6 times • MAY 12, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com NO EASY WAY OUT MTA outlines options for L train project at Brooklyn meeting By Emilie Ruscoe editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com @emiliesaysthat The MTA’s top brass met with the public and elected officials at Bed-Stuy’s Marcy Avenue Armory on Thursday night to field the public’s questions and present two main approaches to scheduling L train closures during repairs to the Canarsie tubes that will start in 2019. The two plans presented by the MTA, respectively, involve either full closure of the L between 8th Avenue in Manhattan and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn for a year and a half, or partial closure of the L with significantly reduced service between Brooklyn and Manhattan and a break between service across the river and service to the rest of Brooklyn, which would take three years. MTA chief of staff Donna Evans, MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas F. Prendergast, NYC Transit President Veronique Hakim, MTA Senior Vice President of the Capital Program Management John O’Grady and MTA Chief Officer of Operations Planning Peter Cafiero were seated on a stage where they took the public’s questions. Evans made it clear that the public’s suggestions that work be done on the tunnels on nights and weekends was not realistic: due the precautions required to protect workers and the public from silica dust, opening and closing the tunnels would take a day or two at the least on each occasion. Plans to offset service outage include adding extra trains to the G, J and M lines, increasing B49 bus service and working with other city agencies on the possibility of offering the public more ferry service and bike and ride share programs: “We’ve got the time to get these options right,” Evans explained. MTA officials assured the public that MTA reps will be attending meetings in communities all along the L line during the project, and stated that they are committed to transparency throughout the project. The Canarsie tube is the last of the 9 subway tunnels damaged during Sandy that required significant work after the superstorm, and it was “saved for last” in part so that the process of repairing the other tunnels could be instructive. L service outage is high impact in terms of both ridership numbers and the dearth of transit alternatives for that ridership. The MTA hopes that after work on the Canarsie tubes is completed, the tube infrastructure won’t need more work for another century. Additionally, the timeframe for receiving federal funding designated for the project is drawing to a close. If the work is not contracted in the near future, hundreds of millions of dollars that were part of the Donna Evans of the MTA hard-won Sandy recovery act passed by congress in 2013 would be forfeited. The MTA reps were joined in turn by Assembly Member Joseph Lentol, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan, City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Congresswoman Nydia Velásquez, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Sate Senator Daniel Squadron, and State Assembly Member Maritza Davila, as well as a representative from the Borough President Eric L. Adam’s office and the Department of Transportation’s Borough Commissioner, Keith Bray. Among the attendees who remained at the end of the meeting, there was cautious optimism about the evening’s event. The L Train Coalition‘s Franny Citivano told Bushwick Daily that “we think it’s a great beginning, and we are really looking forward to a continued dialogue” with the MTA. Karen Nieves of local industrial business advocacy nonprofit Evergreen Exchange told Bushwick Daily that her organization’s main concern was the economic impact the L train shutdown would have, but after the thorough presentation that made the extent of the damage to the tubes clear, she was glad to hear that the work would be happening and hopes that it does indeed improve service on North Brooklyn’s other subway lines. Ridgewood Bank scores charity goals with the Islanders Ridgewood Savings Bank teamed up with the New York Islanders to benefit two local charities by donating $10 for every save made by an Islanders goalie during the 2015-16 season. After 2,241 saves, the program, called “Save with Ridgewood,” netted checks of $12,695 each to Gateway Youth Outreach and IMPACCT Brooklyn, two charities selected by Ridgewood to help in their missions and good works throughout Brooklyn and Nassau County. Pictured from left to right: Christopher F. Smith, Ridgewood Savings Bank’s vice president and CRA officer; Pat Boyle, GYO executive director; Leonard Stekol, executive vice president and chief operating officer; Deb Howard, executive director, IMPACCT Brooklyn; and Matt Schettino, director of marketing, Ridgewood Savings Bank.
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