With the G train out of commission for four straight weekends, some crafty commuters in the Greenpoint area had relied on the 7 train—just on the other side of the Pulaski Bridge—to get into Manhattan. Well, so much for that stratagem. Starting next weekend, there will be no 7 train service between Grand Central and Queensboro Plaza. And no service for the next 10 weekends after that. Please be patient.

NYC Transit says the suspension is because of "necessary system upgrades, replacements, rehabilitation and other subway work." In lieu of the 7, there will be a shuttle bus along the 7 line in Long Island City and additional N service. (Details here.) A NYC Transit spokesperson tells us a bus shuttle between Manhattan and LIC would be "unmanageable, unreliable and a huge drain on resources—both financial and labor. People are better off taking E or N."

Long Island City residents and business owners are furious over the suspension, which is just the latest in a series of seemingly inexorable 7 train disruptions. Last year the 7 train was out for eight weekends, and some local businesses say it almost ruined them. Brian Rogers, artistic director of the OBIE award-winning Chocolate Factory Theater in LIC, tells us, "We are seriously considering cancelling our Saturday shows through March and perhaps adding extra weekday shows, but this would be problematic for so many reasons. This whole thing is shameful and disgusting."

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn held a press conference this morning to air some grievances about the disruption. In attempt to dilute the fury, NYC Transit spokesman Paul J. Fleuranges issued this statement:

Planning when and where to is no easy task. We make every attempt to schedule work in a way that doesn't disrupt all travel options to/from a given area. We also do our best to provide alternatives. The #7 is a special challenge in that we have a short window in which to do work, essentially between late September and April due to the Mets, U.S. Open and other major event in Flushing Meadows - Corona Park.

Again, we have to coordinate that work with work going on elsewhere in the system and still provide service to 5 million subway riders every weekend. We understand it's an inconvenience but as I've said before 'If we don't work on the railroad, the railroad doesn't work.'

We've got track replacement, new track installation to perform at several points, switch replacement, and other in house work. In addition the developer will be installing elevator and escalator steel for the connection to the 'G' at Court House Sq. All this has to be done before opening day.

Well, at least we can take comfort in blaming the Mets, which works in so many different situations! Below, the full earful from Brian Rogers on the suspension. This guy's pissed!

This one is particularly hard for us because the G also happens to be down on weekends for a stretch, meaning there is really no quick way to get here. This whole thing is shameful and disgusting, because:
  • The MTA NEVER gives real advance notice, even though they easily could. They've known for months that this was gonna happen. And we were notified last week (and even then, not officially - we heard about it from a station agent).
  • The shuttles they put into service are lame, and use a dumb route to Queensboro Plaza. This is especially dumb because, for the most part, folks don't learn until they hit grand central that the 7 is out, necessitating a trip on the shuttle to times square, then a trip on the N, then another shuttle - it can easily add an hour to the trip sometimes.
  • It's not clear what work if any is really happening during these shut-downs (I'm being a bit reactionary with this one, I know), because they refuse to say.
But mainly: If they (the MTA) just bothered to communicate via regular channels (the community board etc.) well in advance, hear our concerns & make a few wholly reasonable and cost effective changes, and for chrissakes keep at least ONE of the trains running....90% of the aggravation & lost income could be avoided.