests who plan on staying just have to show their monthly NJ Transit and Long Island Railroad passes. For guests who plan to stay a minimum of two nights, they will receive a free credit towards dry cleaning from the hotel.

InterContinental New York Times Square hotel is offering 15 percent off their room prices for commuters who show their monthly NJ Transit and Long Island Railroad.

Additionally, the hotel's cocktail bar, The Stinger Cocktail Bar & Kitchen, is offering commuters a complimentary six-ounce portion of one of their signature cocktails when a shared plate menu item is purchased.

In April, Amtrak announced an aggressive, multi-million dollar plan to address the multitudinous issues that have plagued commuters over the past several months. The decision came after two derailments occurred within two weeks of each other and a number of delays to trains heading in and out of the station, which also services New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Railroad.

Amtrak, who is the landlord of Penn Station, announced they would cut back on the number of trains during the summer in order to expedite a plan that was supposed to take over three years, leading to 60 to 90-minute delays for NJ Transit commuters. Cutbacks are expected to begin July 10 and last through Sept. 1. A number of commuters were displeased, some noting the repairs should have been done years ago. One commuter said the summer schedule is "going to be hell."

In late May, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting that the federal government treat the repairs as an "emergency situation" as well as provide money for the short-term construction on the aging station.