Always so much drama with the L train. A group of Manhattan-based coalitions and co-ops have sued the MTA and other state and federal agencies over the impending L-train shutdown. (Just one year away!)
Here's Town & Village on the suit, which was filed Tuesday:
The suit accuses the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the city Department of Transportation and the Federal Transportation Administration of ignoring the needs of disabled riders along the L line, and disregarding the communities who’ll be dealing with constant congestion from diesel-spewing buses.
According to the attorney representing the groups, dubbed “the 14th Street Coalition,” Arthur Schwartz, the FTA “has failed to enforce compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) even though the nearly $1 billion project is being federally funded.” The MTA and DOT meanwhile, he said have failed to prepare a required Environmental Impact Statement, which he said would have compelled the agencies to be more responsive to community input.
Per NBC 4:
MTA spokesman Jon Weinstein said in a statement that the agency does not comment on pending litigation, but added that “the repairs to the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel are desperately needed to ensure the tunnel’s structural integrity so we can continue to provide safe and reliable subway service to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who depend on the L train every day.”
Read more on this at The New York Times and Curbed.
The shutdown of the L — between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue to repair the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel — is expected to last 15 months with a start date of April 2019.