The L Train Will Be Shut Down From Manhattan To Brooklyn For 18 Months Starting In January 2019
NY Times- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to close a tunnel that carries the L train, one of New York City’s most crowded subway lines, creating what officials acknowledge will be among the largest disruptions in the transit system’s history. The decision, which officials planned to announce on Monday, has been awaited for months by riders concerned about the tunnel’s fate. Now, they have their answer: The tunnel, which runs under the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, will be shut entirely for a year and a half, starting in January 2019, to repair serious damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. The move promises to upend the commutes of tens of thousands of people along the popular line who will have to find other ways into and out of Manhattan. After considering two proposals for shutting down the L tunnel, the authority decided on the 18-month closing instead of a partial three-year shutdown that would have allowed some trains to continue running.
I still can’t believe we are still rebuilding from that bitch Sandy. “One of the largest disruptions” in NYC subway history is wild for so many reasons, mainly because the entire subway is built on disruptions. There is no other reaction to have to something like this than laughter. I mean if you live in Williamsburg or any of the other effected areas, you are probably livid. One thing is having three years of shitty delays. It is quite another to have the MTA just shut shit down like John Taffer is swinging his dick around on Bar Rescue. But you can laugh in a “I can’t believe these assholes really did this” manner. And if you are living anywhere else in the Tri-State Area you can point, laugh, and thank God that it’s not your train. Just like when you are heading North on the highway and see a 10 mile backup on the Southbound side. It’s impossible to not revel in other people’s misery at least a tiny bit. Especially when those people live in a place that has been known a home to hipsters and then skyrocketing rents over the last decade or so.
The only thing I don’t get about this story is how are you supposed to get commute if you live in the effected areas? I mean I’m sure there will be no shortage of people that will bike to and from the city. Those people will be easy to find, since they will tell everyone in earshot that they are biking. Which makes me believe that the L train repairs will be the impetus to ramp up the bike riders vs. car drivers and pedestrians war to a fever pitch. And I cannot wait to blog all that mayhem from the fallout.
Also, the MTA saying that everything will be fixed in 18 months is a joke. The only thing that moves slower than MTA repairs is Manhattan commercial construction. I am currently taking bets which will be finished first: The L train repairs or the Barstool HQ. Vegas has set the Over/Under for either at April 2023.