14 The QUEE NS Courier • JANUARY 14, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Queens pols request full review of ‘infrequent and unreliable’ R train By Angela Matua amatua@queenscourier.com @AngelaMatua The R train, referred to as “Rarely” by some riders, is in desperate need of a review, according to local lawmakers. More than 40 elected officials and transportation groups are turning up the heat on the MTA and demanding that the agency conduct a full review of the R line, which makes stops in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. Spearheaded by Brooklyn state Senator Daniel Squadron and City Councilman Vincent Gentile, elected officials from the three boroughs, along with transit groups Riders Alliance and Straphangers Campaign, sent a letter to MTA President Thomas Prendergast, asking him to conduct the review within the next six months. “We have heard a number of community concerns about the R train,” the letter said. “The R train serves many communities for which it is one of the only transit options.” The letter also cites “a lack of communication” and “poor station conditions” as reasons why the review is needed. At least 13 Queens politicians signed the letter, including Councilman Costa Constantinides, who represents Astoria. “R train riders must contend with delays and infrequent service, combined with older train cars,” Constantinides said. “A full line review to assess current issues and examine possible solutions would help to potentially improve the commutes of our residents.” Using MTA transit data, a 2013 study conducted by the transit interest group Straphangers Campaign found that the R line is scheduled to come less often than most subway lines but is slightly less crowded during rush hour. It was also found that cars on the R line break down more often than those on the average line. Full line reviews were created in 2009 and since then, the MTA has reviewed the A, C, F, G and L lines. It took the city agency almost 18 months to complete the A/C line review and elected officials are asking the MTA to speed the process up. “The almost 18 months that it took to complete the A/C Full Line Review is, simply, too slow,” the letter said. “At that pace, it would take the MTA more than 10 years to honor the commitment to study the remaining lines.” MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said the agency has not scheduled a review for the R line and is planning to review a number line next. He also said reviewing the R line at this point would be “obsolete almost immediately” because the opening of the Second Avenue line will affect the overall service. “The opening of Second Avenue Subway will affect how many people ride the R and how the R operates, so it would be premature for us to conduct an R line review on the cusp of such a change,” Ortiz said. Makana Shimaoka, an Astoria resident who lives off the M and R line, said the R is unreliable and that she witnesses “twice as many N and Q trains” going back to Queens during her commute back home from Manhattan. “The R train is like that friend who always says they’ll show up at a specified time, but never does,” Shimaoka said. “I can always tell that there is an R train approaching the station by the creaking noises,” she added. “It sounds like it will break down at any second.” MTA to put Queens station renovations projects on the fast track Photo via Wikimedia Commons The Parsons Boulevard station in Jamaica is one of seven subway stops in queens that Governor Andrew Cuomo wants the MTA to quickly redesign and rebuild as part of his 2016 agenda. By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@queenscourier.com/@robbpoz Seven dilapidated train stations in Queens will be rapidly redesigned under a transportation plan that Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Jan. 8 in Brooklyn. In all, 30 subway stations in New York City will be overhauled in the governor’s proposed program, including four stations on the N/Q lines in Astoria: 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th Avenue and 39th Avenue. The Parsons Boulevard F train station in Jamaica and two stations on the M/R lines — the 67th Avenue station in Rego Park and the Northern Boulevard station in Woodside — will also be renovated. According to the governor’s office, the MTA will be tasked with altering its design guidelines to allow for each station to be redesigned with a brighter, cleaner look and easier navigation. The MTA will also expedite the projects by utilizing the design-build contract procurement method that the Cuomo administration used to quickly advance infrastructure projects such as the new Kosciuszko Bridge on the Brooklyn/Queens border. A single contractor will be selected to handle all 30 stations. Cuomo added that the stations will be completely closed during renovations; though this will inconvenience riders, he noted, the closures would allow for the projects to be completed more quickly. The governor projects that most of the 30 station rebuilds will be completed by 2018, and all will be finished by 2020. Each station project will take between six and 12 months to complete. The renovations are part of the governor’s 2016 agenda, which aims to bring aesthetic and technological improvements to the entire Metropolitan Transportation Authority system beginning this year. Cuomo also plans to introduce a touchless, mobile fare payment system to replace MetroCards and tickets; to expand wireless Internet hot spots; and to install USB ports in train cars, buses and train stations to allow customers to recharge their phones while riding or waiting. “This is absolutely vital to the daily functioning of New York City, but for too long, it has failed to meet the region’s growing size and strength,” Cuomo said. “This is about doing more than just repair and maintain. This is thinking bigger and better and building the 21st-century transit system New Yorkers deserve.” Politicians are asking the MTA to conduct a full line review of the R line.
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