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The MTA Released Alternative Travel Plans for L Train Shutdown and They’re Awful
New Yorkers are fearing the impending April 2019 shutdown of the Manhattan to Brooklyn L subway line. The contract for Hurricane Sandy repairs spanning the train tracks between 8th Avenue and Bedford Ave, Williamsburg, was awarded two years ago and plan to last at least 15 months, ending by August 2020.
The issue has been a hot topic among local politicians who are generally pushing for alternative travel routes including other subway lines, a new inter-borough bus line, and expansion of select bus services.
The L train services over 400,000 commuters daily with at least 250,000 depending the line to travel between the connecting boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
So what’s New York state going to do about suddenly losing this essential subway line? Well, the MTA released a 38-page PowerPoint presentation explaining their plans and they’re not pretty: http://web.mta.info/sandy/pdf/Canarsie-6-08-17_website.pdf

- 75% – 85% of commuters will be shunted to other subway lines. The M and J lines connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn will bear the brunt the burden, with the G suffering on its connections going up to Queens.
- The MTA admits 75% is the ideal target to avoid overcrowding. They have not yet released specific plans on how frequently trains will be running to accommodate all the new riders.
- Only between 5% – 15% of riders are estimated to use a proposed inter-borough shuttle bus service. This is where plans get messy. THERE IS NO DIRECT SHUTTLEBUS ROUTE PLANNED IN BETWEEN 8TH AVENUE AND BEDFORD AVE.

- As you can see, the shuttle buses will run from Grand St. L stop to no further than Prince St./Broadway. This means if you want to get from Bedford Avenue to 8th Avenue you will have to transfer 3 times in between shuttle buses, subways, and select bus service.
- The rest of anticipated ridership will consist of ferries, bicycles, and taxis. The MTA has not yet released plans for increases in ferry ridership.
The Democratic Primaries this year fall on September 12, 2017. When you vote please pay close attention to the travel agendas of your city council candidates. Hopefully, local politicians can address this mess of a plan and fight to keep New York City’s subways running effectively and efficiently.
Click here to register to vote.
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Best of Overheard in Brooklyn # 4
Best of @heardinbk
Sorry, guys. I’ve been neglectful of my cross-posting. Yes, I know tweets have an easy embed feature, but I like the way this looks better.
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“I’m always afraid my sister’s profile is going to come up. She lives near here”–man talking about OkCupid at the bar #overheardinbrooklyn
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“There’s this great tamale place in Midtown in an abandoned elevator shaft.” #overheardinbrooklyn
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And then she said, with firm conviction, “I miss The Harlem Shake.”
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“My cat still has PTSD from my leash-training attempt.”
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“Do you know your Myers-Briggs type?”
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today is the day: “learn on the internet how to love a plant” ~ overheard in brooklyn
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Overheard near Grand Army Plaza: “Where’s the line between gossip and processing interpersonal dynamics?” (cc: @HeardInBK)
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“The other [frozen yogurt] place in Williamsburg sold out of fruit once. It was disgusting. I was so angry.”
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yo i’m adam but my club name is “DJ Cisgendered”
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“It’s like the whole movie’s on Instagram.” Regarding Moonrise Kingdom.
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“I’ll love him so long as he doesn’t turn out to be a Republican or a Red Sox fan.” -guy holding baby #conditionallove
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Overheard in Brooklyn: “there needs to be some sort of national bong functionality standardization” @HeardInBK
Overheard cellphone conversation in Brooklyn: “I’m failing miserably at this human experience. What are you doing?”
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“Her fashion sense is something like an Amish person meets a transvestite.”
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“Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Everybody!” < #Shots for lonely, introverted people.
Creepiest License Plate in Brooklyn
Snapped today in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY:

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This sends so many signals and leaves so many questions.
Like, “How many bodies of minors are in that backseat?” (I was afraid to look) and “Is it legal to upload a picture of someone’s license plate?” (According to Google, yes, yes it is.)

Kiera Feldman
tammi jean
Overheard Brooklyn
Aure Moser
Brianna
Adam Conover
Stephen Watson
Hunter Walker 
Louis CK Explains NYC Subway Frustration at the Comedy Cellar
Louis C.K. describes the worst part of the subway perfectly.
Hat-tip to Brokelyn for the Link:
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Man, I miss his TV show. (The second one, of course, although Lucky Louie wasn’t actually all that terrible.)
Also…
Louis C.K. re-imagines classic jokes:
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“I don’t know why the chicken crossed the road… Shouldn’t it be on a farm fucking other chickens?… There is no dialogue or conversation with a chicken; It just gets eaten and I take a shit.”