Res. No. 1840 Title Resolution calling upon the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to hold public hearings in the communities the "G" train serves, and calling for an independent review of the proposed changes to determine whether or not Queens Plaza Station has the capacity to handle the increases in traffic from both the "G" and the new "V" line. Body By The Speaker (Council Member Vallone) and Council Members DiBrienza, Fisher, Dear, Malave-Dilan, Freed, Leffler, Marshall, Abel and Oddo; also Council Members Eisland, Espada, Nelson, O'Donovan, Robles, Rodriguez, Rivera and Stabile Whereas, The "G" train serves the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Williamsburg and Greenpoint; and Whereas, A new "V" line will use the 63rd Street Connector to enter Manhattan from Queens, and Whereas, One of the changes prompted by the addition of the "V" line and the new 63rd Street Subway Connector, is that the "G" Train route is being curtailed; and Whereas, The last stop of the "G" train is currently the Continental Avenue-71st Avenue Station in Forest Hills, but its proposed new route would terminate at the Court Square stop, one stop before the larger Queens Plaza Station; and Whereas, Although, the exact number is hard to calculate, it is estimated that 100,000 riders use this train daily; and Whereas, The Regional Plan Association (RPA) believes that the community of Greenpoint is particularly dependent on the "G" train because the 1990 census found that half of the journeys to work by Greenpoint residents were on this subway line, and 80% of those traveling to Manhattan, used this train, and thus are severely impacted by these changes; and Whereas, The RPA cannot recall a precedent for curtailing service on a line whose ridership is growing, and in their estimate ridership has increased by 20 percent in the past decade; and Whereas, The 63rd Street Connector plan was created 10 years ago when ridership was considerably lower, and has not been updated since; and Whereas, The RPA analysis of information from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows that in stations serving only the "G" line, like the Greenpoint Avenue Station, the average number of persons who entered the station on weekdays was 8,057 in 2000, a 19.8% increase from the 1996 level; and Whereas, In 2000 compared to 1996, the Broadway stop experienced a 35% increase in daily weekday passengers to 3,224, and daily Nassau Avenue Station usage rose 11.8% to 7,193; and Whereas, The proposed Court Square Station terminus for the "G" train is problematic because the next stop on the "G" train is Queens Plaza, a major transfer point, offering access to nine bus routes and the "E", "F", "R" and the "N" and the "7" trains are adjacent, although there is, at this time, no free transfer to these stations; and Whereas, Queen Plaza provides access to trains that use the 42nd Street, Eighth Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Broadway Corridors in Manhattan while Court Square provides access only to trains on the Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue corridor, compelling riders who want access to the other corridors to change trains a second time; and Whereas, Under the present routing these riders can make a direct transfer at Queens Plaza, and wish to continue this access; and Whereas, In addition, Queens Plaza is a major shopping district, and the proposed arrangement will make it difficult for "G" train riders to reach Queens Plaza; and Whereas, The number of passengers entering and leaving the train at Queens Plaza is large so there are opportunities to find places to stand or sit during peak hours compared to conditions at Court Square which is almost the last stop in Queens, making it exceedingly crowded during peak hours; and Whereas, A resolution of these conflicting claims would best be handled by an independent study and public hearings; and Whereas, The increase in ridership demonstrates the public's interest in this line; and Whereas, Public hearings are intended to give governmental agencies the opportunity to hear about citizens concerns and to modify actions in order to accommodate these concerns; now, therefore, be it Resolved that the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to hold public hearings in the communities the "G" train serves, and calling for an independent review of the proposed changes to determine whether or not Queens Plaza Station has the capacity to handle the increases in traffic from both from both the "G" and the new "V" line. 4/11/01 NMR:lc Ls#4123 |1013| |1013|