Why the MTA can't do this kills me and partially explains why people screamed bloody murder about a complete shutdown. The signaling system alone is held together by the equivalent of tape and chewing gum.

It's bloody murder, as you say, to turn NYC, whose delis/bodegas, restaurants and bars stay open until 12, 2, 4 am, all night, into London, where most bars end at 11pm, and restaurants much earlier. Part of that is cultural and part of that is that service staff can't necessarily afford Uber (which was banned too, wasn't it), or taxis, which cost a fortune. Yes, the night bus, that IS something London has that NY doesn't (the buses in NYC are atrocious).

NYC would be a different city if they shut down subways at midnight. The existing maintenance is already a nightmare (and an alphabet soup of outage notices).