Brooklyn business owners rally against G train shutdowns
Brooklyn business owners are protesting against recurring weekend G train shutdowns, which they claim are significantly reducing customer traffic and sales. They are urging the MTA to reschedule planned December closures to avoid the peak holiday shopping season.
Why it matters
The conflict highlights the tension between necessary infrastructure modernization and the economic survival of small businesses in transit-dependent urban areas.
Business owners in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn are calling on the MTA to make changes to ongoing work being done on the G train line, saying weekend service shutdowns are impacting their customer flow.
Residents and businesses in the neighborhood have already endured several shutdowns this summer, as well as a series of weeks-long shutdowns two summers ago.
The MTA shut down service on several weekends in May, June and July, and for another one earlier in August — and there’s a shutdown slated for this upcoming weekend.
Business owners say the summer closures have already seriously hurt their bottom lines.
One business owner decided to do a survey of small businesses, and said that nine out of 10 of those surveyed lost business, and average sales went down about 20% each time there was a weekend shutdown.
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