It has only been one week and night owls in Williamsburg and Bushwick are already grumpy.
The L train is shutting down from Lorimer to Myrtle-Wyckoff every week night from 11:45 pm to 5 am until September and, so far, the service change is emptying out bars and leaving late-night L riders with big headahces and little patience for the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
“Leave it to the MTA to screw us over again,” said Sarah Ryman, who lives near the Jefferson Avenue L stop in Bushwick and works near the Bedford Avenue L stop in Williamsburg. Ryman says she has been taking the M train home and the walk adds an extra half an hour to her usually short trip.
The closure is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Fast Track program, where the agency shuts down a line for a large chunk of time to perform maintenance work. Free nighttime shuttle buses trace the route of the L, but they tend to be slow, overcrowded, and sporadic, eliciting groans from business owners who say no train means trouble for their early morning bottom line.
“It means that people aren’t coming here to or Roberta’s or to the loft parties,” said Heather Rush, who owns the Pine Box Rock Shop, a vegan bar and venue near the Morgan stop.
Sam Rio, a bartender at Pete’s Candy Store on Lorimer Street between Richardson and Frost streets says that even though the train runs from Manhattan to the Lorimer stop, he is worried that drinkers further down the L line will stay home.
“Either way, it’s a b—-,” said Rio.
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.