L Train Construction Hours To Decrease On 14th St. In E Village

EAST VILLAGE, NY — After months of noisy, dusty construction work along East 14th St. late into the evening, the MTA will reduce construction work hours from 16-hour work days to 12-hour work days Monday through Friday.

The reduction of construction hours — a scourge on East Village and Stuyvesant Town residents for months — was announced by a Metropolitan Transportation Authority representative at a Community Board 3 meeting last week, Town & Village first reported.

The reduced construction hours officially began Monday, the MTA said in a weekly community newsletter on the L train repairs.

The construction will run 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays — rather than the previous hours of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Saturday's construction work schedule will remain from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., the MTA's L train newsletter said.

The stretch of East 14th St. from Ave. B to First Ave. have been used as a construction area for adding an L train entrance at Avenue A, elevators on the north and south sides of 14th St., and a new substation near Avenue B, according to the MTA.

But that work to repair the L train has wreaked havoc for neighbors — sending clouds of dust into the air, crowding the area with dumpsters of debris, and noisy construction until 11 p.m.

One resident said in December the noise was "untenable" and the air quality was "horrible," Town & Village reported.

Gothamist has previously reported on dumpsters full of bright green goo in the staging area near Stuy Town.

The MTA has said it is monitoring air quality at the construction sites.

Last year, local businesses saw foot traffic and customers plummet from what they said was due to the construction site, the Villager reported.

After the L train shutdown was overhauled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January, much remains unclear of previous L train plans, such as what will come up of the 14th St. busway versus M14 SBS routes and HOV-3 lanes on the Williamsburg Bridge.

The MTA has held additional open houses in Brooklyn and Manhattan, which kicked off earlier this month.

The next open house in Manhattan will be Monday, April 8 at 6 p.m., located at the 14th St. Y, 344 East 14th St. between First and Second Aves.