MTA Announces Express F Service to Return in 2017

On Tuesday the MTA announced that express service is set to return to the F line in Brooklyn beginning this summer and with full implementation in 2017. Express service was cancelled in 1987, but due to a political campaign led by City Council Member David Greenfield, who represents Borough Park, it will be reinstated during rush hour.

The change will save time for many south Brooklyn commuters, but it does mean that express trains will skip Bergen Street, Carroll Street, 4th Ave - Smith Street, and 4th Ave - 9th Street. According to the MTA's ridership data (below) these are some of the most heavily used F stations in Brooklyn. Every other train will go express, and since MTA is unable to run additional trains that means a 50% service reduction at local stations.

In MTA's analysis express stop riders will save an average of 3.4 minutes on trips into Manhattan, while local stop riders will add 1.3 minutes to their trip. In exchange, the agency claims local trains will be less crowded, which may be attractive to Bergen Street riders who sometimes must let packed trains pass them by.

Our local representatives Council Member Lander, State Senator Daniel Squadron, and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon released a joint statement with other officials expressing dismay at the decision and the MTA's opaque process.

Bergen Street has an express platform on the lower level that has sat defunct for years. The $75 million renovation required to open it to the public means it will not be an option MTA considers any time soon.

2015 MTA ridership data. Express stops in red.

All The MTA's Depressing Details About F Train Express, Like 50% Less Peak Service For Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens | Gothamist

"Harms More People Than It Helps": Brooklyn Officials Angry About F Train Express | Gothamist

(Includes full text of statements from officials in support and against)

Report: Feasibility and Analysis of F Express Service in Brooklyn | MTA

Get on the Bus!

Great news coming from our local elected officials and the MTA.  Several of the devastating cuts in service made in 2010 are being restored, with a few brand new bus routes actually being established. Additionally, the G Train extension to Church Avenue will now be made permanent. Plenty of coverage of all those details are available either here NYT, here News, here Post, or here WSJ .

Reposted from thebergennetwork.com

However, what is left off the list is one of the routes that directly affects the Cobble Hill, the old B71 bus route. Assemblywoman Joan Millman has just started a Change.org petition to bring back the B71 bus along Union Street, and she will be testifying at the MTA Board meeting next week. She will speak in favor of restoring the B71 which provided safe and reliable transportation for the many residents of the Columbia Street Waterfront District, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. Top give her the support she needs in her testimony,  please read and sign the petition by Tuesday July 24th.

The petition can be found at: https://www.change.org/petitions/joseph-j-lhota-chairman-and-chief-executive-officer-restore-the-b71-union-street-bus-in-brooklyn#

Rally to Save the B71

The MTA service cuts are just days away, and we'll be losing one of our vital lifelines connecting Cobble Hill to Prospect Park - the B71. Our good friends by the Columbia Waterfront are organzing a rally to keep support high and momentum strong for avoiding mass transit disaster.

F Train Town Hall

If you live in Cobble Hill and take the train, odds are you've stood on the Bergen Street platform and watched packed subway car after packed subway car rolls through during the morning rush hour. This chronic problem needs a solution and State Senator Squadron has pushed the MTA to conduct a full line review of the F Train.

In October, the MTA released the findings from this review in a comprehensive report (available at: www.squadron.nysenate.gov). To make this report even more accessible to the public, Senator Daniel Squadron and Community Boards 2 & 6 invite you to attend a Town Hall Meeting about the F train. MTA representatives will discuss the recent report about F train performance, and discuss proposals for improving service.

F Train Town Hall
Hosted by State Senator Daniel Squadron

WHEN: Thursday, December 10, 6:30 pm
WHERE: PS 58 Auditorium

330 Smith Street, Brooklyn NY

(Corner of Smith and Carroll streets, at Carroll Street stop on the F line)

Amazing image of F train in action is republished from venusinfurs.net/2006/06/10/f-train/

MTA: going your way, or going away?

The MTA will hold a public hearing in Brooklyn on January 28 regarding its proposed service cuts and fare hikes. We encourage everyone to attend and make the case for more public transportation, not less. The MTA's official hearing notice explains the procedures for speaking:

Registration to speak will be open until 9 p.m. on the dates of the hearings. Oral testimony is limited to 3 minutes per speaker. To register to speak in advance of the hearings, for more information, or to comment in writing contact Douglas Sussman, Dir, MTA Community Affairs, 347 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10017, (212) 878-7483. Additional information can be found at www.mta.info. Comments may also be made on the MTA website.

What: MTA hearing
When: Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Where: 333 Adams Street, the Brooklyn Marriott