This week, several New York elected officials called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to offer weekend shuttle services to Southern Brooklyn residents who depend on the F-train between Church Avenue and Coney Island-Still Avenue stations. This comes amidst the MTA's recently announced service cuts to perform upgrades along the line, which are expected to last through the summer.
"Through most of the spring and summer of 2023, weekend [F train] service will terminate at Church Ave, and customers should plan ahead for trips to Coney Island and elsewhere in Brooklyn," said MTA on its website.
In a letter made out to the MTA by Councilmember Ari Kagan, State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, and Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny, the three elected officials say that, while they support the planned upgrades to the F line in support of the Culver Line Signal Modernization Project, they cannot fully back it unless adequate transit alternatives are put in place.
“It makes no sense that the MTA wouldn’t provide weekend shuttle service during this service disruption. Adding shuttle service is a very reasonable change the MTA can make, especially when you consider this is all happening during our community’s busiest, most congested time of year. Once the needs to our residents are met, I think we can all be glad to fully support the work to upgrade the signals to make F-train service more reliable," said Kagan, Scarcella-Spanton and Brook-Krasny in a statement.
The affected stretch of the F line consists of 12 stops that begins in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Kensington and runs past McDonald Avenue, Bensonhurst, Mapleton and several other areas before the final stop in Coney Island.
Among the residents expected to be most impacted by the lack of shuttle services include senior citizens, first responders, essential workers and shift workers that reside in the surrounding neighborhoods where the service cuts are occurring, said the three elected officials in the letter.
“I am glad the F line signals are being upgraded, but it is completely unacceptable that while this work goes on, the MTA has not planned for shuttle bus service to help people get around. Our residents, including seniors and people with disabilities, should not be expected to travel almost a mile to the nearest alternative subway service, especially during the heat of the summer," said Kagan.
