Greenpoint residents fight back against G Train shutdowns
The MTA says one June outage has been moved from June 12–15 to July 10–13. But local leaders and merchants say the change does little to address broader concerns.
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Empty subway stations and reduced service is the reality many local business owners say they’re bracing for as the MTA prepares for a series of weekend G train shutdowns spanning the summer, fall and winter months.
The MTA originally stated that it planned to suspend G train service between the Bedford-Nostrand Avenue station and Court Square station for three weekends in June, two weekends in August, one weekend in September and three weekends in December.
Now, roughly 50 Greenpoint shops are urging the agency to revise the schedule, warning the disruptions could significantly impact foot traffic and revenue during some of their busiest business days of the year.
“You often are breaking even on the weekdays and actually generating profit on the weekends. If the MTA does this, I'm potentially looking at closing a store because we won't have access to revenue,” said Rachel Despeaux, co-owner of Awoke Vintage.
The MTA says one June outage has been moved from June 12–15 to July 10–13. But local leaders and merchants say the change does little to address broader concerns.
“They made no other modifications. This is our lifeline in and out of the community, and I'm hearing from local business owners that they're concerned that they're not going to survive this year,” Council Member Lincoln Restler told News 12.
“A lot of times, it's when people can come and get their hair done. It's our staff; their livelihoods depend on it,” said Danielle Hartnett, manager at Coz Salon.
Some commuters say they understand the need for infrastructure upgrades but are still bracing for disruption.
“While I know it's going to be extremely impactful, I also, on some level get it that something needs to be done to secure the city for future storms and weather and so on,” said Kate Lieberman, resident and studio owner.
Restler says he raised the issue with the MTA at a hearing and continues to push for changes to the plan, saying the fight over the shutdown schedule is far from over.
