NYC commuters brace for summer of hell as G train shuts down for much-needed repairs
A summer subway G line shutdown has filled commuters with dread – even as they admitted much-needed repair work on the ancient system is probably necessary.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has said it won’t leave desperate straphangers in a lurch during the six-week, phased closure that starts Friday — the agency is providing a frequent shuttle bus service that will run every few minutes for the duration of the shutdown.
But that was of little comfort to those who depend on the Brooklyn-Queens crosstown line, which bounces between Court Square in Long Island City and Church Avenue in Kensington and is already considered the subway system’s forgotten child by some straphangers.
“The G train already constantly runs behind schedule,” Giovanni, a 37-year-old Greenpoint resident, told The Post. “I’m really not looking forward to having to wait on a shuttle.
“I’ve heard some coworkers say the shuttle is supposed to take the same amount of time,” he continued. “But you never know what can happen — accidents, traffic … everything is subject to more delays above ground.”
Other frustrated riders winced at the hit their wallets will take as they try to find other transportation in an area where the G, which doesn’t go into Manhattan, is often the closest and sometimes the only option for commuters.
“It will crush my bank account,” Patrick Hayes, a 22-year-old construction worker from New Jersey who works in Greenpoint, said on Thursday.
“I catch the G twice every day, twice a day. I guess I’ll Uber,” Hayes said, adding that he expects to pay about $50 a day for the workaround. “It’s going to cost a lot more money. It’s an expensive ride. It’s ridiculous.”
But others said they understood why the MTA was doing what it’s doing, even if it inconveniences them.
“What people need to understand is that the maintenance is needed,” Reggie, 52, said Wednesday. “If they want the train to come on time and the ride to run smoothly, they need to fix it — make sure it’s working properly.
“I get why people may be frustrated because where the G train stops, there aren’t a lot of other train options,” the former building maintenance worker added. “But at least I know my $2.90 is going to something good.”
Transit officials say they need to close the line so workers can get into the tunnels and tear out the Depression-era stop light signals that frequently break down.
In their place, they’ll install a new computerized system that will boost reliability and let trains run more frequently.
“The Crosstown Line, used by the ?G train, still has its original signal system from when it opened over 90 years ago,” the MTA said on its website.
“This system is now past the end of its useful life. So, we’re bringing the latest in communications-based train control technology to the Crosstown Line. A more modern, reliable signal system means more reliable service for the 160,000 riders who take the ?G each day.”
But with the technology comes the pain — and in this case, that means segmented shutdowns that will disrupt the line until Sept. 3.
No trains will run between Court Square and Nassau Avenue from Friday to July 5, the MTA said.
Then the section between Court Square and the Bedford-Nostrand Avenue station will close from July 5 to Aug. 12.
Finally, workers will wind up the mammoth project by moving to the section between the Bedford station and Church Avenue, which will shut down from Aug. 12 to Sept. 3.
An MTA spokesperson said in an email that the agency had appointed Hugo Zamora the “G Train Czar” to oversee the services and “ensure customers are getting where they need to go.”
At NYC Transit’s monthly committee meeting on Monday, Zamora went over the MTA’s intricate plans to revamp the lines — and keep shuttles moving.
The improvements, he said, will make it so that when customers return at the end of the summer, they’ll come back to a “brighter, cleaner and refreshed G line.”
Still, riders weren’t looking forward to the agonizing summer ahead.
Teddy Sanchez, a 38-year-old from Astoria, recoiled at the idea of using a shuttle.
“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’ll probably hop on a Cit Bike to get to his girlfriend’s place near the Bedford-Nostrand Ave stop, he said.
“At least I’ll get cardio out of it,” he said.
One rider was particularly rueful about the project: City Council member Lincoln Restler of the 33rd District, which includes Greenpoint.
“The G train shutdown is an extraordinary imposition for the Greenpoint community — especially because it’s our lifeline! It’s the only train that serves Greenpoint,” Restler said as he sat on the G, catching up on paperwork.
“This is a necessary infrastructure investment, I’m happy the MTA is upgrading the signals on the G train that will allow for more reliable service and, potentially … more frequent G train service, which is a major priority for our whole community,” he continued.
“But I really wish we would have been able to do this work on nights and weekends,” he said. “It’s going to be really tough.”
Others were more succint.
“This s–t is gonna suck, man,” said Alex Ramos, a 25-year-old grocery store worker who takes the train from the Bedford station to his job near Court Square. “Now I have to a bus, to another bus, to a different train line.”
“There’s no bus that comes all the way out here from Brooklyn,” the young man said.
“I’m not looking forward to it at all.”
