Greenpoint Gazette
Riders, Community Activists and Politicians Rally to Save the G
Feb 25, 2009 by Khristina Narizhnaya
Since the V train was introduced in 2001, the Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown local G train service to 71st Avenue in Forest Hills has been a hotly debated issue between community groups and the MTA. With major budget deficits looming over, the fate of the G train is on the chopping block once again. To save money, MTA is proposing to cut G train service to 71st Avenue permanently, making Court Square in Long Island City the last and final stop.
Not surprisingly, the proposal was met with loud opposition from G train riders, community groups and local elected officials in North Brooklyn and Queens.
Last week the Straphangers Campaign, a NYPIRG campaign to improve mass transit in New York City, held a mock funeral for the G train service to 71st Avenue at Court Square station. Bagpiper John Maynard played several funerary tunes as “mourners” in black armbands, joined by Assembly members Joseph Lentol and Hakeem Jeffries, looked on. After the music, a minute of “subway silence” was observed, followed by laments regarding the G train service cut.
“Thousands of working people rely on this train to get to work and to live their lives,” said Gene Russianoff, the staff attorney for the Straphangers Campaign. “Without the G service [to Forest Hills] commuters will have longer walks or extra walks or transfers.”
Lentol said that although he doesn’t know what it will take to negotiate with Albany to save the G, in the upcoming weeks he is going to try to make sure any MTA-related financial legislation will include improvements to the G line.
“The transit system is suffering a major short fall and I will try to make sure that financing will be allocated for a better G service,” said Lentol.
Two days after “interring” the G train to Forest Hills, Lentol and Jeffries invited Richard Ravitch, the Chairman of the Commission of MTA Financing, along with MTA planning and operations experts, to ride the G train during rush hour with them to show the necessity and the shortcomings of the G line.
“There are a lot of people who depend on the G train,” said Ravitch after riding the G from Metropolitan Station in Williamsburg to Court Square in Queens. “I think a fair explanation of how it will be improved is in order.”
Ravitch’s proposed MTA rescue plan will adopt East River bridge tolls and a payroll tax on businesses to raise revenue in order to prevent public transportation service cuts.
Brooklyn’s Community Board 1 member and volunteer with Brooklyn Committee of Alternative Transportation Kevin Vincent said the G train needs to be saved in order to sustain the lives of local people, and to attract new residents to the neighborhood.
“New residents coming in to the neighborhood will have a harder time commuting,” said Vincent. “Also, the G train cut puts out a whole slew of working families.”
“The G train has been on the MTA’s endangered list for a while, but it’s always been a survivor,” said Teresa Toro of the Save the G Coalition. “Even in these hard times the G holds a special place in its riders’ hearts.”
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Showing posts with label Lentol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lentol. Show all posts
February 28, 2009
February 18, 2009
The G to Rest-in-Pieces?
Politicians, straphangers rally to protest G train service cuts
BY Michael E. Miller
DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, February 18th 2009
The G train as we know it is dead - or close to it.
Politicians and transit rider advocates rallied Tuesday in the Court Square subway stop at Hunters Point, Queens, to protest proposed cuts in G train service that could inconvenience thousands of commuters.
With the dirge of bagpipe music in the background and a funeral wreath in view, they mourned the possible demise of the subway line and called on Gov. Paterson to find new funds to "raise it from the dead."
"The G train has for decades been neglected in terms of resources provided," said Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), a Bible in hand for the mock funeral ceremony.
"If G train service is cut off, thousands of Brooklyn and Queens riders will be left out in the cold," he said. "They deserve better treatment."
Faced with a $1.2 billion operating deficit for 2009, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has proposed slashing Queens-bound service on the G at Court Square to save money.
But despite the doom and gloom, there were signs of life to be found.
"Let's take today as an opportunity to raise the dead," said Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn), adding that the budget crisis has put subway concerns on the back burner. "We will get a plan down that saves the subway system, but we have to save the G."
The event was organized by the Straphangers Campaign, a transit riders advocacy group. The MTA's proposed cuts would lop off 13 stops in Queens from the G line, which now ends in Forest Hills. The cuts would affect other subway and bus lines with crowding.
A Transit Authority study found that the cuts to the G line would result in extra walking, longer waits and additional transfers for thousands of passengers in Brooklyn and Queens each day.
Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the MTA, said the agency was hoping to avoid the cuts and prefers that Albany find other ways to cut the budget.
Daily riders on the G line as well as politicians also expressed their outrage at the plan.
Jose Cortez, 35, a cook on his way to work in Manhattan, said, "It's difficult now to get where I got to go. So just imagine if they cut the service."
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BY Michael E. Miller
DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, February 18th 2009
The G train as we know it is dead - or close to it.
Politicians and transit rider advocates rallied Tuesday in the Court Square subway stop at Hunters Point, Queens, to protest proposed cuts in G train service that could inconvenience thousands of commuters.
With the dirge of bagpipe music in the background and a funeral wreath in view, they mourned the possible demise of the subway line and called on Gov. Paterson to find new funds to "raise it from the dead."
"The G train has for decades been neglected in terms of resources provided," said Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), a Bible in hand for the mock funeral ceremony.
"If G train service is cut off, thousands of Brooklyn and Queens riders will be left out in the cold," he said. "They deserve better treatment."
Faced with a $1.2 billion operating deficit for 2009, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has proposed slashing Queens-bound service on the G at Court Square to save money.
But despite the doom and gloom, there were signs of life to be found.
"Let's take today as an opportunity to raise the dead," said Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn), adding that the budget crisis has put subway concerns on the back burner. "We will get a plan down that saves the subway system, but we have to save the G."
The event was organized by the Straphangers Campaign, a transit riders advocacy group. The MTA's proposed cuts would lop off 13 stops in Queens from the G line, which now ends in Forest Hills. The cuts would affect other subway and bus lines with crowding.
A Transit Authority study found that the cuts to the G line would result in extra walking, longer waits and additional transfers for thousands of passengers in Brooklyn and Queens each day.
Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the MTA, said the agency was hoping to avoid the cuts and prefers that Albany find other ways to cut the budget.
Daily riders on the G line as well as politicians also expressed their outrage at the plan.
Jose Cortez, 35, a cook on his way to work in Manhattan, said, "It's difficult now to get where I got to go. So just imagine if they cut the service."
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February 16, 2009
Funeral for a Friend...
Mock 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
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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
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February 13, 2009
Greenpoint Transit Looking Worse
Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
Subway, Bus Cutback Plans Give Greenpoint the Blues
by Raanan Geberer
February 11, 2009
NORTHERN BROOKLYN — Just as elsewhere in the city, residents of Greenpoint and Williamsburg are objecting to the MTA’s planned budget cuts as well as those recommended in the so-called Ravitch Commission report.
Specifically, people are up in arms about the plan, spelled out in the Ravitch report, to cut the G train back to Court Square at all times, and at plans to cut the B24 and B48 buses in Greenpoint at night and on weekends.
The beleaguered G train was first cut back around 2003, when it was made to terminate at Court Square on its northern end at all times except late nights and weekends. Previously, it had gone to 71st Street-Continental Avenue in Forest Hills. Greenpoint and Williamsburg residents often used it to go shopping, hospitals and movies in Queens.
Even though it is supposed to go to Forest Hills nights and weekends, temporary service cuts often scale it back to Court Square anyway. “I used to live on that line, and I can count on two hands the number of times I saw this [trains going to Forest Hills] happen,” says Amy Cleary, an aide to Assemblyman Joe Lentol.
The G train was also cut back to using four-car trains. MTA officials defended the move on the grounds that this would allow trains to operate more frequently. Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers’ Campaign says he can understand the transit agency’s point of view because “there are 6,200 cars in the entire fleet, but we wish they had taken our advice a few years ago and kept the Redbirds in service.”
Area residents say that if anything, G service should be expanded because of rapid population growth and new housing construction in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
“The assemblyman will be going for a ride on the train with Ravitch in the coming few weeks,” says Cleary. “The best way to make them understand is to get them on there.”
As far as the B24 and B48 buses are concerned, Lentol pointed out in a letter to the MTA that “the B48 services an area of Greenpoint that will not have any other options when it comes to public transportation. Cuts to the B48 bus will mean 20- and often 30-minute walks to the G train, and even longer to and from the L Train.”
Tony Pecora, a neighborhood resident, says, “Many people go to work from 4 to 12, many go out on weekends. To get to the L train, they will either have to call a car service or walk two miles. I work Tuesday to Saturday, and get off at Lorimer Street after midnight. If they make these cuts, I won’t be riding the bus — I’ll either take a car service, which is eight dollars without a tip, or I’m going to walk.”
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Subway, Bus Cutback Plans Give Greenpoint the Blues
by Raanan Geberer
February 11, 2009
NORTHERN BROOKLYN — Just as elsewhere in the city, residents of Greenpoint and Williamsburg are objecting to the MTA’s planned budget cuts as well as those recommended in the so-called Ravitch Commission report.
Specifically, people are up in arms about the plan, spelled out in the Ravitch report, to cut the G train back to Court Square at all times, and at plans to cut the B24 and B48 buses in Greenpoint at night and on weekends.
The beleaguered G train was first cut back around 2003, when it was made to terminate at Court Square on its northern end at all times except late nights and weekends. Previously, it had gone to 71st Street-Continental Avenue in Forest Hills. Greenpoint and Williamsburg residents often used it to go shopping, hospitals and movies in Queens.
Even though it is supposed to go to Forest Hills nights and weekends, temporary service cuts often scale it back to Court Square anyway. “I used to live on that line, and I can count on two hands the number of times I saw this [trains going to Forest Hills] happen,” says Amy Cleary, an aide to Assemblyman Joe Lentol.
The G train was also cut back to using four-car trains. MTA officials defended the move on the grounds that this would allow trains to operate more frequently. Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers’ Campaign says he can understand the transit agency’s point of view because “there are 6,200 cars in the entire fleet, but we wish they had taken our advice a few years ago and kept the Redbirds in service.”
Area residents say that if anything, G service should be expanded because of rapid population growth and new housing construction in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
“The assemblyman will be going for a ride on the train with Ravitch in the coming few weeks,” says Cleary. “The best way to make them understand is to get them on there.”
As far as the B24 and B48 buses are concerned, Lentol pointed out in a letter to the MTA that “the B48 services an area of Greenpoint that will not have any other options when it comes to public transportation. Cuts to the B48 bus will mean 20- and often 30-minute walks to the G train, and even longer to and from the L Train.”
Tony Pecora, a neighborhood resident, says, “Many people go to work from 4 to 12, many go out on weekends. To get to the L train, they will either have to call a car service or walk two miles. I work Tuesday to Saturday, and get off at Lorimer Street after midnight. If they make these cuts, I won’t be riding the bus — I’ll either take a car service, which is eight dollars without a tip, or I’m going to walk.”
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August 11, 2008
Assemblyman Joe Lentol's Letter to MTA CEO Lee Sander
Recently, Assemblyman Joe Lentol wrote to Eliot G. Sander, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at the MTA. Here is the letter, reprinted below with the Assemblyman's permission. We'll let you know if there's any response.
Mr. Sander should hear regularly from G train riders - consider writing your own letter...
July 31, 2008
Eliot G. Sander
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
347 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Sander,
I want to bring to your attention the disparity between two of the subway lines in my Assembly District in North Brooklyn, the G line and the L line, as reported this week in the Straphangers Campaign’s annual subway report. While I am pleased to learn that the L train has become the most reliable line in the city, it saddens me to see that the G train is once again ranked amongst the worst lines in the city.
The G line was rated worst of all lines in terms of cleanliness and frequency of breakdowns, and near the bottom in frequency of trains and clarity of announcements. This report card failed to have a category for service disruptions, but if it did I’m sure the G line would have had a poor mark due to incessant disruptions. A good week for the G is one in which it runs from Smith-9th Streets to Court Square without the need for shuttle busses along the way. But seemingly every other weekend my constituents and thousands of others are forced to deal with service disruptions, a split G line in which people must transfer from one train to another, and shuttle busses. I can’t even remember the last time the G went past Court Square to Forest Hills. If the train ran its full route it would save many commuters time and aggravation, in addition to re-linking local neighborhoods with the many thriving and affordable shopping districts in Queens. Countless numbers of my constituents used to use the G line just to get to those stores and now they cannot.
I have said it before and I will say it again, I’m tired of the G line being treated as the lowly stepchild of the MTA. For years I have heard promises of service improvements but nothing ever materializes. Instead, the G is always the first line on the chopping block when it comes time to cut costs. The L line brings people to Manhattan’s Central Business District and intersects several transit hubs, and I am left to conclude that is the reason why it offers much better service. The G line, meanwhile, doesn’t connect to Manhattan, services people in Brooklyn and Queens, and offers about the worst service in the city. It is a sad state of affairs that this line continues to be neglected just because its riders are not going to Midtown or Wall Street.
The G line connects the people of North Brooklyn, from Greenpoint to Red Hook. If the service were better it could have a dramatic impact on the economic growth of this part of the city and is especially vital considering that nearly all of the affordable housing slated to be built in the city is along this line. All else aside, I would have thought these arguments alone would be enough to merit improvements.
For all of these reasons, I am asking you now to stand with me and my belief that improvements to G line service are a must, and that change needs to happen immediately.
I thank you for your time and attention in this matter. Please feel free to call me at 718-383-7474 if you have any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Joseph R. Lentol
__________________________________
Mr. Sander should hear regularly from G train riders - consider writing your own letter...
July 31, 2008
Eliot G. Sander
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
347 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Sander,
I want to bring to your attention the disparity between two of the subway lines in my Assembly District in North Brooklyn, the G line and the L line, as reported this week in the Straphangers Campaign’s annual subway report. While I am pleased to learn that the L train has become the most reliable line in the city, it saddens me to see that the G train is once again ranked amongst the worst lines in the city.
The G line was rated worst of all lines in terms of cleanliness and frequency of breakdowns, and near the bottom in frequency of trains and clarity of announcements. This report card failed to have a category for service disruptions, but if it did I’m sure the G line would have had a poor mark due to incessant disruptions. A good week for the G is one in which it runs from Smith-9th Streets to Court Square without the need for shuttle busses along the way. But seemingly every other weekend my constituents and thousands of others are forced to deal with service disruptions, a split G line in which people must transfer from one train to another, and shuttle busses. I can’t even remember the last time the G went past Court Square to Forest Hills. If the train ran its full route it would save many commuters time and aggravation, in addition to re-linking local neighborhoods with the many thriving and affordable shopping districts in Queens. Countless numbers of my constituents used to use the G line just to get to those stores and now they cannot.
I have said it before and I will say it again, I’m tired of the G line being treated as the lowly stepchild of the MTA. For years I have heard promises of service improvements but nothing ever materializes. Instead, the G is always the first line on the chopping block when it comes time to cut costs. The L line brings people to Manhattan’s Central Business District and intersects several transit hubs, and I am left to conclude that is the reason why it offers much better service. The G line, meanwhile, doesn’t connect to Manhattan, services people in Brooklyn and Queens, and offers about the worst service in the city. It is a sad state of affairs that this line continues to be neglected just because its riders are not going to Midtown or Wall Street.
The G line connects the people of North Brooklyn, from Greenpoint to Red Hook. If the service were better it could have a dramatic impact on the economic growth of this part of the city and is especially vital considering that nearly all of the affordable housing slated to be built in the city is along this line. All else aside, I would have thought these arguments alone would be enough to merit improvements.
For all of these reasons, I am asking you now to stand with me and my belief that improvements to G line service are a must, and that change needs to happen immediately.
I thank you for your time and attention in this matter. Please feel free to call me at 718-383-7474 if you have any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Joseph R. Lentol
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