March 13, 2012
By Ray Parker, Staff Writer
An online petition generated by the labor-friendly Working Families Party is gaining some traction in the effort to persuade the often tin-eared MTA to continue a service enhancement to the G Train in Brooklyn. This past Saturday the WFP put out an e-blast saying that 2,000 Brooklyn residents signed the petition, and that the MTA was reconsidering its earlier decision to end the enhancement.
The service change happened because of a repair project on the massive trestle called the Culver Viaduct, which prevented the G from turning around after its original last stop at Smith and 9th Street. So the MTA extended the G line by five stops – from Smith & 9th out to Church Avenue. In the two years since the G started to make additional stops, residents of Park Slope and Kensington have taken notice – and they want the new stops (which are also on the F line) to stay active. The stops make the G line a convenient, direct link between some of the most culturally diverse and artistic neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.
The MTA under former CEO Jay Walder was mainly known for service cuts, especially in Brooklyn. Now, Brooklynites want to know if current CEO Joe Lhota will stand behind a rare service enhancement for the subway system.
Radio station WNYC, which keeps its nose to the ground on MTA business, also reported positively on the impact of the WFP’s petition, which will only keep growing as more Brooklyn residents sign on. That’s because the WFP not only has a live issue that’s getting support from labor and the public, but also because its Internet outreach is well coordinated on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. Check out their link at http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5647
Do petitions work? It may be too early to tell. But at least we have a positive answer to another question that’s been going around for a while: Why a duck?
