Second Ave. Sagas

Category: Brooklyn

  • G train now with less waiting, more inconvenient transfers

    Around these parts, we’ve known for a while that service changes were heading the G train’s way. Earlier this week, the MTA made it officially, and the changes are rather extensive to the much-maligned train.

    Of course, as with anything MTA, the changes come with the good and the bad. The Daily News reported on these changes earlier this week. Peter Kadushin gives us the details:

    The Transit Authority’s 2008 Service Enhancement Program trades increased frequency of G service – up to 50% on weekday evenings and 20% during afternoons – for the elimination of off-peak service to 13 stations across the borough.

    The new plan means G service in Queens will end at Court Square in Long Island City, one stop shy of a key location – Queens Plaza on the E, R and V lines. That will force riders to make an extra transfer to get access to Queens Blvd. and Forest Hills.

    Of note also is the Church Ave. extension. The G will now terminate at Chuch Ave., deep in the heart of Brooklyn. But why, oh, why is the train stopping at Court Square? (Yes, yes, I know. They can’t turn the train around at Queens Plaza. But still.)

    Gene Russianoff, Straphangers Campaign guru, wasn’t too pleased. “The thrust of the G advocacy has been about building ridership,” he said. “But at every turn, they make it hard. These changes make the line less convenient for people.”

    Less waiting; more transfers. That’s a questionable trade-off, but in the end, it’s one I would make.

  • Southern Brooklyn Q stops gearing up for renovations

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    The Neck Road stop will look much less forlorn when renovations are complete. (Courtesy of the MTA)

    Brooklyn sure is in for a rough ride. A few weeks after announcing years of construction — and service changes — in central Brooklyn along the F line, the MTA unveiled plans to completely overhaul seven stations along the Brighton Line from Neck Road and Newkirk Ave.

    First up are Neck Road and Avenue U, and the MTA’s plans should wreak havoc for commuters relying on the Q and B trains to ferry them to and from Homecrest or Sheepshead Bay and the rest of the city. The work on just those two stations is set to take 28 months, and there is, as yet, no timetable for work on the other five stations.

    Much like the work on the F train, commuters will be facing constant service changes as these two 100-year-old stations finally receive a proper overhaul. Included in the renovation are ADA-compliancy plans. The MTA anticipates work to begin in late 2008, sometime around October, and for the first 11 months, southbound service will be rerouted. All southbound Q and B trains will skip Ave. U and Neck Road, running from Kings Highway to Sheepshead Bay. For the B, this is routine service, but the Q will see two fewer stops.

    Riders wishing to get to these two stations will be able to transfer to a northbound Q train at Sheepshead Bay making all local stops or transfer to a shuttle bus at Kings Highway. This bus will run from Kings Highway down Ocean Ave. and east on Ave. U to Gerritsen Ave. near Marine Park. The shuttle is, in fact, a bit of a boon to many who faced long walks from the subway along that route or long waits for the B3. Additionally, many riders may also just choose to walk to Kings Highway or Sheepshead Bay as those stations aren’t very far from Avenue U and Neck Road respectively.

    After 11 months of southbound work, in fall of 2009, phase two of the project will begin. This time, the northbound platforms get their makeover. All southbound trains make normal stops while northbound trains ride on the express tracks, bypassing Neck Road and Ave. U. To reach northbound trains, riders at Neck Road and Ave. U will have to ride south Sheepshead Bay for Manhattan-bound Q or B trains. The three people riding north from Coney Island or Brighton Beach trying to reach Neck Road or Ave. U will be able to switch to southbound local service at Kings Highway.

    Got all that? Backriding is confusing stuff. For a convenient picture form of this mess, the MTA’s presentation to Brooklyn Community Board 15 is available here as a PDF.

    The service changes should wrap up by mid-2010, and it is anticipated that the renovations on the other stations will fit into a similar time frame. All in all, fun times are ahead for people in southern Brooklyn relying on the B and Q lines. With the F line construction set for the same time, good options from Coney Island north are slowly dwindling.

  • Something doing on the L line?

    According to a recent Subchat post, all of the L line stations in Brooklyn are getting a facelift. All painted surfaces are getting a fresh coat, and all wooden benches are getting striped and recoated. Supposedly, something is going on next month along those tops. I wonder what it is. [Subchat]

  • Weekend Permanent service changes: Take the bus to IKEA

    So you know that whole IKEA thing they’re building in Red Hook much to the chagrin of everyone? It’s not exactly overly accessible, and the MTA wants to fix that.

    Red Hook is a great place to visit. You’ve got fantastic views, fantastic key lime pies, fantastic Latin American food and a Fairway.

    But the catch is also the charm of the area: It’s hard to get to Red Hook, but it keeps the neighborhood peaceful. The nearest subway stop at Smith and 9th Sts. is a good walk from the Hook. To reach the Hook, visitors either must drive or take the B61 or B77 stops from elsewhere in Brooklyn.

    But the MTA is going to solve this transportation problem for IKEA-bound folks. Beginning in January, the B61 and B77 will stop right outside of the IKEA, The Brooklyn Paper reports. For those shopping for furniture, this is great news. Those living in the area are none-too-thrilled as it is but could use the enhanced transportation options. So with a shuttle IKEA plans to run from subway stops in downtown Brooklyn and the bus line extensions, hopefully, fewer people will drive to the store.

    Now on to the weekend service alerts. You can, always, get them here, but the ones on the MTA’s site are disastrously confusing this week. I’ll attempt to clarify. Pay careful attention to what’s happening with the E train.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, there are no 1 trains between 14th Street and South Ferry. Customers may take the 2 or 3 between 14th Street and Chambers Street. There are free shuttle buses operating between Chambers Street and South Ferry. This is due to Port Authority underpinning work at the WTC site for the new PATH station.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, 2 and 3 trains run local between 96th Street and Chambers Street due to Port Authority underpinning work at the WTC site for the new PATH station.


    From 6 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 9 p.m. Sunday, September 30, Bronx-bound 2 and 5 trains run express from 3rd Avenue to East 180th Street due to work on the third rail between Jackson Avenue and West Farms Square-East Tremont Avenue stations.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, Bronx-bound 4 trains run express from 125th Street to Burnside Avenue due to track concrete pour north of the 149th Street -Grand Concourse station.

    At all times through mid-November, Manhattan-bound 4 trains skip Mosholu Parkway due to station rehabilitation.


    From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 30, Bronx-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to Parkchester due to track panel installation at Whitlock Avenue. (The last stop for some Bronx-bound 6 trains will be 3rd Avenue.)


    From 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30, Manhattan-bound 7 trains skip 111th, 103rd, 90th, 82nd, 74th and 69th Streets due to rail renewal between Willets Point-Shea Stadium and 69th Street stations.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, free shuttle buses and shuttle train service replace the A between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the Rockaways due to track panel installation south of Howard Beach-JFK Airport station.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, free shuttle buses replace A trains between 168th Street and 207th Street via Broadway. The M4 bus provides additional service between 168th and 190th Streets via Ft. Washington Avenue. There is no C train service between 145th Street and 168th Streets. This is due to tunnel rehabilitation between 168th Street and 207th Street stations.

    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, downtown A and C trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Springs Streets due to Chambers Street signal modernization.


    From 5 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30, E trains run on the F line between Roosevelt and 2nd Avenues due to fan plant rehab.


    From midnight to 5 a.m., Saturday, September 29, Sunday, September 30 and Monday, October 1, E trains run on the R line between Queens Plaza and Canal Street due to fan plant rehab.


    From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, September 29, there is no G train service between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to fan plant rehab. Customers should take the R.


    From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 1, Manhattan-bound NR trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to tunnel rehabilitation south of Prince Street station.

  • Brooklyn council members to vote down fare hike over F express plan

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    The construction on the Gowanus Viaduct is quickly becoming an issue in the F Express plan. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

    Everyone likes the F Express plan. Over 3600 people have signed the petition, and MTA board members have voiced their support. The plan would even give meaning to the neglected V train. But the MTA is throwing up a roadblock.

    Over and over again, the MTA keeps saying that construction on the Gowanus Viaduct renders this plan impossible until 2012. Now, those of us who have been most vocal in the push to get this plan approved have never really understood how the work on the viaduct renders express tracks — unused tracks that would cost literally billions of dollars to build today — out of service.

    Yesterday, we learned, via the Kensington (Brooklyn) blog, that two city council members agree with us. The MTA just hasn’t adequately explained why the F Express plan must suffer. The two politicians — Simcha Felder of Borough Park and Dominic Recchia of Coney Island — write:

    The MTA has said that an express F train cannot be considered until 2012, upon competition of the Gowanus Viaduct restoration. As you know, in addition to the two unused express tracks between Bergen St. and Church Ave., a single unused track exists thereafter up to Kings Highway. Anyone who has ridden the elevated portion of the Culver line has seen the single express track between Church Ave. and Kings Highway used sporadically despite the scheduled Gowanus Viaduct project. We fail to understand what relevance the Viaduct has to the elevated express track between Church Ave. and Kings Highway, or, for that matter, the underground express tracks beyond the Viaduct, from 7th Ave. to Church Av. Additionally, we remain unconvinced that the MTA’s 2012 goal is reasonable timeframe for the completion of work on the Viaduct, and, transitively, full restoration of express service.

    The MTA has also cited insufficient demand as an argument against restoration of express service on the F line. Based on the community’s loud voicing of their concern over this matter, including an online petition with more than 3,500 signatures, we believe the demand will be particularly evident when service is improved, and the MTA is offering its riders a more reasonable commute. At a time when the city’s leadership is attempting to convince more New Yorkers to step out of their cars and into mass transit, a fare hike without tangible improvements would severely undermine this effort.

    While, as the Gotham Gazette notes, it’s not politically risky for anyone to oppose a fare hike, Felder and Simcha are using their platform to make a good point. We want more information on the Gowanus Viaduct. Will it really take until 2012? Is there no way to accommodate express service on the rest of the BMT Culver line in Brooklyn?

    This line would have a positive impact on many people’s lives in Brooklyn. It should happen, and we shouldn’t have to sit through anymore vague answers as the MTA stalls on another construction project.

  • MTA struggling to upgrade key technologies

    As we await news of the fare hike, let’s instead check in with some technology problems plaguing New York City Transit. Both concern flooding in the system; one’s about the water and the other, people.

    Last week, as Midtown Manhattan exploded in a burst of steam, subway problems in Queens were seemingly neglected. However, that day, as a friend mine related, the underground trains in Queens were an utter mess. Flooding problems effectively isolated hundreds of thousands of Queens commuters on Wednesday.

    “Literally at those levels of rainfall we do not yet have the physical capacity to pump it out as fast as it’s coming in,” NYCT President Howard Roberts said.

    Today, the MTA will further an ongoing and aggressive push to revamp the pump system along the tracks that shuttle the F, E, V, R and G into Queens. amNew York has more:

    Queens train lines prone to flooding will soon weather storms better.

    New York City Transit is already upgrading its pump system for the Queens Boulevard line, where the E, F, R and V lines run, and Monday moved toward adding another pump to the mix…The MTA board will vote on the extra pump Wednesday.

    The pumps in these key tunnels have not seen serious upgrades since they were installed 75 years ago. When the MTA board meets to ponder the fate of the fares, the pumps will come under scrutiny as well. I anticipate the board to quickly agree to upgrade the pumps. They can strand Queens residents only so many times.

    Meanwhile, a few miles south in Brooklyn, the efforts to automate the L train have hit a few speed bumps. Originally, the trains along the L line were supposed to be fully automated by 2004 or 2005 at the latest. Well, it’s 2007, and still no sign of those automated trains. Business as usual for the MTA, right? Well, not quite.

    According to a report in the Daily News, these efforts to automate the L won’t come to fruition until at least 2009 because the MTA didn’t anticipate the populartion boom in Williamsburg and didn’t order enough cars to meet demand on the overtaxed L line.

    To make matters worse, officials at Siemens, the manufacturers of these automated trains, claim they warned the MTA about the gentrifying north Brooklyn neighborhoods when the projected started during the waxing days of the 21st Century. Train drivers, for now, are happy because their jobs are safe, but riders on the L who have long complained about poor service must be grumbling more than usual these days.

  • L stands for Lots of Shuttle Buses

    Shuttle buses: A two-word phrase that is the bane of every subway rider’s existence. When you’re riding along in a nice air conditioned train during the dog days of summer nothing brings more dread to a straphanger than an announcement proclaiming an out-of-service train with the option to transfer to over-packed shuttle buses. For free!

    Well, L train riders to “East Williamsburg” and beyond, get ready for some fun in the city. Because when the MTA parties, they party hearty with no service past Lorimer St. and shuttle buses for the masses. amNew York has more:

    Shuttles will replace the L from Lorimer to Broadway Junction for the next four weekends, until Aug. 6, according to transit advisories. The changes are due to rehabilitation of the Lorimer station and elevator repairs, according to New York City Transit spokesman James Anyansi.

    As weekend crowds poured from the subway at Metropolitan and Union avenues during the steamy afternoon Sunday, workers wearing orange T-shirts and clutching bull horns handed them free transfer tickets and directed them to the bus stop.

    On Saturday night, I took the L from Union Square to 1st Ave. At the time, the expensive electronic notification system wasn’t working, and in fact, it was still down this morning. Even worse, the train’s conductor told no one about the shuttle buses. The only sign of a service change came through the electronic route maps; only stations from 8th Ave. to Lorimer St. were lit up. As passengers realized the shuttle buses awaiting them, an audible sigh rolled through the train.

    As bad as this is, the MTA has somehow, someway, managed to replace eight-train cars with enough shuttle buses to ferry passengers to the appropriate destinations. While some buses are packed to the gils with people, others sit for a few minutes, half empty. It’s the same philosophy as moving to the rear; if you’re willing to walk (or wait), you can ride in more comfort.

    Meanwhile, the kicker in this article came as a good jab the G train. Wrote Magdalene Perez, “One rider said the service was good compared to the G train, where riders sometimes wait an hour without knowing trains had been suspended.”

    So there you go, MTA. L train service that terminates two stops into Brooklyn and leads to shuttle bus service is better than the G train. Keep up the good work

  • Times profiles F Express plan

    Keeping momentum. That’s always the key to a successful public awareness campaign, and right now, that’s what Gary Reilly and the rest of us pushing for F express service are trying to do.

    After delivering the petition to the MTA and receiving a favorable response from the Authority’s board, Reilly has tirelessly worked to keep this plan in the news. We have to keep applying pressure to the MTA to see this wish become a reality. This week, Reilly’s efforts ended up in a neighborhood spotlight on Carroll Gardens in The City section of the Sunday Times. Jake Mooney profiled Reilly:

    Mr. Reilly said his petition comes at the perfect time, with the population of several neighborhoods swelling along the F line and the city seeking improvements in mass transit to accompany the mayor’s “congestion pricing” proposal to reduce traffic. The unused tracks, Mr. Reilly said, represent an untapped resource. “It would cost billions of dollars to build those express tracks today,” he said, “and they’re sitting there doing nothing.”

    But there are good reasons for that inactivity, said Deirdre Parker, a spokeswoman for the transportation authority. Restoration of F service is being held up for at least four years by work to repair facilities near the Bergen Street subway station that were damaged in a 1999 fire, and by work on the Culver Viaduct, the railroad bridge over the Gowanus Canal.

    Mr. de Blasio, however, would like to see the authority restore express service while those projects are going on, or at least set a clear timeline for restoration. “Is there no other way but to wait for everything to be done?” he said. “If it was more of a priority, could they find a way to work around it?”

    Therein lies the part we must stress. As Gary has repeatedly pointed out, those express would cost billions of dollars to build, and yet they sit empty and unused. The MTA has, at its disposal, express tracks it could use to ferry thousands of straphangers to and from Brooklyn. But they remain empty.

    While I understand the argument about the fire and the Culver Viaduct work, I have seen F trains run express this spring as crews work on the local tracks. There doesn’t seem to be much wrong with the signals at Bergen St.

    The petition now has nearly 3000 signatures. If you haven’t signed on to it yet, do so now. And let’s keep pressuring the MTA to bring this plan to fruition. We want express and local service along the Culver Line in Brooklyn. It’s time.

  • Brooklyn service would give meaning to neglected V train

    For the last few weeks, Brooklyn residents have been pushing hard for express service on the F tracks in the city’s most populous borough. Thanks to the efforts of Gary Reilly, the MTA board has expressed support for the plan, and last week’s press conference was a resounding success.

    Part of the plan calls for redeeming the V line. For now, the V train, running for just 17 hours Monday-Friday, is a lonely train. Running local from Forest Hills, the train terminates at the Second Ave. station as the F travels onward to Coney Island. As an added benefit to V train riders, since this train doesn’t go anywhere in Queens or Manhattan that other trains don’t, it allows for either a neglected ride or a spacious ride, depending upon your viewpoint.

    Earlier this week, the Daily News noted that, in an age in which NYC pols are decrying over-crowded trains, the empty V trains provide welcome relief to straphangers looking for some space. In a 300-word article that three reporters wrote (!), the News noted:

    It’s the V train, an unloved but uncrowded route launched in 2001 that is only half full even at rush hour – making it the least crowded of the subway’s 22 lines, NYC Transit statistics show…”You’re not like a sardine,” said Tom Nguyen, 34, who noted he almost always gets to sit back and relax on the V. “Of all the Queens lines, I think the V is the best.”

    Not everyone agrees. Critics predicted no one would ride the local V when it was created in December 2001 to relieve overcrowding on the express E and F trains along Queens Blvd. Transit officials tried hard to popularize the route; it didn’t work. “I think it’s worthless,” commuter Victoria Carlucci said. “The stops are not helpful stops.”

    So for every rider like Nguyen, there are others who cannot stand the V line. It, for some unknown reason, symbolizes the problems with the MTA: It’s a rush hour-only line that charts familiar territory. Who needs another one of those, right? In fact, over on the subway message board Subchat, invective against the V train exploded when this article hit the Internet on Monday.

    And that is where our F train petition comes into play. With the F train petition, the F would run express during the times the V runs from Jay St./Borough Hall out to Church Ave. (or possibly Kings Highway). The V would no longer be a lonely train; instead, it would ferry thousands of commuters through Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Kensington and Borough Park. While those riding in Queens would probably still enjoy their empty and spacious train cars, people riding in Brooklyn would finally have more room than they do on the F with its cattle-car-like conditions.

    So once again, we all can see how our F express plan would help make use of an under-utilized subway line in New York City. It’s time to make this plan reality.

  • Watching the empty G train rumble by

    Yesterday, I ventured out to Coney Island from Park Slope. To a subway expert, this trip can be a bit of a dilemma. Do I take the Q from 7th Ave. on the north side of the Slope? The F from 7th Ave. on the south side? Or maybe finagle a ride on the D or N?

    I opted for the F. It’s a bit quicker than the Q, and as an added bonus, the F train I rode on didn’t have the front window all blocked up as the newer cars do. So I got to stand at the window at stare as the scenery approached. I saw many of the switches that should be used for express service on the F line.

    But while that plan and the petition gain political and MTA support, I wanted to revisit something from November. As I waited on the platform at 7th Ave. yesterday, not one, not two but three G trains went by. They were heading to the turnaround at Church Ave., and they were all empty.

    Now, these trains didn’t go by in express tracks with no platform access. Instead, they zipped past a crowd of people at 7th Ave. and another crowd at Church Ave. These trains turn around just past Church Ave. and then skip those two same stops before going back into service at Smith-9th Sts.

    My question then is this: Why can’t these trains stop at 7th Ave. and Church Ave., picking up and discharging passengers? The platforms are in perfectly fine conditions, and the tracks are too, as evidenced by the passing trains.

    Furthermore, in November, the MTA’s budget for FY07 revealed plans to extend the G train service to Church Ave. While this service extension may be temporary, there is no reason for these empty trains to bypass stations they should be serving.

    Brooklyn needs and deserves adequate subway service. Right now, those of us in New York’s most populous borough are getting subpar subway while witnessing trains running routes that, with a two-minute adjustment, could better serve us all. Open those doors, G train. Let us in.