BY ROSE ADAMS
What the F!
The Metropolitan
Transit Authority will
halt F train service to Coney
Island weekends beginning
in March — for
the rest of the year!
In an effort to upgrade
the line’s aging signaling
system, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
will suspend train service
between Church Avenue
and Stillwell Avenue
from March 21 into 2021, a
transit rep said.
“Work on the F train
will continue in 2021.
Right now, we are sharing
service changes through
2020 so customers can
plan ahead,” said Kayla
Shuts.
In the interim, free
shuttle buses will transport
riders from Church
Avenue to Stillwell Avenue,
Shuts added.
The improvement
scheme is part of a $253
million project to install
technology, known as
Communications-Based
Train Control (CBTC)
along the F Line, which,
when completed, will allow
for seamless updates
on train positions, distances,
and travel speeds,
according to the rep.
F train service will resume
in 2021, and trains
will operate normally on
Easter weekend, Fourth
of July weekend, Thanksgiving
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weekend, Christmas
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The N train, which has
been suspended between
86th Street and Stillwell
Avenue, will resume full
service at the end of April,
meaning that neither
train will travel to the
People’s Playground on
weekends between March
20 and April 27.
Community leaders
say that the construction
will reduce visitors to
Coney Island during the
neighborhood’s peak season
— and say they are
working with the MTA to
change its plans.
“We’re trying to negotiate,”
said Community
Board 13 district manager
Eddie Mark. “It’s
usually practiced where
they do it on a weekend to
have less of an impact on
the community, but our
F train service will be suspended on weekends begining later this month. Mtattrain
community is a summer
destination.”
Coney Island’s fl agging
commercial strip,
which has witnessed ongoing
construction for
years, may also suffer because
of the project, local
business advocates said.
“As a beachfront and
amusement destination
and community of many
small businesses who
rely on visitorship during
the summer season to
make ends meet, this will
be incredibly disruptive
to our economy and livelihoods,”
said Alexandra
Silversmith, the executive
director of the Alliance
for Coney Island, a
business advocacy group.
Business owners
echoed Silversmith’s concerns
and added that ongoing
construction across
the peninsula has already
local shops a tough blow.
“There are restaurants
on Surf Avenue
that weren’t able to make
it through the construction,”
said Dick Zigun,
the founder of Coney Island
USA, a non-profi t
that runs an arts center,
museum, and theater program.
This is F’d!
MTA suspending weekend
F train service to Coney
■
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