Filmmaker launches Kickstarter for L train documentary 'End of the Line'

A New York filmmaker is creating a documentary about the L train and the aftermath of its canceled shutdown.

News 12 Staff

Feb 7, 2020, 2:07 AM

Updated 1,771 days ago

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A New York filmmaker is creating a documentary about the L train and the aftermath of its canceled shutdown.
Back in 2016, the MTA said it planned to shut down the L train beginning in 2019 to repair Superstorm Sandy damage.
"I was living off the L, when they announced the L train shutdown, taking it every day for work and just couldn't imagine what that was going to do for the neighborhood," says "End of the Line" director Emmett Adler.
That began what Adler calls three years of misinformation, and he started filming his documentary on the L train called "End of the Line."
"When something like this happens, it can decimate a community. It can close businesses, it can cause real estate prices to dip- and all of that happened to some extent with the L train," says Adler.
Adler immediately began talking to business owners and neighbors who would greatly be affected by their transportation being pulled out from under them.
Then, the unexpected happened just months prior to the scheduled shutdown. Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped in and shut down the shutdown, saying that they would do repairs to the L train tunnel without closing it completely.
Adler's film explores the three years of fear, the impact it had on property values and businesses and the lives that were affected.
Adler launched a Kickstarter for "End of the Line," looking to raise $25,000 to help finish the documentary, which also explores national transit issues outside of Brooklyn.
Adler said depending on Kickstarter support, he hopes the end of the line for his documentary will be sometime in early 2021.