The MTA is closing the top part of the G line to repair tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy for TWELVE WEEKENDS . From NY Times:

The G train’s Greenpoint tube will close for 12 weekends this year, forcing the closing of the three northernmost stops: Court Square, 21st Street and Greenpoint Avenue. But the trains will still run between Church and Nassau Avenues. The affected weekends are: July 6, July 13, July 20, Aug. 3, Aug. 10, Aug. 17, Aug. 24, Sept. 7, Sept. 28, Oct. 5, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. There will also be a five-week shutdown in summer 2014, the authority said. A shuttle bus service will run between Brooklyn and Queens.

I thought we were supposed to get more G service? I realize they need to make repairs, but this is going to be pretty rough for anyone living off the Greenpoint stop.

- @joshmorrissey

Singer Rob Paravonian (known for his Pachelbel Rant) decided to make the first single off his latest album a tribute to the G train. Take a break from your (more…)

The Riders Alliance put together this video to show how you can stay fit just by dealing with the G train. From Riders Alliance:

The G Train Workout Plan is designed to improve your endurance, burn calories and increase flexibility. Make infrequent and unreliable G train service work for you! Our workout consists of these easy-to-follow exercises:

THE SPRINT to catch a train
THE STRETCH to reach a pole
THE HIKE to another line when the G is late again

You can sign the petition for better G service here.

- @joshmorrissey

Everyone knows the G Train sucks. But is it keeping people from getting together? The above video by Brooklyn Date is hilarious and, well, pretty spot-on. From DNA:

“I’d never like to ride the G train.”

Walsh and some other Brooklynites say the G train’s slow and unpredictable service has sabotaged relationships — and some have even sworn off G-train dating altogether.

“I had to make a rule that was, literally, if you live off the G you’re not for me,” said Bedford-Stuyvesant resident Mutale Nkonde, 26, who lives off the A and C trains, and said getting anywhere off the G involved a nightmarish array of transfers and usually getting lost. “To get to the G is such a monumental hike, it’s two buses plus a long walk.”

“The thing about the G is it comes middle of platform so if you’re dressed in high heels you have to run what feels like 7 miles to catch the train,” she said of the line’s short length. “When you get there [to the Myrtle-Willoughby station] it looks ‘Law and Order’-ish.

“It looks like a crime scene.”

A representative for the MTA declined to comment for the story.

The strong sentiment of straphangers like Nkonde has even prompted a local comedian to make a video about a young man’s horror when he learns his date lives off the G train.

“The Brooklyn Date,” which Tyler Fischer created after “hearing people talk badly about the G train all the time,” follows a couple on their first magical date — which comes crashing to a halt when the woman asks the man back to her apartment.

“I did date somebody who lived off the G and I was worried, but I have a car so I always just drove there,” Fischer said. “I’ve just been afraid of [the train].”
As for Clinton Hill resident Alexis Saba, she and her boyfriend do rely on the subway since he lives in Greenpoint, she said — but the G has prevented them from having “casual get-togethers.”

After working around the clock for days and testing systems all night, the first G trains for passengers started rolling at 8:55 am.

— MTA (@MTAInsider) November 7, 2012

.Via Daily Intel

Among the 20 or so percent of the New York City subway system still out of service on Monday were the L and G lines, leaving Williamsburg still largely without subway access and Greenpoint entirely cut off. And while the New York Observer reports that the G line has been pumped out, it’s a long shot not worth betting on that it will be open tomorrow. The L, meanwhile, is still full of water (there are only so many pumps to go around, after all). As to why the G won’t be running, the Observer’s Matt Chaban explains: “The G-train may be clear of water, but signals still need to be repaired from what rushed in, which was salt water, remember, and thus more severe. Once repaired, the signals need to be tested.” The MTA is being extremely reluctant to give any prediction for when the lines could open, with spokesman George Seaton saying he had “no sense of any timeline” for the lines’ reopening. Of course we’re hoping these lines get open as soon as possible, but don’t hold your breath for G train service Tuesday morning.

Previously: apparently no one rides the G.

Update: Sign the Petition or vent your frustration here.

It doesn’t even travel beneath the East River. Granted, the G does travel beneath that cesspool known as Newton Creek but that’s at the end of the line. Evidently, the MTA thinks no one is riding:

An MTA spokesman just provided the following explanation for why the MTA has yet to be able to provide at least partial service along the L and G lines within Brooklyn where the tracks are not flooded:

“The answer on the L is that it’s impossible to turn trains around easily mid-route for a Brooklyn shuttle service,” Mr. Lisberg wrote in an email. “Very difficult to set up because of the track layout. They may try now that other lines are getting better service, but that’s just a discussion at this point. As for the G, enough of it is parallel to other lines—plus the naturally low ridership.”

Thanks MTA. For a train that no one rides, it sure seemed crowded last time we were on it over a week ago.

From the Brooklyn Brewery:

Brooklyn Brewery is exporting some of the best Brooklyn bands to Debaser in Sweden this Labor Day weekend. But you don’t need no credit card to ride on this train. To one talented songwriter and music lover, Brooklyn Brewery is giving away BROOKLYN, SWEDEN festival passes, airfare and hotel accommodations for two. You’ve read this correctly. It’s a biggin’.
BUT HOW? WHAT ARE THE RULES?

+ Write a song with lyrics about or inspired by Brooklyn’s beloved/infamous G train – although sometimes sluggish, from Greenpoint to Kensington this stalwart people mover is a staple of transportation in Brooklyn.
+ Submit the song via YouTube, Vimeo or similar video platform and email the link to freebie@brooklynbrewery.com (including lyrics might be wise).
+ Contestants must be an amateur or unsigned songwriter. No pros!
+ Submissions must be original. No covers.
+ There are no style or instrument restrictions: songs can be acoustic, electronic, bluegrass, hip hop, etc.
+ Entries will be accepted until 5pm on July 24.
+ The top entries will be posted to our Facebook page for public voting from July 25 to August 1.
+ The song with the most votes wins, and will be announced August 2.
+ The winner will be flown to Sweden from New York City and be put up at Story Hotel from Aug 30-Sep 2. The winning song will be featured on Debaser.se and BrooklynBrewery.com.

Twitter

Ben Stiller snapped this photo outside of the G train in Greenpoint and posted it to his verified Twitter account yesterday.

Stiller was in the neighborhood shooting The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which according to IMDB is about “a timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams [and] embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing.” It’s a loose remake of a 1947 film. A daydreaming magazine photo manger? Sounds about right for Greenpoint (although maybe not for Stiller.) The film stars Stiller, Kristin Wiig, and Adam Scott.

In other Greenpoint on-location news, if you’re wondering what that pile of Christmas trees near Berry Park is, that was from a shoot for an upcoming Paul Rudd movie.

image c/o The New York Times

Recapping some of your weekend commuting options:

The L sucks.

The G sucks.

And now the East River Ferry may or may not suck.

Today, the NY Waterway issued a special advisory, stating:

[T]he large number of travelers we are carrying has resulted in many boats reaching their Coast Guard mandated capacity and the loading and unloading of large crowds has at times caused delays in scheduled departures. We expect this to last throughout the free trial period which ends on June 24.  If you plan on using the East River Ferry during the free period, especially during the weekend of June 18th and 19th, you should anticipate long boarding delays.

Oh well. Chillax – it’s the weekend!.  Enjoy the view during that long platform/pier wait, or simply explore those other alternative modes of transportation.