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G Runs to Church Avenue Starting Sunday, July 5

And the signs are going up. Now let's pray that the G train will be more frequent!

It's Official: L and G Subway Stations Have Had Dramatic Increase in Ridership

According to Transit Overload, a new report by the Center for an Urban Future:

• The Bedford Avenue L saw the greatest increase in the average number of weekday riders from 1998-2008.
• The L train has 13 of the 50 fastest growing stations- the most of any line.
• The G train has 4 of the 50 fastest growing stations - in 8th place out of 26 lines.

It's time for better service, yet we are facing massive service cuts to the MTA. You can take two actions.

1. Call your state legislators (numbers below) and tell them that half measures are not enough. It is up to the state government to find a responsible way to fund transit. We need more transit service than we have now in this growing neighborhood, not less.

State Senator Martin Malave-Dilan: (718) 573-1726
State Senator Daniel Squadron: (212) 298-5565
Assemblymember Joe Lentol: (718) 383-7474

2. Attend the Transportation Organizing Group meeting this Thursday, March 12.
Join our us at our next meeting to discuss how to fight the MTA cuts, as well as our plans for safety trainings this summer and the Forum for Urban Design's Bike Share program, coming to our neighborhood.
Meeting is Thursday March 12 at 7pm at the NAG office (101 Kent Ave @ N 8th Street)
For more information: contact Lacey and Alex at transportation@nag-brooklyn.org

G stands for "Going Farther into Brooklyn"?

While we're hesitant to harp on any good news MTA-related. The G train is proposed to be extended to Church Avenue in Brooklyn this fall because of construction. This means an easier transfer to the 4th Avenue R train, as well as direct access to Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington.

The catch? There will be severe service disruptions along the shared portion of the F & G trains during this time, particularly in 2011 when service will not be available in certain directions at Smith-9th Street and 15th Street.

And of course, they are proposing to cut the G Train's Queens leg beyond Court Square permanently as part of the doomsday budget.

Photo by Ken Stein via Creative Commons License

Funeral for the G Train

The Straphangers Campaign and State Assembly Members Joseph Lentol and Hakeem Jeffries will hold a "mock funeral" for the G train on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Without new state aid, the MTA is proposing to eliminate the line at all times from the Court Square subway station to Forest Hills-71st Avenue, while also raising transit fares.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
10:30 a.m.
Court Square Subway Station (G)
Inside paid area
Street entrance at Jackson Avenue and Court Square
CONTACT: Gene Russianoff at (917) 575-9434

G is For Not Good.

We have no further details, but this Daily News article hints at bad things in store for subway and bus riders, including those of us who rely in the G train.

"Two subway lines - the G and M - would essentially be halved, with trains making far fewer stops."

I'm unclear if this just means the G would no longer would go to Queens officially, or something much worse.

L Train Sees Some Improvements, But Less on Time Than Last Year

Despite the L Train getting the highest rating from Straphangers (using MTA data) in July and some improvements last year in the Driggs entrance of the Bedford L station, recent data published in a NYT article shows that the L Train is more late this year than last year. The good news is that the L Train is less late over the summer, but let's see how it does this fall as the crush of students returns.

If the morning crush on the L Train doesn't give you the kind of physical contact you're seeking from your commute, or if you are feeling like you're always waiting for the G Train, come to our town hall organizing meeting Oct 2!

Graph from NY Times, 2008.

What's That Smell?

Photo by Kilgub (Flickr)

Has anyone noticed a horrible sewage smell in the Nassau Avenue station?

If so, call 311 and/or MTA customer service at (718) 330-3322.

Something is broken, not only in the pipes, but perhaps in the way the MTA is dealing with this. Quoth the MTA customer service rep I spoke with at the latter number: "Someone calls about that every week and we put in a complaint about that every week… the report goes to the station manager."

There seems to be a recurring issue of this along the G line. Early this year, Greenpoint Ave had some issues with leaking water from the track level ceiling and sewage smells occurring during spells of non-wet weather. There also was a problem at either Broadway or Flushing (no pun intended) a couple years ago that took a while to deal with (Gothamist has an entry from July 2006 about sewage leaks along the line). This issue may be compounded by the otherwise charming babbling brook that runs between the northbound tracks at Broadway.

Thanks to local TB, who told us about this issue at Williamsburg Walks.

Related Links
Someone seems to have taken the fight to Craigslist
Assemblymember Joe Lentol rails (pun intended this time) at the MTA in a recent letter over the state of the G Train (Save the G)




And, just for fun, here is a picture of a Shrek doll magically sitting on the third rail. Is it Greenpoint Magic?