Dem nominee for council pens complaint to MTA chairman
Call it the summer of our discontent, notes from the chaotic underground or the more common mass transit “summer of hell,” straphangers taking the R train still see no light at the end of the tunnel. Long waits for trains, erratic, interrupted service and crowded, standing-room-only conditions have left subway riders angry and frustrated.
In July, the Brooklyn Eagle reported that City Councilmember Vincent Gentile sent a letter to MTA Chairman Joe Lhota detailing his own frustrations with the service. Now, City Council candidate and Gentile’s former Chief of Staff Justin Brannan, who had a hand in penning Gentile’s letter, has written his own letter to Lhota. In it, Brannan focuses on the R train and voicing the confusion and concerns he’s heard from the residents of District 43.
“Right now, people who live in different states can get to Manhattan quicker than we can,” Brannan told the Eagle. “But instead of investing in the system to make the trains run on time, the state has invested millions in cosmetic station upgrades. While we all know our stations could certainly use some tender loving care, getting to work on time is more important than bells, whistles and WiFi.”