Small business owners in Greenpoint say the extensive G train shutdowns reportedly scheduled for the rest of the year would be “devastating” for their already-tight margins.
G train service will be shut down between Bed-Stuy and Greenpoint for ten weekends through 2026, according to local elected officials briefed by the MTA, including three weekends each in June and December. Overnight weekday closures are on the schedule, too.
“The MTA is doing track work in the summer every single weekend,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso at a press conference on Tuesday. “Their lack of assessment or terrible job of assessing exactly what the issues are with the G train make it so that they come back every single year.”
After dealing with extensive closures during the summers of 2024 and 2025, locals are frustrated. The MTA provides shuttle buses to replace the G during shutdowns, but they don’t fill the train’s shoes.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso criticized the MTA’s work plans. Photo courtesy of John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
“[Small businesses] simply cannot thrive when people don’t come to the neighborhood,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler. “And when the G train is shut down, nobody comes to Greenpoint. They just won’t make the trip.”
Rachel Despeaux owns Awoke Vintage, which has two locations in Greenpoint, both right off the G train.
Many retail stores in the city, including Awoke, are “lucky” if they break even on weekdays and actually make money on weekends, she said. Losing business during the shop’s “only profitable time … will be beyond a devastating hit.”
“We have already weathered the storm of a 10-week shutdown from the MTA, and we were promised that was going to be the end of it, assured that our businesses were a priority, and that’s why this work was being done,” Despeaux said. “That, obviously, was not the case, and we’re now asked to weather and endure another storm that in this current retail economy, I do not know if that is possible to weather.”
The G train has been subject to regular shutdowns for modernization work. Photo by Kirstyn Brendlen
The G was shuttered in sections during the summers of 2024 and 2025 as the MTA installed Communications-Based Train Control. Some CBTC work is still underway — and the G has been subject to periodic service changes — but the upcoming shutdown is due to a different issue, according to MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
“It turns out that tunnel under Newtown Creek between Greenpoint and Long Island City needs a lot more work than was originally thought,” Lieber said at an unrelated press conference on Tuesday. “That is the reason why we are having to do extra weekend shutdowns to get the work done.”
Restler’s office said the schedule shared by the MTA includes full shutdowns between Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and Court Square on the weekends of June 6, 13 and 20; August 8 and 15; September 12; and December 5, 12 and 19.
The dates are subject to change, and have yet been confirmed by the MTA.
The train is a critical connection for Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann/MTA
Lieber said the issues in the tunnel were indicative of “generations of neglect” of transit infrastructure, and that some weekend closures are necessary to get the work done.
Keith Sirchio, co-owner of Little Tiffin restaurant on Manhattan Avenue, said he worries about his employees getting home late at night without the train, and about the time it takes for customers to get to and from the restaurant. The bus isn’t always reliable, he said, especially at night.
Little Tiffin spent a lot of money and time on an outdoor dining permit, Sirchio said. A lot of customers travel in from other neighborhoods, but without the means to do so, the effort might not generate the revenue they hoped for.
The MTA has not yet confirmed the shutdown schedule for the rest of the year.
Council Member Lincoln Restler said he and other local pols are frustrated by the MTA’s lack of communication.
Greenpointers urged the MTA to reconsider shutdown plans. Photo courtesy of John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
“We’re asking for the MTA to take a hard look at the plans ahead and to end the number of weekend closures, limit the work that needs to happen to overnight, and we need them to work with our community to ensure there are real alternatives for when we don’t have the G train,” Restler said.
Reynoso also said he would like the MTA to improve the shuttle buses that run in place of the G during shutdowns, suggesting more enforcement along the route to prevent double parking that slows down buses or temporary bus-only lanes along the train’s route.
Lieber, when pressed about the impact on local businesses, seemed to indicate he was willing to amend the shutdown somewhat.
“We’ll take another look if there are community and especially retail concerns, we’re trying to minimize impact,” he said. “But the reality is, when you shut down, you have impacts.”
— Additional reporting by Ethan Stark-Miller