One Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, NY, January 14, 2019: Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer publicly released a letter that they and a group of elected leaders representing constituents along the route of the L train line submitted to Governor Andrew Cuomo demanding answers to a range of questions regarding the viability of the proposed changes to the planned L train shutdown, which were announced earlier this month. The proposed changes, including keeping the tunnels operational with only the potential for night and weekend closures over the course of a 15 to 20 month period, followed three years of community engagement, multiple agency planning, and communication. The joint letter emphasized the importance of restoring public trust in the decision-making process regarding the L train, a critical transportation route, which is essential to commuters in both Brooklyn and Manhattan on a daily basis.
“We truly hope this new plan will be a way forward, to alleviate what would otherwise be a far worse 15 months of transit pain for residents and businesses alike,” jointly wrote Borough Presidents Adams and Brewer, alongside the other community leaders. “However, we must ensure that this new plan will meet the same goals as the previous plan and properly address the infrastructure present in the Canarsie Tunnel.”
In the letter, Borough Presidents Adams and Brewer, alongside the other community leaders, stipulated that several key commitments in advance of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board voting on the new plan in the coming weeks, including: an independent analysis evaluating the long-term viability of the Canarsie Tunnel under the previously proposed plan as well as the new one, and a detailed timeline of completion for the new proposal for evening and weekend work; maintenance of the existing mitigation plan such as long-awaited improvements including extra train cars, free out-of-station transfers, alternative bus service, and other bus priority treatments, Citi Bike expansion, new bike infrastructure, new pedestrian infrastructure, and additional ferry service; advertisements and special edition MetroCards to draw customers and assist small businesses; additional meaningful community input sessions beyond the initial plan of four briefings; reinvestment of any and all cost savings due to the new shutdown approach into infrastructure along the L train corridor, including implementation of long-awaited accessibility station enhancements and other pedestrian circulation improvements; a detailed public accounting of the exact savings, new contract terms, and any effects the new approach will have on already guaranteed federal dollars, as well as a full review of the process that led to the last minute change of course including the release of any other alternatives that were considered before arriving at the new proposal.
Joining Borough Presidents Adams and Brewer on the letter were New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Congress Member Carolyn Maloney, Congress Member Nydia Velazquez, State Senator Brad Hoylman, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, State Senator Liz Krueger, State Senator Julia Salazar, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, Assembly Member Joseph Lentol Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Council Member Carlina Rivera, Council Member Keith Powers, Council Member Rafael Espinal Jr., and Council Member Stephen Levin.
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