Politicians say the MTA must make big improvements to the G line during a planned shutdown this summer.
Photo courtesy of GeneralPunger/Wikimedia Commons
Brooklyn and Queens elected officials say they want “the gain must match the pain” if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is going to proceed with plans to close the G train for improvements this summer.
In a Jan. 25 letter to MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber and president Richard Davey, a group of 22 elected officials representing neighborhoods along the G line said they want to see a “full upgrade” of the line along with the planned signal modernizations.
That would mean increasing the length of G trains from four or five cars to eight, increasing the frequency of service, and restoring service to Forest Hills, the pols said.
“The MTA must plan for the future and invest in the G line we deserve, with a full run of train cars and restored service in Queens,” the letter reads. “We urge you to seize this moment.”
The letter came after the MTA announced plans to close the G in sections throughout the summer as it works to replace the line’s aging signal technology with new communications-based train control, or CBTC.
Starting on June 28, the line would shut down between Court Square and Greenpoint Avenue until July 5 — then from Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues until Aug. 12 and from Bedford-Nostrand Avenues to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets until Sept. 2.
The agency would offer free shuttle bus service between the closed stations throughout the summer, and the new CBTC technology would allow trains to run faster and more efficiently.
But the ends don’t quite justify the means, the pols said in their letter, pointing out that the G serves some of the city’s fastest-growing neighborhoods — including Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Long Island City — and is a “vital connector” between Brooklyn and Queens, since most other subway lines between the…
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