Damn the Man, Save the G Train!

Eliminate our G train? What does “MTA” stand for, anyway? Manhattan Transit Assholes? 

The oft-cursed agency, which always seems to be pleading penury despite endless increases in our subway fares, is now visiting a new outrage from the denizens of BK. They are threatening to eliminate G train service to five stops in Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington. As it stands now, service at Fourth Avenue-Ninth Street, Seventh Avenue, Prospect Park-15th Street, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Church Avenue will end next winter.

Up until 2 1/2 years ago, the G line ended at Smith and 9^th Street, but was extended while the Culver Viaduct was undergoing major rehabilitation. Now that the project is nearing completion, the MTA is saying there’s not enough money to let the line remain as it is.

To protest the cuts, over 500 people have added their names to an online petition at change.org. To many, the cuts seem inexplicable at a time when ridership continues to rise as a result of an expanding population in these neighborhoods. 

“Manhattan-centric” thinking is what drives the MTA’ s decisions, says TWU Local 100 (Transit Worker’s Union) Vice President of Rapid Transit Operations, Kevin Harrington, who singles out the Bloomberg Administration as the main culprit. “Not everyone’s going to Manhattan," he told me. "But Mayor Bloomberg seems to think they are, or want them to. The truth is that the MTA doesn’t want to provide what they like to believe is ‘recreational’ transportation. They want people to use the lines to go to Manhattan to work and that’s it. The G Line is the only Interborough transit line, the only one that doesn’t go through Manhattan.  Brooklyn wasn’t always a part of New York City.  A little autonomy, please? The MTA has already eliminated multiple bus lines in Brooklyn.  These stops are in walking neighborhoods, many of their residents don’t own cars, and if they do, there’s no parking spots.  There’s no logic in this.”

Officially, a reversal of the plan is still possible.  Go to change.org to sign the petition, or follow the guidelines at the venerable Straphanger’s Campaign website to file your own complaint HERE. 

[Via The Brooklyn Paper]