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The G train’s much-dreaded service suspension begins next Friday, leaving residents of Greenpoint and Long Island City no option but the ever-frustrating MTA shuttle buses. If you thought riding the G caused sweating and anguish before, your love/hate (or maybe just hate?) relationship with the line is about to get more complicated. For five weeks, beginning at 10:30 p.m. on July 25, northbound trains will go no farther than Nassau Ave; there will be no service at Greenpoint Ave., 21 St. or Court Square. And this isn’t just a weekend thing—it’s 24/7 until Tuesday, September 2.
According to the MTA, the closure is due to Sandy-related repairs to the Greenpoint Tube, which connects North Brooklyn and Queens. During the storm, the tunnel was flooded with 3 million gallons of salt water; though the MTA got G service running again, the agency did not have time for the long-term repairs that would make the system less vulnerable to future storms. As many disgruntled riders are all-too-aware, the MTA has already been working on the tunnel on the weekends. The agency did increase weekday service last month, however, and said these 5 weeks were picked for the most intense work because they have historically had the lowest subway ridership.
So here are your options, G train riders. Maybe after this you’ll be a little more grateful for the G, flaws and all. Or maybe you’ll just move.
- Shuttle bus service along Manhattan Ave., between the Nassau Ave and Court Sq stations, stopping at Greenpoint Ave and 21 St.
- Shuttle bus service along McGuinness Blvd, between the Lorimer St L and Court Sq G stations, with stops at Nassau Ave, Greenpoint Ave and 21 St.
- A free transfer between the Broadway G and Lorimer J/M stops
- And a promise from the MTA that there will be no planned service outages on the L, J, M or Z lines (the operative word, of course, being planned)