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Riders Rail at G Switch
By ELIZABETH HAYS (New York Daily News Staff Writer)
Thursday, October 24, 2002
Nearly a year after the G subway line was slashed in half to make room for the new V line,
outraged G riders have not given up their fight to restore the route's full length.
As the governor's race moves into its final stretch, a coalition of North Brooklyn community
groups is hoping to turn the G train cuts into a campaign issue.
This morning, irate activists with the Save the G Coalition in Greenpoint and Williamsburg will
gather at the Court Square stop in Long Island City, where the G train now terminates on weekdays
instead of 13 stops farther in Forest Hills, as it did before the service cuts.
The group has invited Gov. Pataki, Controller Carl McCall and other gubernatorial hopefuls to
join them - and witness their plight firsthand. So far, only Green Party candidate Stanley
Aronowitz has confirmed he will attend, organizers said.
"We really feel this is an important issue for the community, and it's not getting the attention
it deserves," said Mark Borino, a member of the Save the G Coalition and one of the rally's
organizers. "We want service restored to the G train. It's the lifeline for the community."
Pataki spokesman Joe Conway said the issue is a priority for the governor, but said he was
unsure if Pataki's schedule will permit him to attend.
Moving walkway
"The governor knows how important the G train is to many riders," said Conway, adding that
the governor worked with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to extend G train service
on nights and weekends and to install a moving walkway at Court Square to make the
transfer easier.
Last December, the MTA drastically cut service on the G train - the only line that
does not enter Manhattan - as part of a massive project to alleviate severe overcrowding
in Queens.
G trains now terminate at the Court Square station, except evenings and weekends.
Trains also have been shortened from six cars to four.
MTA officials said the move was necessary to make room for the new V train, which runs
from Forest Hills to Manhattan's lower East Side.
But outraged G riders charge the changes have given them a long and onerous transfer
at Court Square, instead of across-the-platform transfers at Queens Plaza, and jam-packed,
shortened trains that riders must often sprint to reach.
"It's really awful," said Patti Choy, another rally organizer. "Many mornings I have not
gotten on my train in Greenpoint because it's so full."
Getting gov involved
Organizers said they are seeking to make the G train an issue in the gubernatorial race
because of a governor's role in deciding MTA policy.
"They're right to raise the issue toward the end of the governor's race,"
said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. "Whoever is the next governor will
have tremendous sway in this."
Paul Fleuranges, a spokesman for NYC Transit, the branch of the MTA than operates
the subways, said the changes were made based on space and track constraints, not politics.
"Unfortunately, putting the G back to full service is just not an option, given our
track capacity - and that's not likely to change," said Fleuranges.
Original Publication Date: 10/24/02
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