COURIER L 4 IFE, MARCH 1–7, 2019 M BR B G
‘R’ they serious?
Straphangers blast pols’ proposal to again
split Brooklyn, Manhattan R-train service
BY JULIANNE MCSHANE
Local pols must pump the brakes on
their renewed calls to again split Rtrain
service between Brooklyn and
Manhattan, because another bifurcation
would mean longer commutes for
many straphangers, and do nothing to
improve the core problems plaguing the
beleaguered line, according to riders.
“I work in Manhattan as a personal
assistant, so I take the R over fi ve times
a week, carrying bags and notebooks,”
said Brooklyn Heights resident Sofi a
Lecho. “It would be extremely inconvenient
e to split the train up.”
A quartet of Southern Brooklyn offi -
cials including Rep. Max Rose (D–Bay
Ridge), state Sen. Andrew Gounardes
(D–Bay Ridge), Assemblywoman Mathylde
Frontus (D–Coney Island), and
Councilman Justin Brannan (D–Bay
Ridge) on Feb. 15 sent a letter to Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
bigwig Andy Byford — who oversees
the state-run agency’s local arm, the
New York City Transit Authority —
demanding he look into ceasing interborough
R train service like transit
leaders did for several months following
superstorm Sandy.
Between August 2013 and September
2014 , local R trains terminated
at Downtown’s Court Street station,
where on weekdays Manhattan-bound
straphangers could freely transfer to
4 or 5 trains to continue on to the distant
isle, and on weekends could take
R trains following the N line over the
Manhattan Bridge and into the outer
borough, as workers shored up the R
line’s East River–spanning Montague
Street tunnel.
Many riders at the time told this
newspaper that the change in service
brought newer subway cars to the
line and faster travel times for Kings
County commuters.
But after news of the proposed second
split broke, other straphangers
took to Twitter to blast the pols, with
one suggesting the foursome instead
advocate to improve service on existing
express-bus lines to Manhattan,
and others pointing out logistical concerns
surrounding a second bifurcation,
such as Court Street station’s
lack of accessible entries for disabled
persons, and that the plan could result
in more crowding and train delays at
other Southern Brooklyn stations.
The critics included one Bay Ridge–
based rider, who wondered why the
quartet returned to a scheme that offi -
cials only adopted in the wake of a rare,
and extremely devastating circumstance.
“The solution to fi xing the R train
should not be to revert to something
that was implemented as a result of a
natural disaster,” tweeted Bay Ridgite
R YOU KIDDING?: Sofi a Lecho said stopping
interborough R-train service would make
her daily commutes across the East River a
nightmare. Photo by Maya Harrison
David Troise.
And another commuter, who said
she did not want to relive the ordeal
of her extra-long rides from Bay Ridge
into Manhattan, questioned how many
of the pols who signed the letter actually
rode the train during the fi rst bout
of split service.
“Commuting during the Montague
tunnel shutdown was worse than what
we’re dealing with now,” Nancy Ford
tweeted . “Which of these four representatives
made that commute everyday?”
A rep for Brannan said he rode the
bifurcated R train into Manhattan
three times per week back then, while
working for former Councilman Vincent
Gentile. But reps for Gounardes
and Frontus said their bosses did not
regularly take the train to the distant
isle at the time, because Gounardes
was working for Borough President
Adams, and Frontus was running a
local do-good group, Urban Neighborhood
Services, within walking distance
of her Coney Island home.
A spokesman for Rose — who authored
the letter to Byford — did not
immediately reply when asked about
how often the freshman Congressman
took the R train into Manhattan during
the post-Sandy repairs.
Not all R riders panned the call for
another Southern secession, however.
One Ridgite agreed with Rose, saying
the line needs a quick fi x while straphangers
wait for longer-term improvements
— which won’t come for at least
a decade, since Byford’s $40-billion socalled
Fast Forward Plan to repair the
beleagured transit sytem is not fully
funded, notes that signal upgrades will
not be made along the R line for at least
fi ve years, and even then will not extend
south of Downtown’s DeKalb Avenue
station.
“I’m interested in this idea because
it’s something,” tweeted Nicole
D’Andrea. “We cannot keep living like
this for 10 more years.”