Entire Queens N/W Line Needs Protective Netting, Astoria Pols Say

ASTORIA, QUEENS — As the MTA moves to install protective netting under stretches of the elevated subway tracks that run through Queens, elected officials are calling for the transit authority to put nets under the entire N/W line in Astoria.

The MTA plans to install netting under the N/W tracks at the Queensboro Plaza and 39th Avenue stations, which City Council Member Costa Constantinides says leaves two miles of track in Astoria still exposed.

The MTA's plan excludes four N/W subway stations along 31st Street in Astoria: 36th Avenue, Broadway, 30th Avenue, Astoria Boulevard and Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard.

"The MTA can do right by Astoria residents by installing protective netting under the entirety of this line — not just a few stations," Constantinides, who represents Astoria, said in a statement. "Given the aging infrastructure of this line and the years of work still ahead to fix it, this is a no-brainer."

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At a press conference Monday, Constantinides held up a neon yellow flashlight. It had fallen from the tracks and nearly hit an Astoria resident as she crossed 31st Street, he said. (The flashlight was plastic, not metal as he had claimed, an MTA official told Patch.)

"Our lives should not be put in danger by falling debris or train equipment whenever we cross 31st Street," Constantinides said.

This morning I’m calling on @MTA to net underneath the remaining N/W elevated stops. Metal flashlights like this shouldn’t be falling out of the sky endangering people. pic.twitter.com/sX4Akxd1XH
— Costa Constantinides (@Costa4NY) August 5, 2019

"Workers follow strict safety protocols and anyone responsible for failing to secure equipment will be held accountable," an MTA spokesperson said in a statement.

"We're undertaking a short netting trial in several areas in order to design an effective solution that protects the street below while still allowing visual and physical access for regular inspections."

The agency's "short netting trial" comes after several incidents of debris falling from the elevated tracks in Queens.

Stretches of the 7 line in Queens will also get protective netting, THE CITY has reported.