Local Officials Request Action on Alternatives to R and G Trains During Construction

Following a rally yesterday at Borough Hall seventeen local officials, including Borough President Marty Markowitz, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and City Councilmen Steve Levin and Brad Lander, have sent a letter to MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast and Mayor Michael Bloomberg concerning the planned closure of the R train tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan for fourteen months beginning in August, and the G train tunnel between Brooklyn and Queens for twelve weekends this year and five consecutive weeks in 2014. According to the Riders Alliance and the Straphangers Campaign, so far “the only mitigation measures identified by MTA New York City Transit are shuttle buses for G train riders and staff on hand to help guide riders.”

The Riders Alliance/Straphangers Campaign presser continues:

In the letter, the elected officials ask that the MTA and the City review a list of ideas generated by representatives of the affected communities, including running additional trains, adding local and express buses, adding ferries from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and expediting the expansion of the city’s bike-share program. The elected officials request a plan by mid-July, in order to accommodate riders when the R train tunnel closes in August.

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