132 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

gothamist, 1/18/19:
 

Cuomo's MTA Is 'Neutering' Oversight To Ram Through L Train Plan, Board Members Say

 

 

On Thursday night, two weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his surprise proposal to avert the long-planned L train shutdown, the MTA officially announced that it will be adopting the plan going forward—despite not having the support of several board members or a detailed, final engineering plan to present to them.

 

"The total shutdown of both tunnels and all service scheduled for April 27 will not be necessary," the release read. "We do anticipate a shutdown of one tube on nights and weekends, however service both ways (between Manhattan and Brooklyn) would be scheduled 24/7."

 

Implicit in the announcement is the revelation that, contrary to the governor's initial statements, the plan will not come before the MTA board for approval. An MTA official confirmed this to Gothamist on Friday, arguing that the plan can bypass the board because it is expected to cost less than the full shutdown, which was pegged at $477 million. Acting MTA Chairman Freddy Ferrer, a Cuomo appointee, has "extraordinary procurement authority," said the official, who asked for anonymity in order to speak candidly.

 

"The one procedure that we have in place as a board—procurement—is essentially being taken away from us, effectively neutering us as an agency," MTA board member Veronica Vanterpool told Gothamist on Friday. "I’m surprised that this is being railroaded when everyone is just trying to work toward a very positive outcome—that’s safety and reliability."

 

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[CNJRoss]

New York Post, 1/21/19:
 

Cuomo’s MTA moves show what a real dictator looks like

 

 

President Trump has backed off his threat to bypass Congress by declaring a national emergency to build his wall. Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is effectively seizing emergency powers to end-run the MTA board with his L-train repair plan.

 

And they call Trump dictatorial?

 

On Thursday, the MTA said it’s going ahead with the gov’s plan to make critical repairs to the tunnel without the previously scheduled 15-month total shutdown.

 

That preempts what had been an expected vote Thursday by the MTA board, some of whose members have raised concerns about the new plan. Now the agency says no vote’s needed after all, because it doesn’t expect the drastic change of plan to hike costs.

 

Which, as The Post reported Saturday, infuriated some of the board: “We spent three to four hours in an emergency board meeting,” one member, Andrew Albert, fumed. “Obviously, this was all for naught.”

 

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[CNJRoss]

New York Post, 1/24/19:
 

MTA made ‘giant mistake’ by canceling L train shutdown: board

 

 

The MTA is making a “giant mistake” in going over its board members’ heads to implement Gov. Cuomo’s controversial ­L-train repair plan in the face of intense pushback, one of those board members raged Thursday.

 

“Board approval is the proper way to proceed,” Andrew Saul said during a heated meeting.

 

“I don’t see how we can make a change without the board … to approve this action.”

 

Cuomo-appointed acting board Chairman Fernando Ferrer didn’t directly address Saul’s demand, but insisted “nothing will be done in the dark of night.”

 

Never mind the fact that the MTA first announced the plan was going full steam ahead with a press release at 5:55 p.m. last week.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Gothamist, 1/28/19:
 

L Train Pre-Shutdown Starts Today: No Service On Nights And Weekends, Through Mid-March

 

 

While Governor Andrew Cuomo's plans to reimagine the L train shutdown are still being debated (and questioned in internal MTA memos), one thing L train riders can count on is limited service from now until mid-March. That's because the MTA is continuing with its previously announced pre-shutdown shutdown, with service outages between Broadway Junction and 8th Avenue.

 

The L train's Canarsie tunnel under the East River, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was flooded and seriously damaged during Hurricane Sandy. To prepare for a shutdown—whatever that may look like—the MTA set aside a number of weekends in all of October and February and most of March to work on the tunnel. Now weeknight overnight service outages are included.

 

"As part of the revised L Project, we’re still moving forward on the long-term reliability improvement work we had originally planned," the MTA explains. "This includes installing brand new rail in the tunnel and along other critical sections of the L line, and preparing key switches and signals. For you, this means our track will be safer and trains will run faster and smoother, and that we’ll have the right signals to run the one-track operation come April. This work requires full track access because of how the track installation and signal work is implemented, meaning that there will be no L service between 8 Av and Broadway Junction during these weeknights."

 

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[KevinKorell]

News 12 Brooklyn, 1/28/19:
 

 

   L train maintenance to affect overnight commutes this week  

 

 

 

Late-night L train commuters are in for a headache for the duration of this week.

 

More

[CNJRoss]

New York Post, 4/10/19:
 

Transit advocacy group warns against Cuomo’s L-train plan

 

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s L train tunnel repair plan will become the “Boeing 737-Max of the subway system” thanks to the dangerous levels of cancer-causing dust it will send through the tube, a transit advocacy group claimed on Wednesday.

 

Members of Transit Workers for Social Justice — some wearing breathing masks — handed out fliers at the Bedford Avenue subway station to morning rush riders, warning them of catastrophic dangers caused by Cuomo’s 11th-hour reversal on the L train closure in favor of a plan they say will put straphangers in danger of inhaling disease-inducing silica dust.

 

And, according to them, the MTA knows about it and is simply pushing through a plan it already scrapped.

 

“The MTA concluded that weekend work wouldn’t provide enough time to clean up the dust to safe standards before the Monday morning rush and that a full shutdown would be the only safe option,” its flier read.

 

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[KevinKorell]

East Village Patch, 4/19/19:

 

 

How To Get Around During The L Train Repairs: A Commuter's Guide

 

 

Are you one of the 400,000 daily L train riders? Are you still confused about whether or not you can rely on the L?

 

 

Article

[CNJRoss]

Curbed ,4/19/19:
 

MTA’s L train repairs begin in a week. Here’s what we do—and don’t—know about the project.

 

How much will it cost? What’s happening with buses? And will it really be okay?

 

 

The L train shutdown—sorry, “slowdown”— begins in one week.

 

Let us repeat that: The L train “slowdown” begins in one week. Starting at 8 p.m. on April 26, service on the L line will be “reduced” as the MTA begins the process of repairing the Canarsie Tunnel, which was badly damaged during Superstorm Sandy.

 

SNIP

 

Here’s what we do—and don’t—know about the repairs, and what to expect in the next year or so.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

amNewYork, 4/17/19:
 

L train riders' anxiety ramps up ahead of service cuts

 

The MTA is still hammering out the details of Cuomo's surprise rehabilitation plan that begins April 26.

 

 

As construction ramps up, so is the anxiety surrounding the MTA’s partial L train shutdown.

 

With work officially beginning next weekend to repair the L line’s Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel, riders, advocates and workers are bracing for a bumpy ride as the MTA hastily hammers out details around the new rehabilitation plan Gov. Cuomo unveiled by surprise in January.

 

SNIP

 

While the MTA has implemented a series of service outages on the line to prepare for the partial closure, the rehabilitation starts in earnest April 26. The MTA will reduce L service to one tunnel track at a time, handling three trains an hour in each direction. That means 20-minute waits on all weekends and all nights, with service reductions beginning at 8 p.m. during the week. That likely will translate to serious service reductions for 400,000 daily L riders at certain hours.

 

On a regular Sunday, for example, the MTA schedules a Brooklyn-bound L train to pass through Union Square every four to six minutes during most of the day and at night.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

WABC-TV New York, 4/20/19:
 

PLAN AHEAD: What to know before L train project begins

 

 

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Starting this upcoming Friday, thousands of people commuting on the L train are likely going to have to plan ahead.

MTA officials say the plan they have come up with now is much better than the first one where they were going to shut down the entire line for a year and a half to make repairs that were sustained during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

SNIP.

With that said, MTA officials say there are a few things that commuters need to know about.

 

Continue here w/video report.