AsidesMTA

Walder hearings on hold until fall as compensation raises eyebrows

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 12, 2009

Nearly a month ago, Gov. David Paterson nominated Jay Walder as the next head of the MTA. Since then, the State Senate has stalled the nomination. They haven’t yet scheduled hearings while the Fare Hike Four have threatened to give Walder an unprecedented grilling. According to Politicker NY’s Jimmy Vielkind, the Senate will hold confirmation hearings in the fall when our busy legislators make their ways back to Albany. Atop the list of issues will be the Golden Parachute provisions in Walder’s compensation package.

Marin Dilan, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, seems to be gearing up to give Paterson’s nominee a hard time. “I may or may not allow advocates or other people who want to testify,” Dilan said to Vielkind. “There’s a big concern — I have a concern — with the package that he was offered. I’m concerned we’re setting a bad precedent with public money.” While Dilan may have a valid point about the money, his statement on advocates is patently absurd. It’s really too bad we can’t elect these buffoons out of office tomorrow.

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TWU

More fallout from the MTA/TWU arbitration decision

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 12, 2009

As I reported late last night, a labor arbitrator yesterday sided with the transit union in its contract dispute with the MTA. Because of this decision, transit union workers will earn raises totaling 11 percent over the next three years, and the MTA will be scrambling to cover another $350-$400 million in unanticipated costs.

As other city unions have earned similar raises in recent months, it may have been foolish for the MTA to omit consideration of possible union raises. The MTA, however, is in a far different economic situation than the rest of the city. The agency is struggling to stay afloat and shouldn’t have been required to give its workers raises if it can’t afford to. After all, I, as a private sector employee, don’t expect substantial raises over the next few years if my company is struggling financially.

Meanwhile, the fallout from this arbitration decision extends well beyond economics and potential fare hikes. As The Times’ Michael Grynbaum reports, because of a bad negotiating tactic, the MTA won’t be able to implement one-person train operations until at least 2012. He writes:

During contract talks, the agency dropped its demand for one-person train operation, instead of two, thinking that Transport Workers Union Local 100 would make health care concessions in return. But an arbitration panel has found there had been “no evidence” of a quid pro quo — handing a victory to the workers, who had been seeking to limit their health care contributions.

Establishing one-person train operation has been a major goal of New York City Transit for more than a decade. Using one-person crews would save millions in labor costs, and the agency, which wanted to start the program on the No. 7 and L lines, has already invested in new compatible subway cars.

The program has been held up by objections from the union, which stood to lose jobs and wages, and from rider advocates concerned about security.

That is a prime example of the union standing in the way of both technological progress and economic trimming. The MTA is a bloated agency, but as long as the union refuses to compromise on staffing levels, upper management will as well. This is a stand-off that won’t end well for straphangers.

Meanwhile, as long-time SAS reader Larry Littlefield noted in the comments earlier today, the arbitrator’s ruling may have a bigger impact on the MTA than we realize. As Grynbaum reported, “The arbitration panel said the authority could use federal stimulus funds and money from its capital program to make up any shortfall in its operating budget.”

Littlefield believes that this could be damaging to the MTA’s future capital plans and its need and ability to separate the operating budget from its capital expenditures. “If the capital program can be diverted to operating costs, and it is borrowed money, therefore, the operating budget is unlimited with no effect on taxpayers,” he wrote. “Anyone here going to be thrilled with all the innovative studies by consultants over the next couple of decade, as the system decays and no improvements are built? Anyone even mentioning proposals for improved service shows they are willing to go along, and be unpleasantly surprised down the road, blaming future leaders.”

The Daily News’ editorial board slammed arbitrator John Zuccotti for siding with the union in a time of grave economic troubles for the MTA. The Post blames Bloomberg for overly generous payouts to other city unions. I’m still waiting on a comment from the TWU’s spokespeople, but in the end, the fare-paying public will have to pay. Higher fares and unnecessary employees will mar the forward progress of the subway system. The MTA is to blame; the TWU is to blame. What a mess.

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TWU

Labor battle lost, MTA sees more financial pain

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 12, 2009

The last few weeks had been going, well, mostly smoothly for the MTA. At the end of July, the agency announced that its preliminary 2010 budget would contain no fare hikes, and on Monday, the authority released a preliminary five-year capital program for 2010-2014. Expansion and sound economics were the key phrases.

All of that planning and good will were dealt a fiscal blow yesterday when an arbitration panel granted transit union workers a series of raises and benefits that will leave the cash-starved agency searching for even more money. After a lengthy arbitration process, the panel granted transit workers, according to NY1’s Bobby Cuza, “four percent raises in each of the first two years of their contract [and] three percent in the third year.” This victory for the union far exceeded the amount allocated by the MTA in its preliminary budget proposals.

MTA officials were livid. Helena Williams, the current interim executive director and MTA CEO, issued a tersely-worded statement about the ruling. She said:

“This award is extremely disappointing and fails to recognize the economic recession in the region and the impact of this downturn on the MTA. There will be a significant impact on the MTA’s bottom line. The award suggests that the MTA raid its underfunded capital program and rely on one-shot federal stimulus funds to pay for raises. As a further disappointment, the award also rolls back a portion of the employee health care contribution that the MTA won following the 2005 TWU strike. Over the three years of the contract, the award will cost the MTA approximately $350 million more than budgeted: $10 million in 2009, $100 million in 2010 and $240 million in 2011.”

For now, according to Williams, the MTA Board will not recommend raising the fares again this year, but those promises of a 2010 without a fare hike are off the table.

Following the arbitration ruling, Mayor Bloomberg and TWU President Roger Toussaint continued their war of words. Earlier this week, Bloomberg warned that riders would suffer if the union workers received a generous package from the arbitrator. “The straphangers of today are going to pay for this increase if, in fact, the arbitration comes out that way,” he said. “I don’t see how the arbitrators can rule that way if they have to look at the ability to pay, because the straphangers don’t have the ability to pay more.”

Toussaint later pointed out that numerous city unions had received similar four percent raises and issued a statement heavy on the rhetoric. “The last time,” he said, “we saw a Mayor champion such unfair, unequal treatment of a specific group of workers was Memphis, Tennessee, and the year was 1968.” This, of course, was the sanitation workers strike that ended only after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. That’s some comparison.

Bloomberg’s response was far more level-headed. “The city’s finances are different than the MTA’s finances,” the mayor said. “The city’s workforce is different. So there’s no reason to think that if one does something, the others automatically have to get it.”

And so here we are. The MTA has to find $10 billion to cover a gap in its capital budget. It has to find a way to keep fares low and keep the trains moving. And now it has to find a way to cover an additional $350 million in labor expenses. No wonder New Yorkers are so skeptical of the city’s transit unions.

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Capital Program 2010-2014

A five-year plan in need of $10 billion

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 11, 2009

Before delving into the renovation, expansion and purchase plans buried in the MTA’s proposed 2010-2014 capital plan, we have to face the fiscal reality of the package. The MTA needs this $25.5 billion to maintain its system in a state of good repair but has just $15.6 billion at its disposal right now. Where the remaining $9.9 billion will come from is anyone’s guess.

In laying out the proposal for this capital plan, the MTA is very upfront with this budget gap. “Even with this $6 billion of new bonding capacity” — from the recent Albany rescue package — “a funding gap of $9.9 billion still remains to be filled to meet all the needs identified in the proposed MTA 2010-2014 Capital Program,” the report reads. “In the absence of additional support from the MTA’s funding partners, the MTA’s ability to maintain its network in good repair and address assets past due for replacement will be severely compromised.”

With this gap in mind, let’s see how the MTA plans to fund the remaining $15.6 billion investment. Some of the assumptions found in the proposed capital plan may lead to a wider-than-expected gap:

Federal Formula Funds: The MTA expects $8.175 billion from the Federal Transportation Funding Reauthorization Act. This bill will hit Congress late in the year, and the authority is “seeking significant increases in federal transit subsidies consistent with the Federal Transit Administration’s recognition of the substantial backlog in investments needed for state-of-good repairs across the country.” The authority is assuming they can receive “a 25% increase in base funding levels.” I am optimistic that the Feds will deliver.

Federal Security Funding: The MTA is planning for $225 million in grants from the Department of Homeland Security. This figure is consistent with current funding levels with a bump by a few million so that the MTA can expand its security programs. I see no potential roadblocks here either.

City of New York Capital Funds: Here, the MTA expects the city to up its contributions from $80 million a year to $100 million a year. Considering Mayor Bloomberg’s recently calls for an MTA overhaul, $500 out of a $25 billion investment program seems to be a token gesture. Perhaps the agency should put more pressure on the city to deliver money to the capital program.

MTA Bus Funding – Federal and City Match: The MTA will receive $160 million over five years through this program. Per the report, “With the MTA takeover of the City private bus lines in 2004, federal funds previously allocated to the City for these properties are now transferred annually to the MTA. As part of the transfer, New York City has agreed to provide the match for the required grant funding.”

MTA Bonds: Again, per the report, “During its 2009 session, the New York State legislature approved new revenue sources adequate to support debt service on $6 billion of new bonds.”

Asset Sales/Pay-As-You-Go Capital/or Other Internal Sources: This $600-million chunk will come from, as you might guess, asset or property sales or other sources. It will “provide support” for 2010 and 2011 only.

Generally, these funding sources are secure. The MTA should be able to wrestle the 25 percent increases out of the Federal Government and the City of New York. But that still leaves the capital program short by nearly 40 percent.

Starting now, the MTA is going to have to do a lot of begging, and that’s just one of the reasons why the State Senate needs to approve Jay Walder as the new agency head. The MTA cannot afford to be in the grips of an interim director at a time when it has to secure $10 billion in funding for a key capital campaign. The money has to be there; the leadership has to be there; the investment has to be there. As always, New York City depends up on it.

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BusesMTA Technology

Take Three: Bus arrival boards debut along 34th St.

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 11, 2009

The overhaul of 34th St. continues.

Updated 1:50 p.m.: As the city and the MTA continue the joint project that will turn 34th St. into a river-to-river transitway, New Yorkers will again witness yet another attempt by the MTA to implement bus arrival boards. The latest iteration of bus-tracking technology will use satellite and GPS technology to bring passengers along 34th St. real-time arrival information.

For the MTA, bus-tracking technology has turned into something of a bugaboo. The agency has spent the better part of two decades and countless millions in attempts that have failed to bring a technology readily available throughout the world online in New York. In March, I eulogized the bus tracking plan as the MTA killed it for the second time. Now, though, agency and city officials claim they have found the winning combination. So will the third time be the charm or will it be three strikes for the MTA’s technology implementation efforts?

Michael Grynbaum had the news on City Room this morning:

Electronic countdown displays will be installed at shelters along the heavily trafficked 34th Street crosstown route, allowing riders to see how many minutes are left until the next bus shows up, according to two officials familiar with the plans.

Satellite tracking and GPS devices will allow computers at the bus stop to estimate arrival times, as part of a pilot program organized by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the city’s transportation department. The project is set to be announced on Tuesday by city officials, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The bus-tracking technology will be installed and provided without charge by Clever Devices, a Long Island firm that implemented a similar system in Chicago in 2006, the officials said. After an initial pilot stage, the Chicago program, called Bus Tracker, was later expanded to that city’s entire bus route, and now includes online and mobile applications.

So this time, the MTA and DOT are going with a company that, based on its website, actually seems to know what it’s doing. That’s a relief.

Meanwhile, according to Grynbaum’s story, Mayor Bloomberg compared the 34th St. implementation to military tracking. The mayor said the project will rely on “mesh network technology, similar to that used to track military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

According to Streetsblog, the arrival boards at eight stations along the street are up and running right now. I’ll try to get some pictures later in the week. Meanwhile, neither the MTA nor city has expressed any plans for a city-wide implementation if this 34th St. test is successful. I have to believe, however, that this program will quickly expand if Clever Devices can deliver. It’s about time.

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View from Underground

Why transit matters in New York City

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 11, 2009

Over the next few days, I’m going to delve into some in-depth analysis of transit plans, proposals and projected spending. Both Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to reform mass transit and the MTA’s own proposed $25.5 billion capital plan for 2010-2014 will dominate this week’s coverage on Second Ave. Subway.

Before we begin that journey, though, it’s important to remember just why transit matters. It’s easy to toss out numbers and platitudes: Subway ridership is at 50-year highs; numerous subway lines are operating at — or even above — capacity. What though would New York City look like without a subway system?

In a thought-provoking post on his blog Frumination, Michael Frumin explored a New York City without a subway system. If the city were laid out the same but we all drove cars instead of riding the rails, life in the city would resemble a Big Parking Lot instead of a Big Apple:

From 8:00AM to 8:59 AM on an average Fall day in 2007 the NYC Subway carried 388,802 passengers into the CBD on 370 trains over 22 tracks. In other words, a train carrying 1,050 people crossed into the CBD every 6 seconds. Breathtaking if you ask me. Over this same period, the average number of passengers in a vehicle crossing any of the East River crossings was 1.20. This means that, lacking the subway, we would need to move 324,000 additional vehicles into the CBD…

At best, it would take 167 inbound lanes, or 84 copies of the Queens Midtown Tunnel, to carry what the NYC Subway carries over 22 inbound tracks through 12 tunnels and 2 (partial) bridges. At worst, 200 new copies of 5th Avenue. Somewhere in the middle would be 67 West Side Highways or 76 Brooklyn Bridges. And this neglects the Long Island Railroad, Metro North, NJ Transit, and PATH systems entirely.

Of course, at 325 square feet per parking space, all these cars would need over 3.8 square miles of space to park, about 3 times the size of Central Park. At that point, who would want to go to Manhattan anyway?

At Transportation for America, Stephen Lee Davis noted that Frumin’s post highlights “the invisible benefits” of a transit system. I’d call that a slight to public transportation.

There is nothing invisible about the New York City subways and its tangible positive impact on the city. The subways may be under ground, but we see them every day. We see density and a compact central business district. We see less sprawl and smaller carbon footprints. We see fewer cars per capita, fewer miles driven and less gas burned than any other city in America.

As we debate the merits of Mayor Bloomberg’s call to restore more control of the transit system to the city, as we look at the MTA’s request for tens of billions of dollars over the next five years, we can’t lose sight of the importance of the subway system. Without it, New York would be a car-choked city with nowhere to go and no character. With the current one, underfunded and under-maintained as it may be, the city moves and at a good pace too. As we look to the transit future, we can’t forget that reality or the threat of a city without a subway.

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Capital Program 2010-2014

MTA unveils proposed $25.5bn capital program for 2010-14

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 10, 2009

Over the last 27 years, the MTA has invested $75 billion in a series of capital plans designed to boost transit infrastructure in the city. From its nadir in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the MTA has slowly worked toward a state of good repair with a complete overhaul of the system’s rolling stock, the introduction of electronic fare payment systems, station rehabilitation plans and the start of the system’s first new subway line in over eight decades.

Yet, as New York City grows, as transit ridership increases, as the system grows older and technology ages, the MTA needs to invest more and more into the system. Every year, as roads and drivers are subsidized, the MTA and New York City’s transit advocates face uphill battles in securing the billions needed for New York City’s subways.

Today, with ample time for public comment, the MTA has released a proposed draft of its 2010-2014 capital plan. It is a $25.5 billion plan with core infrastructure and technology needs accounting for nearly three-quarters of the five-year expenditure plan. The agency also released a twenty-year draft calling for over $80 billion in capital investment.

Over the next few days, I’ll delve in depth into the massive PDF presentation of the proposed capital plan. For now, let’s look at the MTA’s top-line proposals. As the agency’s site on the plan says, “many of the proposed investments repair and replace fundamental components of the transit system.”

  • More than 500 new subway cars, 2,800 buses and 410 rail cars;
  • Signal improvements and upgrades for the commuter railroads and subways;
  • Station renovations, including the introduction of a new program that targets necessary component improvements; and,
  • Improved access for the disabled including audio-visual screens, low-floor buses, elevators, paratransit vehicles and ADA-compliant stations.

Meanwhile, new technologies take centerstage in this five-year plan as well. The MTA is calling for full investment in “a new contactless fare payment system to more fully integrate regional travel.” The agency wants to bring “real-time customer information” online. On the ground, the following initiatives make up a substantial part of the plan as well:

  • Bus rapid transit initiatives, using low-floor buses, off-board fare collection, dedicated bus lanes and signal prioritization to speed bus service;
  • New train control systems to increase capacity and safety on subways and commuter railroads; and,
  • New subway transfers and strategic commuter rail investments to make the existing system work better for customers.

Finally, we get to the big-ticket expansion items. The Second Ave. Subway is still limited to just Phase I, but it’s better than nothing. Unfortunately, these items are, for the most part, projects continued from the current capital plan. To adequately meet the demands, the MTA will need a far-reaching plan that transcends the limitations of a five-year investment period. Anyway, here they are:

  • First phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which will relieve overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue subway lines and carry more than 200,000 customers;
  • East Side Access, which will bring save 76,000 daily customers up to 40 minutes a day by bringing LIRR trains to Grand Central;
  • Extension of the 7 subway line to 34th Street and 11th Avenue, which will support development of Manhattan’s Far West Side;
  • Study of Staten Island’s North and West Shore travel corridors, which will identify ways to support faster and more reliable transit service on Staten Island;
  • Queens Boulevard Corridor study, which will evaluate solutions for meeting today’s high demand and serving projected population and employment growth as well; and,
  • Continued study of Tappan Zee corridor, which will evaluate alternatives for the Bridge, including transit, to reduce congestion and improve mobility.

These documents are tough to digest in short order, and over the next few days, I’ll highlight the innovative aspects and much-needed parts of them. Expect a lot more analysis and a big political fight over the MTA’s future. That $25 billion price tag is steep, but not investing in transit will leave the city in a hole far larger than that.

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LIRR

Atlantic Terminal LIRR project due for fall completion

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 10, 2009

LIRRentrance_lg

A rendering of the soon-to-be completed Atlantic Terminal LIRR entrance.

For years, the LIRR entrance at the Atlantic Terminal has been shrouded in construction. While the Atlantic Terminal mall opened in 2004 with promises of a rebuilt LIRR entrance to follow, the project has been encumbered by seemingly never-ending delays. Shocking, I know.

While I was away on vacation, The Local, The Times’ Fort Greene and Clinton Hill blog, dug into the causes behind the delay. In response to a reader query into the state of the delays, Michael Szeto uncovered an answer — and a revised timeline — for the project:

According to a spokesman for the Long Island Railroad, the project at Atlantic Terminal will be completed this fall. There are two phases of construction and the final phase is being completed now.

The first phase of the project involved Flatbush Station improvements. It was completed on time in 2005. The last phase centers on the new entrance pavilion that was scheduled for completion in 2007 but “unforeseen site conditions,” according to a spokeswoman for the LIRR, extended the project for two more years. There was a need for additional steel and building materials and the work areas were smaller than expected, which slowed the pace of construction, the spokeswoman said.

It is of course both surprising and not to hear about the reasons for the delay. The project needed more materials and the work space, hardly a secret when the MTA fielded bids on the entrance, ended up being “smaller than expected.” No wonder Mayor Bloomberg wants to trim some of the bureaucratic mess from the MTA and streamline internal operations.

We never hear about the penalties built into the contracts the MTA awards to contractors who can’t finish projects on time or near budget. I have to hope, however, that the authority is not on the hook for what seems to be, over and over again, a faulty bidding system. Getting the lowest bid would seemingly save the authority money, but then again, they get what they pay for.

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Public Transit Policy

A closer look at Bloomie’s transit proposals

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 10, 2009

While I was away last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to jump into the well-trodden transit fray. Bill covered Bloomberg’s 33-point plan for a better transit system in a guest post last week, but I want to offer up a few of my own thoughts on this plan. I’ll have a few more posts on the specifics of Bloomberg’s plan as this week goes on.

The main gist behind Bloomberg’s call is a desire to see mass transit improvements in and around New York City. To that end, Bloomberg’s mayoral campaign has released a comprehensive list of suggestions that aren’t too original. He wants to take on the “bloated bureaucracy” of the MTA in a “cost-effective and responsible manner.” He also wants the authority to embrace some new and some not-so-new technologies that “would reduce costs and provide better service for riders.”

Platitudes aside, Bloomberg’s plan has some concrete ideas. He wants to add F Express service to Brooklyn — a plan for which I have advocated for a few years and one that can’t be implemented until the Culver Viaduct work is finished. He wants countdown clocks on every platform, and each station in a state of good repair. He wants more bus rapid transit service, more ParaTransit service, free crosstown buses and a comprehensive bus-tracking system. The plan also includes expanded ferry routes and more high-occupancy car lanes.

From a policy perspective, Bloomberg’s plan sounds great. He is, after all, pushing many proposals I and many other transit advocates have called for over the last few years. Yet, something about it seems less than sincere. It’s a populist plan designed to tap into public sentiment over the MTA at a time when Bloomberg needs to appear to be a mayor of the people. The MTA always has made for a great whipping boy.

Politically, though, and practically, Bloomberg’s plan runs into some trouble. He controls just four of the MTA Board’s 17 seats, and most of his top-line initiatives — the administrative trimming that the MTA really needs — are out of his hands. He can’t cut the bureaucratic tape; he can’t implement the technology via any other city-run agencies; he can’t control fare policies. He can push his plan in TV spots and campaign appearances, but his hands are mostly tied.

I say “mostly tied” because Bloomberg has a few economic options at his disposal should he choose to pursue them. First, Bloomberg must recognize that many of the roadblocks his proposals face are monetary in nature. The MTA simply does not have the money to install countdown clocks at every station or implement a city-wide bus tracking system. To get these much-needed improvements back on track, the MTA needs money, and Bloomberg could deliver the bucks by upping the city’s contributions to authority. With the city strapped for cash though, I wouldn’t hold my breath here.

Second, Bloomberg could tighten the ability of cars to get around the city. He could push for congestion pricing. He can push for bridge tolls. He can push for higher on-street parking rates, higher registration fees and generally higher anything that taxes car drivers. By doing so, he would be putting a lot of indirect political pressure on the state and the MTA to provide better and more comprehensive service to the region.

As a transit advocate, I love Bloomberg’s ideas. I love seeing transit proposals dominate the mayoral race. I love seeing papers giving serious attention to transit policy and proposals. I know that it is not really feasible for Bloomberg to push his plan through, and I know he’s putting this out there for political purposes. Maybe though it’s the start we need for a comprehensive transit overhaul to arrive.

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Service Advisories

Weekend service advisories

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on August 8, 2009

Sorry for the delay in getting these up. I got back home last night and am attempting to overcome jet lag. The 15-inning Yankees/Red Sox marathon didn’t help.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Bronx-bound 2 trains skip Bronx Park East, Pelham Parkway, Allerton Avenue and Burke Avenue due to signal work at East 180th Street.


From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday, August 8 and from 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday, August 9, Brooklyn-bound 2 and 4 trains skip Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza and Eastern Parkway due to switch work near Eastern Parkway.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Manhattan-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to 3rd Avenue due to platform edge rehabilitation at Cypress Avenue, East 143rd Street, East 149th Street and Longwood Avenue stations.


From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, August 8, Manhattan-bound A trains skip Shepherd Avenue, Van Siclen Avenue and Liberty Avenue due to track cleaning.


From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, August 9, Manhattan-bound A trains skip Rockaway Avenue and Ralph Avenue due to track cleaning.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Brooklyn-bound D trains skip DeKalb Avenue and run express from Pacific Street to 36th Street due to track chip-out at DeKalb Avenue.


From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Manhattan-bound D trains run local from 36th Street to DeKalb Avenue due to a track chip-out at DeKalb Avenue.


From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Queens-bound E trains run local from Queens Plaza to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to power substation rehab work.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Manhattan-bound E trains run local from Forest Hills-71st Street to Queens Plaza due to power substation rehab work.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Queens-bound F trains run local from 21st Street-Queensbridge to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to power cable work north of Roosevelt Avenue.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Manhattan-bound F trains run local from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to 21st Street-Queensbridge due to power substation rehab work.


From 8:30 p.m. Friday, August 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, there is no G service between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square. Customers should take the E or R instead.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Manhattan-bound N trains run on the D line from Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street due to track panel installation.


From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Brooklyn-bound N trains run on the R line from Canal Street to 59th Street-4th Avenue due to track chip-out at DeKalb Avenue.


From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Manhattan-bound N trains run on the R line from 36th Street to Canal Street due to track chip-out at DeKalb Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Brooklyn-bound Q trains run on the R line from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to track chip-out at DeKalb Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Q trains run local between Canal Street and 57th Street due to a track chip-out at DeKalb Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 10, Coney Island-bound Q trains run express from Prospect Park to Kings Highway, bypassing Newkirk Avenue due to station rehabilitation.


From 5 a.m. to midnight Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, there are no R trains between Forest Hills-71st Street and 36th Street (Brooklyn) due to power cable work north of Roosevelt Avenue. The EFNQ trains provide alternate service.

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