New Yorkers Can Grouse To 'Ombudsperson' During L Shutdown

GRAMERCY, NY — New Yorkers may get someone to grouse to during the 15-month L train shutdown come April.

The City Council passed a package of bills Wednesday geared toward helping displaced riders navigate the L train shutdown, including one that requires the creation of an “ombudsperson” position at the city's Department of Transportation to field and investigate complaints as commuters traverse the network of temporary alternatives during the shutdown.

“New Yorkers on both sides of the East River are getting more and more anxious about what some are calling the L-pocalypse,” said Johnson, in a statement.

“There will be significant disruption to straphangers and to residents. That is my primary concern – mitigating the pain for these subway and bus riders, pedestrians, cyclists and neighborhood residents.”

Another bill mandates that the Department of Transportation create information centers in Manhattan and Brooklyn, which would be up and running before the shutdown goes into effect next spring.

An additional resolution — sponsored by Councilman Rafael Espinal — calls on the MTA and Governor Andrew Cuomo to add at least 200 electric buses to the fleet by 2019. Earlier this year, the transit agency began testing 10 electric buses for a three year pilot program slated to end after the L train shutdown.

Four bus routes linking Manhattan to Brooklyn will carry a portion of displaced L train riders as the MTA makes repairs to the Hurricane Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel. The agency relies on a diesel fleet and although it is in the midst of testing 10 electric buses, lawmakers and advocates say it's not enough.

“The additional 200 diesel buses that are going to be added to our streets will release as much pollution as 4,400 cars per day,” said Espinal, in a statement. “This can’t be the standard for how we move forward."

The MTA will roll out 15 electric buses to 14th Street during the L train shutdown with 10 additional electric buses piloted elsewhere along the L line, according to the transit agency.

Photo courtesy of Kathleen Culliton/Patch