Last night, a fire broke out on the roof of the signal room at the West 8th Street station in Brooklyn. Which means that the F and Q are suspended near the stop (more about the service changes below) today for crews to start repairs, because the fire was extinguished too late for workers to start last night. more ›

We knew F train shuttles were expected next year, but it seems whatever the opposite of Christmas is has come early! According to the Brooklyn Paper, the MTA will replace weekend train service between Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn and Church Avenue in Kensington with shuttle buses in order to work on portions of the elevated line. This starts February 20th and will last "for an unspecified number weekends over the next 11 months." The agency says they'll try to inform straphangers of the exact dates to expect the shuttle buses, and so far they have confirmed the weekend of the 20th and 27th. On the upside, maybe you can become the Mayor on Foursquare? more ›

A reader emailed, "Just thought I'd let you know that the F/G is yet again a hot mess this morning, making the commute a nightmare." According to the NYC Transit Alert page, there's "a rail condition at the Church Avenue Station," which means "no G train service in both directions between the Bergen Street Station and the Church Avenue Station...Jamaica-bound F trains are terminating at the Church Avenue Station. Select Coney Island-bound F trains are terminating at the Bergen Street Station. Select Jamaica-bound F trains will run on the D line between the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station and the West 4th Street-Washington Square Station." more ›

A tipster described his morning commute on the F as screwy (Manhattan-bound F rerouted to Hoyt-Schermerhorn, to pick up the A/C) —and NYC Transit workers chalked it up to a broken rail. The MTA's service alert page says, "Due to a rail condition at the 14th Street Station, 168th Street-bound C trains are running on the express track between the Canal Street Station and the 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station. Jamaica-bound E trains are running on the express track between the Canal Street Station and the 42nd Street Station. Please expect delays on the A, C, E, F and V trains at this time." more ›

Service from the 7th Avenue subway station in Park Slope was stopped for a police investigation. It turns out that one person was fatally struck by a Queens-bound G train. more ›

F train riders, the MTA thinking about you, even though the agency might jack fares up and reduce service in other ways. NY1 reports, "New York City Transit ran a test overnight of an F train with an 11th car attached. The train normally has just 10 cars." Why? Because the F line is really crowded and NYCT officials want to see if "the longer train will be accommodated by signals and stations. If trains cannot be safely run closer together, capacity can be increased with the extra car." Interesting! Of course, this depends on station design and other issues—oh, yeah, and NYCT admits, "We obviously neither have the capital nor operating funding to implement anything like this in the foreseeable future"— but another line that needs more train capacity is the Lexington Avenue line. more ›

After commuters on the L and B/D (as well as N/Q/R/W) lines had to deal with breakdowns and commuting delays last night, this evening's commute brings delays on the F, D, G and N lines. Apparently a signal problem at 4th Avenue-9th Street Station in Brooklyn is causing the F to be shut between West 4th Street-Washington Square Station and the Church Avenue Station in both directions. The F then runs on the D... more ›

There was a bit in the MTA's August 8 Storm Report which mentioned that the MTA was working on some street furniture designs to "raise vent heights to prevent water inflow." As part of the recommendation to "Implement corrective action plan for top flood-prone locations," the MTA, with the Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection, is developing short- and long-term solutions at the most flooding-vulnerable locations.

Perhaps a more promising and intriguing solution to the sidewalk grating and station entrance water inflow problem is already being pursued in conjunction with NYCDOT. In fact, in the last week the MTA, NYCT, and NYCDOT have co-sponsored a design charette with top urban designers to develop solutions to the problem. The three conceptual designs they came up with will hopefully lead to a more refined alternative that will address both pedestrian impact and neighborhood aesthetics.

"If you can't beat 'em, psych 'em out" seems to be the tactic of the Brooklyn bagel shop that incited the ire of the MTA when it used MTA symbols. The shop, the former "F Line Bagels," was hit with a cease and desist from the MTA last March and eight month laters, fined and forced to remove the various subway signage the owners bought from the MTA. Deciding that a new sign would only be good if it could capture some of that F line goodness, the owners are installing a backwards-F sign, with one owner saying, "People can pronounce it any way they want. It'll be kind of like Toys 'R' Us." Ooh, that's a good idea - maybe they should sell toys, too, with a giraffe hawking them. more ›

Even when Gothamist is half way around the world, we cannot get away from timely NYC topics. Yesterday, we wrote about the MTA's demand that F Line Bagels remove any MTA-related signage and decor from the premises, plus pay a fine, and a few hours later, we wandered into a "New York style deli" in a trendy Hong Kong neighborhood... that had a huge subway map and Metrocard behind the counter! Of course, the subway map is on its side, which makes it pretty difficult to really read, but we're sure that if the MTA's lawyers could find a way to convince an Asian country that copyright infringement was wrong, they would. more ›

Following up eight months after MTA told Carroll Gardens bagel shop, F Line Bagels (decorated with various official MTA merchandise), to cease-and-desist using the anything-MTA-related in their store, a judge ruled that the store must indeed cease using MTA logos and materials. The judge said the Assad brothers just need to cover up the MTA logos, but the MTA wants the signs totally removed PLUS $5,000 in licensing fees. Clearly, no settlement was ever brokered, but did the Assads' lawyer try hard enough? Like offering free bagels for MTA employees? Faried Assad tells NY1, "t's not like we're stamping the bagels with an F, or an A, or whatever it is. We're not making money from whatever they're providing," and says that the store can't afford to pay the fees - they already spent $1,000 to subway-ify the store! Unfortunately, they will face contempt charges if they can't pay the $5,000. more ›

F Line Bagels, the new Smith Street bagel shop (see the nice exterior shot from Curbed) that has raised the ire of the MTA for using various subway memorabilia in the store, say they will propose a settlement to end the issues. The MTA issued a cease-and-desist to the shop, claiming that the shop used its trademarked items improperly and is infringing on the MTA's intellectual property. Okay, Gothamist gets that, but is making stupid decisions and running an agency into the ground also the MTA's intellectual property, 'cause we were just wondering. Anyway, now the brothers who own the joint will apply for a license and hope to pay a nominal fee for using the subway swag. Their lawyer also could not avoid a pun, saying, "We will sit with [the MTA], break bread and hopefully come up with a deal." more ›

It looks like the MTA is doing what matters: The NY Post reports that the MTA is busting a Brooklyn bagelry, F Line Bagels in Carroll Gardens, for mentioning the subway in its name and in its store's decorations. Apparently an MTA lawyer went into their store to let them know that the MTA wants the Smith Street store cease-and-desist with its various subway memorabilia, not to mention the store's name, or pay the MTA a licensing fee. The owner, Farid Assad, said he decorated the store with signs and pole he found on the MTA website, saying, "If they don't want people to use this stuff, then why make it available for anyone to buy? We bought the stuff on the MTA Web site, so we assumed it would be OK to use it." Mister, the MTA is not supposed to make sense, okay? Just because the MTA is trashing their stuff doesn't mean it's supposed to be enjoyed by mom-and-pop businesses. Of course, Gothamist hasn't visited F Line Bagels, so if anyone has, let us know; we'd understand that the MTA would be upset if the store's bagels absolutely sucked. more ›