Brooklyn Officials Call on MTA to Re-Do F Train Express Plan

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A new petition circulated by Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander calls on the MTA to dump its current F train express proposal and craft a new one factoring in public input.

In May, the MTA issued a study recommending running half of the F trains between Church Avenue and Jay Street on the express track during rush hour, with a stop at 7th Avenue.

The other half of F trains would continue to make local stops, as would the G train. The change would be implemented in the fall of 2017.

The F line between Jay Street and Church Avenue. Image courtesy of MTA.

The MTA concluded that during the morning commute, express riders would save an average of 3.4 minutes while local riders would lose 1.3 minutes, cutting net travel times by 27,000 minutes. During the evening rush, net travel times would drop by 13,000 minutes, according to the agency.

The study did note, however, that 52 percent of riders would see travel times increase, while 48 percent would see their commutes shortened.

According to the MTA, F express trains would be "slightly more crowded" than usual, while local trains would be less crowded. The agency also predicted additional crowding at the Bergen Street and Carroll Street stations.

Overall, however, the MTA concluded that the travel time savings outweighed the negative impacts of the plan.

As soon as the proposal was released, a group of elected officials, including Lander, Stephen Levin, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, came out against it.

Lander's new petition — which has the backing of even more Brooklyn officials, including Councilman Carlos Menchaca, State Senators Daniel Squadron, Jesse Hamilton and Velmanette Montgomery, and Assembly members Jo Anne Simon and James Brennan — says the proposal "pits Brooklyn residents against each other" and would hurt more commuters than it helps.

The petition calls on the MTA not to implement the proposal "until a new plan to improve service on the F line for all riders at local and express stops has been thoroughly vetted by the community." It had collected 2,403 signatures as of mid-day Thursday.

A lack of public engagement is central to the petition's expressed frustrations. The document claims "the MTA refuses to even schedule a meeting to hear the concerns the community has raised."

In May, spokesman Kevin Ortiz told Patch that the proposal's release would be followed by a public engagement process, and that meetings would be scheduled as soon as possible.

The agency repeated that position this week, promising that it "will meet with impacted stakeholders before the MTA Board makes a final determination" on the F train.

"We are still in the early stages of an extensive deliberative process," the MTA said in a statement, "which includes considering all affected communities and the impact of such a service change on other lines throughout the system."

An agency spokeswoman declined to provide Patch with an estimate of when public engagement would take place. In the meantime, you can always comment on the F train using the MTA's public comment website.

Top photo by m01229/Flickr