Community's Opposition To Proposed Local F Train Cuts Grows

from  MTA's "Feasibility and Analysis Study of F Express Service in Brooklyn" here 

From Don't Cut Local F

Back in May of this year, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed the implementation of express F Train service between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Church Avenue stations (with a stop at 7th Avenue Park Slope) in the fall of 2017, with half of all F trains running express each way during peak morning and evening rush hours.
The change in service would not involve adding new trains to the line.

Though this may save time for many F train riders, the proposal would mean 50%  fewer trains for riders in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Gowanus since express trains would bypass the Bergen Street, Carroll Street, Smith Street/ 9th Street and 4th Avenue stations.
In recent years, ridership has steadily increased at these stations and the platforms are dangerously overcrowded during the morning rush hour.  This, predictably will become an even bigger problem with planned development in this highly desirable area.

The reaction to the proposed change amongst local residents has been overwhelmingly negative.
Our local officials almost immediately expressed their dismay by "the utter lack of process on the part of the MTA ."

A Don't Cut Local F web site and petition was set up by Carroll Gardener Erin Lippincott to inform local residents and "to build a voice and the support of our political reps as well as let all of the residents and groups across the affected residents know what's at risk."

This past September, Erin brought our elected officials together with concerned  residents, business owners and local school representatives to discuss what the F Train changes will mean to many in the community. 

She was kind enough to recap the meeting for PMFA here.

Opposition to Local F Train Cuts in Brooklyn Grows
10/21/16

by Erin Lippincott  of Don't Cut Local F

On September 29th, residents, parents, business owners, school administrators, and community leadership from across the areas threatened by the MTA’sproposed cuts to F Train service in Brooklyn met with elected officials. City Councilman Brad Lander, State Senator Daniel Squadron, and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon pledged to fight the cuts and listened to attendees express the myriad ways these cuts would cause hardship.
Natasha Campbell, executive director and founder of the Summit Academy Charter School in Red Hook, said her school will not survive if the cuts go through.  Dr. Eric Kenworthy, a private practice physician in Cobble Hill, said not only his patients but also his staff depend on timely F Train service. Peter Freeman, co-owner of Carroll Gardens’ Brooklyn Farmacy, said any cuts to F Train service would be devastating for local businesses and their employees.

The MTA has proposed to its board a 50% cut in peak, Monday-Friday rush hour service at the following F Train stops in Brooklyn: Fort Hamilton Pkwy, 15St-Prospect Park, 4 Ave-9 St, Smith-9 St, Carroll St, and Bergen St stations. These cuts would start sometime in 2017. The MTA claims the cuts are needed to facilitate the return of the F Express. But the MTA’s own report shows that the local F Train cuts would hurt more people than the express would help. It also predicts that population growth in Brooklyn will be focused in the very neighborhoods for which it is proposing cuts.

The proposal was sent to the MTA Board and leaked to the media before public officials, community boards, or other public representatives were aware of it. A joint press release and petition released by local elected officials expressed anger and disbelief.

Attendees at the September 29th meeting formed two committees. One will work with transit and other specialists to review the MTA’s report proposing the F Traincuts (the MTA report is available at DontCutLocalF.com).  The other committee will continue outreach within the communities that would be affected. To that end, Assemblyman Ortiz organized a meeting on October 20th, which brought together Red Hook school principals, PTA leadership, and representatives from the community outreach program at Santander Bank to discuss how to fight F Train cuts.

One parent, near tears, told the room how she suffered when the Smith-9 St station was closed for years of renovation and that she continues to struggle because there is no elevator in the new station, which is elevated and has dozens of stairs. The new plan to cut F Train service at her station, she said, is unthinkable.

DontCutLocalF.com was founded to join communities together to fight these cuts and demand transparency from the MTA and its board. In its petition, it states: These cuts will have serious and negative ramifications across several neighborhoods; from long waits and overcrowding at the even now over-packed stations at Carroll and Bergen Streets to reducing subway access for the already under-served residents and businesses in Red Hook and the ColumbiaWaterfront to leaving our infrastructure unprepared for large-scale developmentsuch as what is planned for Gowanus. If the MTA wants to add the F Express, that is great, but it should not do so by stranding residents and businesses via cuts to local service.

Learn more, sign the petitions, and get involved at DontCutLocalF.com or email DontCutLocalF@gmail.com

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"Don't Cut Local F": A Petition You May Want To Sign If You Live In Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus or Red Hook

Back in May, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it will be running express F train service between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Church Avenue stations (with a stop at 7th Avenue Park Slope) this summer for a limited time. The express service will be fully implemented in the fall of 2017, with half of all F trains running express each way during peak morning and evening rush hours.

Though this may save time for many F train riders in Brooklyn, it does cut trains by 50% for those in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Gowanus since no new trains will be added to the line. This seems like a poorly thought out plan given the fact that ridership along the Bergen Street, Carroll Street, Smith Street/ 9th Street and 4th Avenue stations has steadily increased over the past few years.
To make people in the neighborhood more aware of these changes, Carroll Gardener  Erin Lippincott, who, together with her husband, has set up a Don't Cut Local F web site. She is also petitioning the MTA Board not to make the cuts.

Erin's goal is "to build a voice and the support of our political reps as well as let all of the residents and groups across the affected residents know what's at risk."

From the Don't Cut Local F web site:

The MTA proposes to decrease local F Train service by 50% during peak hours at the Bergen St, Carroll St, Smith-9 St, 4 Av-9 St, 15 St-Prospect Park, and Fort Hamilton Pkwy stations as part of a plan to revive the F-Express service. These cuts would seriously harm the residents and businesses along this busy subway corridor and are scheduled to be implemented in 2017.
​
We support reviving the F Express Train—but not at the expense of the many thousands in Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Columbia Waterfront, Red Hook, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace who rely on the F train daily. Some of these stations (Bergen and Carroll St stations) are are among the busiest on the F line. They are already crowded at peak hours and, with large-scale residential developments underway, it promises to get worse. In Gowanus a new 12-story apartment complex alone will soon add 700 market-rate and affordable rental units just two blocks from the Carroll St. station. Then there is the fact that cuts to the local F will further isolate the already under-served neighborhoods of Red Hook and the Columbia Waterfront. Red Hook is home to the 2nd largest public housing development in NYC and the Smith-9 St station is the sole subway link for those residents. These cuts will be a big blow.

Please sign the petition here and tell MTA Board Members: No cuts to local F Train service in Brooklyn!

Get involved by contacting our elected officials here.
And learn more about the issue on  Don't Cut Local F.

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Is F Train Express Service Causing Vibrations And Impacting Brownstones Near Subway In Carroll Gardens And Boerum Hill?

In mid-May, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it will be running express F train service between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Church Avenue stations (with a stop at 7th Avenue Park Slope) as early as this summer for a limited time. The express service will be fully implemented in the fall of 2017, with half of all F trains running express each way during peak morning and evening rush hours.

Besides cutting trains by 50% for those in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Gowanus, there is another concern for local residents who own homes near the Carroll Street Station.
The MTA has already been using the express tracks through that station, and every time that happens, it creates an incredible amount of vibration.

I received the following email from a reader:

We think there is a serious problem with the F Express running past the Carroll Street and Bergen Street stops that has not received attention: Our house, which is a third of the way down our block from Smith Street, has terrible vibrations when the Express runs. The Express track was cut deeper into the earth at these stops for some reason (its not stacked, just lower), and it runs faster. We wonder how many of the historic houses up and down these blocks that make up the character of Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill are experiencing this, and what structural impact it is having?

If enough neighbors are also experiencing this, the MTA could (1) conduct engineering studies to determine the level of vibration and possible damage and fixes, and/or (2) SLOW DOWN the Express at these stops until these questions are answered.

Concerned neighbors

I live close to the Carroll Street Station myself and have noticed the strong vibration as well.  Though a mild shaking can sometimes be detected in my house when a train goes by on the regular tracks, it is definitely more noticeable when one runs past the station on the express tracks.

I can only wonder what will happen when the proposed expanded express service goes into effect this summer.

Do you live in a brownstone close to the F Train line near the Carroll Street or Bergen Street Stations?  Have you noticed this increased vibration in your home?  

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What Do You Think Of The Proposed Express F Train Service? What Do You Think This Will Mean For Riders In Gowanus, Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill?

from  MTA's "Feasibility and Analysis Study of F Express Service in Brooklyn" here 

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it will be running express F train service between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Church Avenue stations (with a stop at 7th Avenue Park Slope) as early as this summer for a limited time. The express service will be fully implemented in the fall of 2017, with half of all F trains running express each way during peak morning and evening rush hours.
No new trains will be added to the line.

Though this may save time for many F train riders, it does cut trains by 50% for those in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Gowanus. Indeed, ridership along the Bergen Street, Carroll Street, Smith Street/ 9th Street and 4th Avenue stations has steadily increased over the past few years.
Local resident Rob Underhill doesn't think this will be an improvement for Carroll Gardens subway riders. He told PMFA:
"I can't see how this is going to be better for people at those stops if you have to wait twice as long for a train in the mornings. It gets pretty crowded as it is if one of them is just a couple minutes late."

Second Avenue Saga, a site dedicated to all news pertaining to the New York City transit system, doesn't think this change in F train service will help riders who use the Carroll Street or Smith/9th Street Station.
"F express service would lead to reduced service for some of the F’s busiest Brooklyn stations. Carroll St., Smith-9th Sts., 4th-9th Sts., and 15th St.-Prospect Park, to name a few, would see less frequent F train service, and the ridership from those stations far outpaces the number of riders who would gain a few minutes from the express service. If the MTA can’t rehabilitate the lower level at Bergen St. to permit passenger service — an undertaking that would be quite expensive, according to 2012 comments from one Transit official, another 11,000 riders would see F service slashed. Simply put, based on current load guidelines, the MTA cannot add F express service while maintaining local service frequencies that handle customer demand."

Brooklyn elected officials Council Member Brad Lander, Council Member Stephen Levin, State Senator Daniel Squadron, State Senator Jesse Hamilton, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, State Senator Kevin S. Parker, and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon issued the following statement yesterday:
“We are extremely dismayed by the utter lack of process on the part of the MTA regarding proposed new F-Express service between Church Avenue and Jay St-MetroTech stops in Brooklyn. The proposed service change harms more people than it helps, ignores our request for increased service, and pits Brooklyn residents against each other, creating ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ without sufficient information or dialogue."

Let us hear from F train riders in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill or Gowanus.

Do you see this as a positive service change or will this just mean more crowded platforms and more wait time in our stations?

Let's discuss.

Access the MTA Feasibility and Analysis Study of F Express service in Brooklyn here

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