The closure of the G subway line this summer has caused great concern among commuters, even as they acknowledged that the old system is likely in need of much-needed repairs.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has said it will not abandon desperate riders during the six-week phased closure beginning Friday. The authority is providing a regularly scheduled shuttle bus service that will run every few minutes for the duration of the closure.
But that’s little consolation for those who rely on the Brooklyn-Queens cross-connection, which runs between Court Square in Long Island City and Church Avenue in Kensington and is already considered by some riders to be the forgotten child of the subway.
“The G train is already constantly late,” Giovanni, a 37-year-old Greenpoint resident, told the Post. “I’m really not looking forward to having to wait for a shuttle.”
“I’ve heard from some colleagues that the shuttle will take just as long,” he continued. “But you never know what can happen – accidents, traffic… everything is more susceptible to major delays above ground.”
Other frustrated riders cringe at the strain on their wallets as they try to find alternative transportation in an area where the G train, which does not go to Manhattan, is often the closest, and sometimes the only, option for commuters.
“This is going to ruin my bank account,” Patrick Hayes, a 22-year-old construction worker from New Jersey who works in Greenpoint, said Thursday.
“I take the G twice a day. I guess I’ll take Uber,” Hayes said, adding that he expects to pay about $50 a day for the makeshift solution. “It’s going to cost a lot more money. It’s an expensive ride. It’s ridiculous.”
Others said they understood why the MTA did what it did, even if it was inconvenient for them.
“People need to understand that maintenance is necessary,” Reggie, 52, said Wednesday. “If they want the train to come on time and run smoothly, they need to fix it – make sure it’s working properly.”
“I understand why people are frustrated because there aren’t many other train connections where the G-Bahn stops,” added the former building maintenance worker. “But at least I know my $2.90 is going to something good.”
Transit authorities say they have to close the line so workers can get into the tunnels and rip out the often broken traffic lights that date back to the Great Depression.
Instead, a new computer system will be installed that will increase reliability and enable more frequent train journeys.
“The Crosstown Line, used by the G train, still has its original signaling system from when it opened over 90 years ago,” the MTA explained on its website.
“This system has now reached the end of its useful life, so we are bringing the latest communications-based train control technology to the Crosstown Line. A more modern, more reliable signaling system means more reliable service for the 160,000 passengers who ride the G every day.”
But with technology comes hurdles – and in this case, that means partial shutdowns that will disrupt the production line until September 3.
From Friday through July 5, there will be no trains running between Court Square and Nassau Avenue, the MTA said.
Then the section between Court Square and the Bedford-Nostrand Avenue station will be closed from July 5 to August 12.
To complete the mammoth project, workers will then move to the section between Bedford Station and Church Avenue, which will be closed from August 12 to September 3.
An MTA spokesperson said in an email that the agency had appointed Hugo Zamora as “G-Train Czar” to oversee services and “ensure customers get to their destinations.”
At NYC Transit’s monthly committee meeting on Monday, Zamora reviewed the MTA’s complex plans to modernize lines and maintain shuttle service.
The improvements will ensure that customers return at the end of the summer to find a “brighter, cleaner and fresher G-Line,” he said.
Nevertheless, the drivers were not looking forward to the upcoming, painful summer.
Teddy Sanchez, a 38-year-old from Astoria, was hesitant about the idea of using a shuttle.
Robert Miller
“I would never take the bus,” he said. “I’m a native New Yorker and I’ve never taken the bus. It’s like Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi: you pick one and I’m a train guy.”
Instead, he will likely hop on a Cit Bike to get to his girlfriend’s apartment near the Bedford-Nostrand Ave stop, he said.
“At least I’m doing something for my cardiovascular system,” he said.
One of those interviewed expressed particular regret about the project: Lincoln Restler, a city council member for the 33rd district, which includes Greenpoint.
“The discontinuance of the G train is an extraordinary burden on the community of Greenpoint – especially because it is our lifeline! It is the only train that serves Greenpoint,” said Restler as he sat on the G and did paperwork.
“This is a necessary investment in infrastructure. I am pleased that the MTA is upgrading the G-Bahn signals, which will enable more reliable service and potentially … more frequent G-Bahn service, which is a high priority for our entire community,” he continued.
“But I really wish we could have done this work at night and on weekends,” he said. “It’s going to be really tough.”
Others were more concise.
“This shit is getting bad, man,” said Alex Ramos, a 25-year-old grocery clerk who takes the train from Bedford Station to his job near Court Square. “Now I have to transfer to a bus, another bus, another train line.”
“There is no bus that comes all the way from Brooklyn,” the young man said.
“I’m not looking forward to it at all.”