2 MARCH 24 - MARCH 30, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP Commuters frustrated with the wait for the R at 59th Street BY JAIME DEJESUS [email protected] Straphangers are sick of cooling their heels as they wait for the R train at 59th Street. “The R trains seem overly crowded to the point where I've seen people opt to take the bus upstairs,” said local resident Ninoshka Garrick. “The N train seems to come more often than the R train does. When I went to the dentist around 5:15 p.m., I took the W and got off at 59th Street. I waited about 10 -15 minutes and three N trains passed on the Coney Island side. I saw three people walk off to take the bus.” Regular commuter Jonathan S. agreed. “One of the most apparent issues is simply a lack of service. There have been several occasions where I've waited 15 minutes for an R train at 59th,” he said. “In the middle of the day, that rate of service is just unacceptable.” "I don’t go a day with a smooth commute both into Manhattan and back,” added long-time Bay Ridge resident Matthew Kabel, who has been riding the train for over a decade. “Something goes wrong every day. Whenever I commute home, there’s an issue, whether it’s a lack of trains or a long wait time or overcrowding. Sometimes you’ll wait at 59th on the way home for an R train and there will be three or four express trains before that one train comes and it packs up.” Kabel, who says that service has gotten worse since the beginning of the new year, had one of his worst experiences last week. The platform was so crowded, he said, that when the train came, “Everybody couldn’t even get into the one set of doors. They were all running down the platform trying to get in,” he said. “I’ve never seen that. I was barely able to squish in and there were people trying to push and then they gave up and ran further down the car to get on." Even new riders waiting for the R are disgruntled. “I really just started riding the R train BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Jaime DeJesus The R train service at 59th Street – or lack of it — has many riders frustrated. again because of jury duty,” said Kathy McDevitt-Byrne. “All I can say is I'm glad I don't have to ride it every day to get to work. It’s always crowded. I'm lucky to get a seat when the train arrives and I have to wait 10 minutes for a train. This is crazy during rush hour." In addition, McDevitt-Byrne complained that, "The 59th Street station is filthy. The garbage pails are overflowing. I noticed the overflowing pails coming home and then the next morning.” Transferring from a train on one platform to a train on the other platform is also frustrating for those who make the connection. “Like many people, I will take the northbound N from Coney Island intending to transfer to a Bay Ridge-bound R train,” explained Jonathan S. “However, conductors rarely seem to wait for passengers walking over from the opposite platform. I've run from the uptown platform to the downtown platform only to have an R train shut its doors in my face.” It's long past time for the MTA to send more trains, contended 43rd Council District candidate Justin Brannan. "It's already hard enough for hard-working Bay Ridge families to move around this city. Between the long commutes and fare hikes, we are simply not getting the service we need,” he said. “I'm all for new and improved subway stations but having to wait 45 minutes at 59th Street to catch an R train at night is insulting. The MTA should fix what's broken before doing anything else. The bottom line is we deserve better and it starts by their being accountable to our community. "We live about seven miles from Manhattan and yet people who live in different states get to work faster than we do. It is absolutely absurd and we're tired of basically being told to just deal with it. We are done being ignored by the MTA," added Brannan. According to term-limited City Councilmember Vincent Gentile, who Brannan is hoping to replace, even the MTA acknowledges that service on the line is deteriorating. Last April, he pointed to a survey conducted by the MTA which indicated that the line's weekday on-time performance had diminished by 20 percent from 2015 to 2016; the weekday wait performance had gone down, according to the same survey, by six percent. The MTA has not yet responded to a request for comment. BROOKLYN CYCLONES TO DUKE IT OUT FOR BEST SLICE May the best slice win. This summer, the Brooklyn Cyclones — Short Season Affiliate of the New York Mets — and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans — Single-A Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs — will hold a one-night-only promo in two different ballparks to try and settle the age-old debate of whose pizza is better, Brooklyn's or Chicago's. On Friday, August 4, at MCU Park in Coney Island, the Cyclones will become the Brooklyn Slices to take on the Tri-City Valley Cats, and the Pelicans will become "The Deep Dishers" during their square-off against the Salem Red Sox. Both ballparks will also host a series of competitions between players, staff and fans for the title of Pizza Capital of the World. For more information, visit bklynslices.com. LOCAL POL ADDRESSES SNOW-RIDDEN BUS STOPS One local pol is fed up with the city's response, or lack thereof, to snow piling up at its bus stops. In a letter sent to Kathryn Garcia, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis pleaded with the agencies to improve their snow removal from city stops. DOT is charged with clearing those with bus shelters and DSNY with removing snow from bus stops without shelters. “It is imperative that we mitigate hazardous conditions wherever they exist,” she wrote. “Forcing bus patrons to wait in the street is more than an inconvenience, and risks ending in tragedy.” DESIGN CONTEST FOR NEW "I VOTED" STICKERS NYC Votes announced on Monday, March 20 the start of a contest to design a brand new "I Voted" sticker, just in time for the 2017 New York City elections. The Campaign Finance Board will print the stickers and the Board of Elections will distribute them to voters at polling places on Election Day. The deadline to submit a design is 5 p.m. Friday, April 14. The current design is that of 10-year-old Zoe Markman, who won the campaign's first ever "I Voted" sticker design contest in 2013. Those interested can submit their designs online at http://www.nyccfb.info/. —Meaghan McGoldrick
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