Are you a person who complains about your commute? Let me rephrase that—are you a person who breathes? Well, complainers, it’s time to rejoice, because there’s going to be a whole lot more to complain about: Today, the MTA confirmed the details of one of the largest interruptions in NYC transit history. The long-rumored plan to shut down the L Train will officially start in 2019 and will stop all traffic between Brooklyn and Manhattan for 18 months. Oh, are you pointing and laughing at all of those L-train riding saps? Well, not so fast. Just because you don’t live along the L doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be escaping this whole catastrophe unscathed.
Having been rumored for the past several months, the year-and-a-half shutdown to repair damage caused in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy was officially selected today over the alternative choice of running on a limited basis for a three-year period.
The train will continue to run in Brooklyn, between stops in Williamsburg and Canarsie, but the train will cease running between the 8th Avenue stop in Manhattan and the Bedford Avenue stop in Williamsburg. The five L stops in Manhattan, subsequently, will also be shut down.
Now that the timeline for repair has been decided, the priority will shift to figuring out how in bloody hell the MTA will displace the L Train’s 225,000 daily riders for 18 months. Lol! DNAInfo has several alternatives, which include additional cars being added to the also-cramped G train, as well as additional service on the M and J lines, free transfers, additional bus service, additional ferry service, and more. Bottom line is: Regardless of what train you live off of in North Brooklyn, one way or another, you will feel the pain of this L shutdown come 2019. So cherish the remaining days of being able to get a seat on the J during rush hour. They’re not gonna last.
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