Welcome to the newest MTA magic trick: traveling to Manhattan by first heading farther away from it.<\/p>\n
It wouldn\u2019t be NYC without some major, rather frustrating, subway issues. <\/p>\n
More recently, frustrated Brooklyn straphangers are sounding off <\/a>after the Manhattan-bound J train started skipping several Brooklyn stops during weekday midday hours \u2014 forcing some riders into bizarre, backwards commutes that are turning 30-minute trips into hourlong odysseys.<\/p>\n Since the beginning of March, J trains heading into the Big Apple have skipped<\/a> the Chauncey Street, Halsey Street, Gates Avenue, and Kosciuszko Street stations between 9:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays, as part of ongoing track replacement work expected to continue through the third quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n Thankfully, the evening commute home appears to be spared \u2014 so Brooklyn-bound riders traveling from Manhattan after 3:30 p.m. are immune to the daytime skip-stop chaos.<\/p>\n The J train construction is causing Manhattan-bound commuters to lose their marbles. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n Signs plastered throughout Brooklyn J stations bluntly warn riders: \u201cManhattan-bound trains will skip this station during midday hours. Please take Queens J to Broadway Junction for Manhattan service.\u201d<\/p>\n In other words: Want to go west? First, head east.<\/p>\n And for many commuters, that workaround has become a daily migraine.<\/a><\/p>\n One fed-up Reddit user vented in a viral post<\/a> titled, \u201cManhattan-bound J train is skipping Chauncey, Halsey, Gates And Kosciuszko until Fall 2026. I\u2019m PISSED.\u201d<\/p>\n The never-ending track replacement work started in early March and is said to last through the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cI am EXTREMELY pissed that the J train is skipping my stop on weekdays until Fall 2026 minimum and we know they always delay the end date anyway, so I\u2019m even more mad,\u201d the user wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I have to take the Queens-bound J all the way to Broadway Junction just to transfer to the other J train to Manhattan,\u201d another complained.<\/p>\n The rider stressed that it\u2019s \u201cf\u2014king crazy that a simple 30-minute commute to Manhattan now takes me an hour, sometimes longer.\u201d<\/p>\n Transit experts say the maddening \u201cbackwards commute\u201d phenomenon is becoming an increasingly common side effect of maintaining NYC\u2019s aging, and famously nonstop, subway system.<\/p>\n The construction seems to be ongoing, yet straphangers are frustrated over how inconsistent the train is. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cWhat could be more frustrating than traveling in the opposite direction of your destination?\u201d Aaron Shavel<\/a>, a civil engineer at the infrastructure think tank Aii and former general contractor on major MTA projects including the Second Avenue Subway, acknowledged to The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it\u2019s simply unavoidable,\u201d he said. \u201cThe MTA takes painstaking steps to ensure that, while maybe not the most efficient, you can still get where you\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n Another Brooklynite argued on Reddit that the MTA\u2019s definition of \u201cmidday\u201d was wildly out of touch with reality<\/a>: \u201c\u2026 9:15 is really prime morning hours.\u201d<\/p>\n Many commuters are complaining that their usually short J-train commutes are turning into hour-long escapades. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n But Shavel emphasized to The Post that transit agencies typically schedule maintenance windows specifically to avoid the system\u2019s busiest rush-hour crushes \u2014 even if riders traveling slightly later still feel caught in the crossfire.<\/p>\n \u201cMaintenance windows are scheduled primarily around peak commuting periods, when the largest number of riders are using the system,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is to minimize the impact on as many people as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Confusion surrounding the service changes appears to run even deeper<\/a> than frustrated riders realize.<\/p>\n When a Post reporter visited Broadway Junction on May 21, signs still warned there was \u201cno Manhattan service\u201d from the affected stations and directed riders to board a Queens-bound train first.<\/p>\n Yet around 9:30 a.m., a Manhattan-bound J departing Broadway Junction unexpectedly made stops at Chauncey, Halsey, Gates and Kosciuszko anyway \u2014 despite signage suggesting otherwise.<\/p>\n The contradictory service left riders scrambling to figure out whether the dreaded \u201cbackwards commute\u201d was actually necessary at all.<\/p>\n According to Shavel, inconsistent messaging can quickly erode commuter trust \u2014 especially when riders feel like they\u2019re getting different answers from station signs and the trains themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the MTA\u2019s biggest systemwide challenges is maintaining rider trust,\u201d he said. \u201cClear communication is a huge part of that effort,\u201d adding that \u201cStatic paper signage should not be the default in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n For weary commuters trying to plan out their mornings, the MTA\u2019s latest service shuffle has become less \u201cmass transit\u201d and more \u201cchoose your own adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n The chaotic J-train construction is leaving subway riders stranded at various stops. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cI guess what I don\u2019t understand is why don\u2019t they at least just skip 1 or two stations at a time,\u201d one user wrote. \u201cBroadway Junction to Myrtle is like 2 miles of track, [there\u2019s] no way they\u2019re working on all of it at once.\u201d<\/p>\n Another added, \u201cthis DOES affect my morning commute. It\u2019s just so much extra stress and feels like we can\u2019t catch a break on the J.\u201d<\/p>\n But Shavel said large-scale station work often leaves transit agencies with limited options.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sometimes skipping stations is unavoidable, especially when working inside the stations themselves,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the MTA\u2019s credit, they often go out of their way to minimize rider inconvenience \u2014 often to the detriment of the project itself,\u201d he added. \u201cAvoiding full shutdowns typically adds both time and cost to the overall work.\u201d<\/p>\n As New Yorkers do best, many commuters have already begun crowdsourcing survival tactics.<\/p>\n One rider \u201cstarted walking to Myrtle,\u201d saying it\u2019s easier not to have \u201cto go backwards just to make the Manhattan-bound J.\u201d<\/p>\n The morning and evening rush thankfully isn\u2019t affected by this frustrating track work. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n Others suggested bus detours, including the B26 route to Broadway Junction or nearby A\/C trains, while another advised ignoring navigation apps entirely: \u201cGoogle Maps and Apple Maps will never give you a good detour.\u201d<\/p>\n And while Brooklyn J riders may feel uniquely doomed right now, in Queens, 7 train riders are now bracing for years of similar disruptions as station reconstruction and infrastructure work stretches into 2027<\/a> \u2014 with some trains already skipping multiple stops and forcing commuters into detours and extra transfers just to keep heading toward Manhattan.<\/p>\n The MTA has said the massive overhaul is tied to structural repairs and flood protection upgrades after crews uncovered severe deterioration along portions of the aging line.<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the agency is continuing major weekend shutdowns<\/a> on parts of the G train between Queens and Brooklyn this summer as crews modernize signal systems and repair tunnels.<\/p>\n Even Bronx straphangers on the 4 train are dealing with station bypasses expected to last <\/a>through September 2026 as part of ongoing station improvement projects.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to remember and appreciate that the New York City subway is the only truly 24-hour system in the world,\u201d Shavel said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat comes with tradeoffs,\u201d he added. \u201cWould you rather be slightly inconvenienced every night or all at once every five years?\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t