Greenpoint was cut off from the rest of the city last weekend — and will be again for the next three weekends as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority eliminates service on the G train until Feb. 8.
The agency says that the weekend service cut between the Hoyt–Schermerhorn station and Queens is to accommodate track work and station repair, but Greenpoint resident Jobeth Cox was “full of rage” as she got ready to take a shuttle bus to the L on Bedford Avenue last weekend, which added 30 minutes to her weekend commute.
“They assume nobody’s working on the weekends, so they say, ‘Oh, we can shut ’er down now,” Cox said. “But forget public transportation, I’m starting to think rideshare.”
Shuttle buses replaced the G train — dubbed “the Brooklyn local” after the MTA extended it all the way to Church Avenue last year — between 10:30 pm on Fridays until 5 am Mondays.
During the first weekend of the service cut, the shuttle buses were crammed, and riders complained of minimal service.
The G service interruption comes on top of proposed spring service cuts that would devastate the already notoriously late train. But this round of headaches was not a money-saving venture.
“It’s all about repairs along several tracks,” said transit spokesman Charles Seaton.
The agency said that it will remove asbestos at the Greenpoint Avenue station, replace switches at the Bedford–Nostrand stop, and conduct routine maintenance on the entire line.
On a personal level, it could make this Greenpoint reporter late for a few night shifts.
