More Trouble Ahead for N.J. Commuters

Weather: Sunny, with a high in the upper 50s.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until March 10 (Purim).

Those who take trains between New Jersey and New York City are no stranger to delays and cancellations: Governor Cuomo called one period of upheaval — when tracks were replaced at Pennsylvania Station — the “summer of hell.” (Luckily, that project wasn’t as frustrating as anticipated.)

Now, commuters may have to brace themselves for even more headaches: Amtrak has announced a plan to repair its century-old rail tunnels under the Hudson River, which carry both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains.

The tunnels have been deteriorating at a faster pace since 2012, when Hurricane Sandy flooded them with salt water.

[More pain for New Jersey commuters: Tunnel repairs could cause big delays.]

The repairs

Initially, Amtrak executives and state officials wanted to move forward with an $11 billion project, called Gateway, to build modern tunnels from scratch, my colleague Patrick McGeehan reported. The Trump administration, however, must approve that proposal, and it has so far shown little interest in doing so.

So instead, Amtrak has been studying ways to fix the interiors of the existing tunnels with minimal disruption to service, a company official said. The plan might cost more than $100 million.

The effects

It was unclear last week exactly how service would be affected, but the repairs would almost certainly mean schedule disruptions for riders in the Northeast — particularly for the 70,000 commuters during rush hour who go to and from Penn Station each weekday.

The tunnels operate at full capacity during peak periods, and they are the sole route for trains moving between Manhattan and New Jersey.

Recent aggravations

Last month, a power failure disabled a train and created chaos for thousands of riders, some of whom were stranded for over four hours on a Monday evening at Penn Station.

Last summer, New Jersey Transit canceled over 60 trains in one week, again leaving thousands of people scrambling to find another way to their destination. The reasons for the cancellations included crew shortages and a lack of available trains.

And then, last fall, Mr. McGeehan perhaps found the worst train in America: North Jersey Coast Line 2606 failed to show up for its morning run nearly 20 times between January and September.

Join the author Jordan Kisner as she discusses her upcoming book, “Thin Places: Essays From in Between,” at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn. 7 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]

Listen to L.G.B.T.Q. comedians tell their coming out and transitioning stories during the show “Closet Cases,” at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan. 7 p.m. [$8]

— Jordan Allen

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.

And finally: An archive’s new homes

You may remember our story from a couple of months ago about the Archive of Contemporary Music, a nonprofit in TriBeCa that houses one of the world’s largest collections of popular music — more than three million recordings, as well as music books, vintage memorabilia and press kits.

According to Bob George, the founder, the archive was struggling to survive in its current location after accruing thousands of dollars of debt and being unable to keep up with rising rent. It agreed to give up its lease by early summer but had no new home in sight.

After calls for help, Mr. George said, an overwhelming number of people reached out with donations and options for space. “Over a hundred offers were made,” he said. “Some were so nice and sweet and heartfelt.”

Last week, the archive’s board decided on two new locations. Mr. George would not disclose specific details because the contracts were not final, but said: “We’ve been offered space in upstate New York, near Hyde Park, and space in Los Angeles. We are secure for the next year in our finances through donations made by two foundations.”

Now he needs to pack everything and get it out of New York City.

On Saturday and Sunday, you can head to the archive, at 54 White Street, and lend a hand in organizing the inventory.

“We’re calling it record-savings time,” Mr. George said. “We’ve got about a million 45s to sort.”

It’s Monday — get your groove on.

Metropolitan Diary: Morning coffee

Dear Diary:

Every morning, I get coffee from one of the many coffee carts on the New York City streets.

I only drink my coffee black, and I cannot drink it with sugar. I am careful when ordering to slowly say I would like a small black coffee with no sugar. Sometimes this works, and sometimes my coffee has the unwanted addition of sugar.

One morning, I was under terrible stress. When I got to the cart, I carefully placed my order as usual.

“I would like one small black sugar with no coffee,” I said.

— Roderick Denault

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