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Brooklyn and Queens prepare yourselves: The G train summer of pain is here
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Clayton Guse
Published Jun 28, 2024
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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Clayton Guse
Published Jun 28, 2024
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This column originally appeared in On The Way, a weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about NYC-area transportation.
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G train riders should brace for a summer of pain starting Friday as an MTA construction project will shut down entire segments of the line 24 hours a day until Sept. 3.
The closures are split into three phases:
- June 28-July 5: No trains between Court Square and Nassau Avenue.
- July 5-Aug. 12: No trains from Court Square to Bedford-Nostrand.
- Aug. 12-Sept. 3: No trains between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Avenue.
The Crosstown Line is used by approximately 160,000 riders each weekday.
The closures will be one of the biggest construction-related disruptions to New York City transit service in years. Not since the MTA announced the closure of L train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn — a plan former Gov. Andrew Cuomo abruptly changed in 2019 — has transit construction frustrated so many Brooklynites.
“It’s trash,” declared Genevieve Kammel Morris, 40, of Greenpoint. “It’s hard to get through Brooklyn without a G train.”
MTA officials say the closure is necessary to make long-overdue improvements to the G line. The work will replace 30 miles of track, upgrade signals that rely on technology from the 1930s, lay new cables and replace more than 12 switches that regularly cause delays.
“Those switches are some of the oldest in the system, also dating back to the 30s and 40s, and are frequent pain points,” MTA construction chief of staff Sean Fitzpatrick said during a committee meeting earlier this week.
While the work is underway, straphangers will be offered free shuttle buses along the closed segments. MTA officials said they’ve worked with the city Department of Transportation to clear intersections and add truck loading zones to prevent double parking along portions of the shuttle bus routes. The agency has also partnered with Citi Bike to give anyone in the city one free ride during the shutdown with the code “GTRAIN24.”
But G train riders have good reason to be skeptical about the speed of the MTA’s notoriously sluggish shuttle buses. They’ve had to use them for months during recent night and weekend shutdowns along the line.
“If I can avoid taking it (the shuttle buses), I’m going to avoid it,” said Matthew Khan, 19. “I know it’s free, but it’s a lot longer, it’s more of an inconvenience.”
Yumi Munir, 23, was bracing for the shutdown by learning to ride a bicycle for the first time. She said she plans to bike to work in Manhattan instead of dealing with the shuttle buses.
The inconvenience won’t be over after this round of work, either. The MTA expects more G line closures on nights and weekends into next year. But come 2027, officials say they’ll have upgraded the line’s signals to allow for faster, more frequent service on the G. The improvements could one day allow for full-length trains on the line, instead of the truncated five-car sets that force riders to sprint down platforms.
This week in New York City transit news
Listen here:
- More than $16 billion worth of work to upgrade and maintain New York City’s transit system will be halted due to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pause of congestion pricing, MTA officials said Wednesday. Read more.
- Mayor Eric Adams said this week that his administration plans to reduce traffic congestion by cracking down on double parking. (He didn’t offer details on the plan, nor did he mention his legal mandate to build more dedicated bus lanes.) Read more.
- New train cars are coming to the Staten Island Railway for the first time in 50 years, though MTA officials haven’t said when passengers will be able to ride them. Read more.
- The Long Island Rail Road is posting QR codes inside station bathrooms that’ll allow riders to report missing bad smells or missing supplies. Read more.
- The head of NJ Transit said he’s holding Amtrak’s “feet to the fire” to ensure last week’s brutal train delays don't plague riders all summer — even as the two agencies trade blame over some of the problems. Read more.
- Brooklyn Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon has introduced a bill in Albany to ban on-street parking spots within 20 feet of intersections in order to clear sight lines and prevent drivers from hitting pedestrians. (Streetsblog)
- Gov. Hochul’s congestion pricing pause will kill more than 100,000 high-paying jobs, according to the watchdog group Reinvent Albany. (The New York Times)
- A new viral video appears to show a woman on a Brooklyn subway platform yelling at — and slapping — an NYPD officer who told her to stop vaping. (The New York Post)
Curious Commuter
Have a question for us? Curious Commuter questions are exclusive for On The Way newsletter subscribers. Sign up for free here and check Thursday’s newsletter for a link to submit your questions!
Question from Phil, from Long Island
Couldn't the MTA just go rogue and turn on the congestion pricing tolls?
What Clayton says
The MTA has all the tolling infrastructure in place for congestion pricing, but asserts they can’t launch it without final sign-off from three parties: the Federal Highway Administration, the city Department of Transportation and the state Department of Transportation. The agreement allows the MTA to implement a pilot program using tolls from federally-funded roadways to subsidize mass transit. Hochul’s order to pause congestion pricing effectively tells the state DOT to hold off on signing the form.
“We’re not coming up with plans to go rogue and have a coup against the state of New York,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said Wednesday when asked this very question.
Tagged
new york city
brooklyn
queens
transportation
On The Way
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Clayton Guse
Clayton is the editor of the Transit and Infrastructure desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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