By Joseph Wendelken
With November's cooler winds blowing the electoral season in our direction, candidates have spent countless hours debating education policy, celebrating the city's flat lining crime rate, and satirizing campaign war chests. However, the issue most immediate and pressing for many North Brooklynites remains largely untouched by city higher-ups – the service provided by the MTA to G line train riders.
The only subway line to not visit Manhattan, the Brooklyn-Queens north-south artery climbs from its Smith-9th St. station through Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Long Island City before coming to its final, screeching halt in Forest Hills. MTA schedulers write that the Queens bound G travels to Long Island City/Court Square during the weekdays and continues to the Forest Hills 71 Ave. station on evening and weekend runs. The G's final 13 stops, all points northeast of Long Island City/Court Square, were cut on weekdays with the introduction of the V line several years ago, a train operating between Forest Hills and Manhattan between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
The G once stretched as far as Church Avenue before its route was shortened to the Smith-9th St. station – a reduction similar to the one many puzzled and frustrated travelers believe it is undergoing today. Nonspecific references to track work, hanging on station pillars and coming from the office of G line superintendent Emmanuel Zanet, have had G service discontinued at Long Island City/Court Square for several months for weekend and evening travelers alike, despite what current schedules suggest.
A swell of frustration with the ever-evasive MTA has triggered the development and mobilization of different community organizations, such as SavetheG.org, "a coalition of civic groups and transportation advocates from Brooklyn and Queens that remains opposed to the MTA's shortsighted service cuts on the G subway line."
What has riders so troubled is the MTA's seeming inability to react to demographic shifts that the city has long formally recognized. As far back as 2001 The Department of City Planning had identified Long Island City, a neighborhood served by the G, "as a growth area with significant potential for office, retail and residential development," and adopted an initiative to rezone 37 of the region's centrally located blocks. Similarly, Greenpoint and Williamsburg are undergoing a developmental surge, drawing masses to their burgeoning business and shopping districts, masses that are dependent on reliable G service.
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Bike Rights
Police Seize Bikes On Bedford
By William Sherman
Over two dozen locked-up bicycles around the Bedford Avenue subway station were seized by New York Police Department on the night of October 5th, angering bicyclists and pedestrians alike. As the commotion grew the evening crowd gathered around and gazed into the shower of sparks as the gas-powered saw ripped through metal with a shrill screech. Police officers referred questions to the MTA signs posted on the subway stair railing, indicating attached property would be removed. An unidentified officer at the 9th precinct alternatively cited complaints from local businesses about the sidewalk obstruction caused by bicycles in the area. While photographs clearly show police cutting locks and seizing bicycles attached to the Bedford Avenue subway entrance, they also show the seizure of bicycles locked to nearby signposts, a common practice in the presence of overcrowded bicycle racks.
No city or state law permits or prohibits the right to lock bicycles to public street fixtures, but due to the lack of Department of Transportation-installed racks, it is usually the only option. According to NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law, Article 24, Section 1115, a locked bicycle cannot alter or interfere with the operation of traffic signals, signs, signposts, lampposts, or any other public street fixtures.
In a recent Critical Mass-related suit, the city argued that the practice of locking a bike to a signpost is illegal; a confusing assertion as current police department pamphlets advocate this behavior. Manhattan federal judge, William Pauley III, ruled that the Critical Mass confiscations violated the "due process" clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution because police did not provide adequate notification before confiscating bicycles.
The photographs confirm the bicycles attached to signposts were not obstructing traffic, and confirm the violations of several newsracks. The Administrative Code of New York City, which regulates the placement and registration of newsracks, prohibits placement closer than 15 feet from a subway entrance. In one instance, a police officer had to stand in the street in order to cut a bike lock, since three newsracks prevented his access from the other side. It highlights an imbalanced enforcement of the law, which only holds bicyclists accountable. When the newsracks are a bigger impediment to the safety and integrity of these sidewalks, reasonable arguments cannot explain otherwise.
In order to stop the City from seizing lawfully parked bikes and to affirm New Yorkers' right to park their bikes on public street fixtures, City Councilmember Margarita Lopez introduced City Council bill 685 this past summer. If passed, it would protect bicyclists' right to lock up their bicycles publicly and require police to give at least 36 hours notice before confiscating an unattended or abandoned bicycle. The bill needs more support and is awaiting a hearing in the City Council transportation committee. Concerned citizens can view the language of the bill at www.nyccouncil.info.
This situation underscores New York City’s need for an immediate influx of NYC Department of Transportation-installed bicycle racks. Transportation Alternatives, a cycling and pedestrian advocacy group, estimates 28,000 new bicycle racks are needed to meet the demand of New York City bicyclists. Not only will this reduce potential conflicts from bicycles locked to public fixtures, it will improve the security of parked bicycles and the safety of public sidewalks for all.
Concerned citizens should support the work of Transportation Alternatives www.transalt.org and contact their City Councilmember to support Intro 685.
More of William Sherman can be found at www.untitledname.com
As a part of Save the G's efforts to garner support for their campaign, they provide riders with resources and contacts that can be used to effect change on the issue. One such resource is the Straphangers Campaign Rider's Diary, an online message board where disgruntled, anonymous G riders, finally having found their podium, rail "…the MTA is lying to G riders", and "The G is a stepchild of the subway…"
50th district Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol's office has been flooded with calls from disgruntled constituents, from Fort Greene, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, all complaining about "inexcusable, unreliable G train service."
"It's embarrassing," says Morris Heller, a Williamsburg resident who commutes to his small business in Long Island City. "The neighborhoods here have outpaced the old structure. I'm a businessman – it's just bad business. They need to do a better job of serving the paying customers of this community."
Some of the area's densest development is planned for the real estate surrounding the Nassau Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue stops, which are already exceedingly crowded in the mornings, particularly on the northbound tracks. With the reduction of G line trains from 4 cars to 6, another grievance of Save the G, crowding is only expected to become a larger problem. The popular explanation offered on the Rider's Diary message board is that the V line 'stole' the G's cars.
Beyond the crowding, the reduction in train size has created another problem for area senior citizens who wait on platform benches. They often find themselves rushing to catch shorter trains that now stop further from benches situated for 6-car train commuters. Describing Assemblyman Lentol's reasoning for lobbying the MTA to move the benches, a spokeswoman said, "They're all stumbling along, trying to catch this illusive train."
