G train service disruptions get underway for subway riders
GREENPOINT, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Commuters and community members in Brooklyn are sounding the alarm about outages and service disruptions getting underway on the G train.
The MTA said there will be recurring service changes on the subway line. Weeknight closures have already begun on Church Avenue-bound G trains until Friday, May 1, and then there will be overnight disruptions between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Church Avenue May 4 through 8.
Officials say it is to accommodate track work and signal modernization.
"This is the reality of of the, you know, generation of neglect of the MTA's core infrastructure," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. "It turns out that tunnel under New Town Creek between Greenpoint and Long Island City needs a lot more work than was originally thought."
The G is the only train that runs exclusively between Brooklyn and Queens.
Riders and community members in Greenpoint said they fear the impact could be devastating.
"We worry about our crew getting home at night, getting to the restaurant in the morning, and it just really impacts the time that they need to get there," said Keith Sirchio, the owner of Little Tiffin, a Thai restaurant just steps from the Greenpoint Avenue G train stop.
Rachel Despeaux owns the Awoke Vintage store next to the Nassau Avenue stop.
"To lose 40% of our only profitable time during the year will be beyond a devastating hit," Despeaux said.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Councilmember Lincoln Restler joined Brooklyn business owners owners Tuesday to decry plans to do repair work on the G train, after a brutal months-long shutdown in 2024.
"For the stores that make our community so great that struggle to get by, they simply cannot survive when people don't come to the neighborhood, and when the G train is shut down, nobody comes to Greenpoint," Restler said.
The MTA is expected to offer shuttle buses to help commuters get around, but riders who lived through service changes in 2024 and 2025 say that's not enough.
Officials say they are urging the MTA to limit all future shutdowns to overnight hours and to speed up the pace of their work.
Meanwhile, transit officials say they will take another look at the proposed timetable to try and minimize the impact of the closures this summer, but with that being said, the work still needs to be done.
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