Councilman Greenfield got the MTA to agree to shorten construction hours on the Brooklyn bound Q line on Friday afternoons to ease the commute home for thousands of Shabbos observing residents in Southern Brooklyn.

Councilman Greenfield was alerted that the MTA planned for Brooklyn bound Q trains to run express on Fridays from 9:45 am to 3 pm until March to accommodate necessary work along the track. That would have meant train service that skipped over many popular stops in Midwood. Recognizing that this planned service change would complicate the Friday afternoon commute for thousands of Shabbos observing residents in Southern Brooklyn, Councilman Greenfield reached out to MTA officials to request construction end early. At the Councilman’s request the MTA agreed to end construction, and express-only service, at 2 pm on Fridays until the completion of the job in March 2015.

“Our subway lines in Southern Brooklyn desperately need improving, but we have to do it in a way that is mindful of the constituency being served,” said Councilman Greenfield. “With Shabbos starting as early as 4:11 pm, we don’t want to add any more time to the Friday commute. As it is, it’s difficult for many employees to leave work early.”

This fall and winter the MTA is continuing their upgrades on the Q line. Subway users can find out about how construction may impact their travel by visiting the MTA’s webpage at http://web.mta.info/service/ to find out about service work on each of the subway lines, or by dialing 511, saying “Subways and Buses” and then “service status” for a full update on any subway or bus line.

Anyone with questions about this planned service work is encouraged to call the Office of Councilman Greenfield at (718) 853-2704.

(YWN Desk – NYC)