The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Finally: Q at Parkside Reconstruction to Begin

Thanks to Ditmas Park Blog for putting in the leg, and er, lap work.* Here's the pic from Avi:

Anyone familiar with my rants and raves will know how excited I am about the first actual rehab of my beloved Q at Parkside in something like 30 years. Yes, there will be inconveniences, but thankfully most of us are within a few blocks of the express trains on Caton (Church Ave Station) or Lincoln Road (Prospect Park Station). At other times when they've skipped Parkside I've found it fairly easy to change my walk every day, and I lost just 5 minutes. Plus I got to use either the B or Q that way. (Feel free to complain here; I know not everyone is as happy as the Q. Frankly, Q is for Quivering With Excitement right now).

Here's some past posting on the event, which is finally upon us.

March 2012

July 2012

October 2012

Bottom Line the Brighton Line has seen its share of repairs and upgrades, but the Q at P has deteriorated into a sorry, sad and dangerous state of affairs. The headhouse itself is a wreck, but the structures and ceilings need to be redone to avoid catastrophe. A little love for the station, and some love for the plaza, are all in the works. Things happen at a glacial pace in this City sometimes. Though after seeing a documentary on the rapid melting of the glaciers, maybe that's the lone good news that will come out of global warming - all things that move at a glacial pace will start to happen quicker?

*that's laptop don't you know; the Q doesn't go in for double-entendres.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I know this sucks but look on the bright side:

1. It's obvious by looking at the affected stations that maintenance is needed.

2. At least the train stations aren't closed in both directions.

3. The MTA isn't sticking you with a Q train shuttle bus on Ocean Avenue.

4. As Q pointed out, Prospect Park is within walking distance.

5. Those affected by the upcoming R train and G train work are going to be more screwed over. :(

Anonymous said...

I have never been happier... to watch the good fight fought and have the victory to call...

With that said, it is JULY and you can walk...

What we really need to think about is the plaza... I'd like to see it named for Fatima Gordon.

And we should have some nice potted big shrubs (nothing that will grow down into the sidwalk)... make it a place where you want to stay....

Thank you neighbors for the work. Good guys come in first... sometimes!!!!

Love my PLG

Anonymous said...

Ok, I'm the commenter on the previous entry who left a testy little rant on this subject but your collective calm and even-handedness has won me over. I can take a little longer of a walk for a better future. Bring on Parkside 2.0!

-A Parkside Court-ier

Anonymous said...

Hey Q, did you give up moderating the comments?

Clarkson FlatBed said...

Wow. That was one intensely offensive comment. Managed to slam a lot of people in one fell swoop.

I tried to slide out of moderation and see what we got. That one was super awful. I deleted the comment.

Now, I'll give it another try. I think we're all adults (hopefully) and can handle the occasional crackpot racist comment for a few hours before I see it and delete it. I'll see how it goes, but I implore readers to keep their on-purpose inflamatory comments to themselves.

I want this to be an "open" forum, but the number of readers has spiked and as a result, so have the number of trolls.

sK said...

My concern (besides having just sprained my foot) is that, will they be doing the opposite come fall/winter? It will be a much larger imposition and less safe to travel home from PP or Church ave when it's dark and cold.

Anonymous said...

Hi, sK,

Walking along Ocean Avenue from Prospect Park to Parkside isn't that bad. Worst case scenario (esp. if you are injured), take the B16 from Prospect Park; it stops at Parkside.

Anonymous said...

FYI: The entrance to the Church Ave stop on Caton Ave is a bit closer to the Parkside stop than the Prospect Park stop depending on which direction you are traveling from.

:-)

Jen

Anonymous said...

Wow, after the outage of the Q from blogspot this afternoon, I'm very happy to see that it is back up and running!

Brenda from Flatbush said...

We blessed denizens of the Caton Avenue end of the Church Avenue stop welcome you to our little bit of paradise for the duration. By entering the Q line there, you can savor the pitifully barren entry plaza and the creepily deserted turnstile area (now that they ripped out the "token" booth)...

Anonymous said...

For whatever it's worth, the renovation of Q line stations south of Parkside were completed on schedule. It took a year to complete each side.

Looks like Phase One of this job will take about four months, so the other side will be completed by next spring. Could be worse.

ElizabethC said...

Perhaps you'll get to experience my favorite moments at the Caton Ave/Church Q/B Entrance: when all FOUR metrocard machines are "Full" at the SAME TIME, forcing you to ad to your metro card with small change or walk down to the other end of the Church Ave station. I'm not sure why it's so difficult to monitor to make sure that doesn't happen, but I've had to call and complain on at least three occasions. Let me share th wisdom: the bodega next to the station sells $5 metro cards. Or, just always make sure you card is filled at other places.

ElizabethC said...

Also, in the last two months I've seen at least three people arrested for opening the emergency door to let someone in at the Caton Ave/Church entrance. If someone asks you to open the door for them, be aware; they might be a police officer, and then you get to hang out on the platform while they call in your info and decide whether to cite you. And it's usually on a Tuesday.