Above photo of "funeral" by Mark Zustovich, top photo of JMZ by Jen Carlson.
The Straphangers Campaign, Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz and even bagpiper John Maynard came together today to mourn the passing of the Z train. A mock funeral was held at the Fulton Street-Broadway/Nassau subway station in Manhattan, and those in attendance tell us that there was also a "call on lawmakers and the MTA to save the Z line in its 2009 budget." So what does this mean, besides having to refer to the line as the JM now?
Loss of the Z would end "skip stop" service on the J line during rush hours between Jamaica, Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, adding an hour extra each week in commuting for many riders, according to the Straphangers Campaign.
Markowitz lent some comforting words to those grieving the subway's passing: "Friends, New Yorkers, straphangers—I come to praise the Z train, not to bury it. Though the Z train begins in Queens and ends in Manhattan, it is—like the J—Brooklyn to the core. When trains like the Z die, our City's economy dies with them. This is why we grieve at this mock funeral today. Let's hope these are not the Z's last rites. Long live the Z!" The news of the Z landing on the MTA's chopping block was just one of the many, many issues touched upon at the the first public hearing last night...but what about poor 'ol W?
