MTA Will Restore Service To Rockaway Peninsula On Sunday, Full N Service Resumes Now

The MTA will at last resume service to the Rockaway Peninsula on Sunday, two weeks after service was suspended on the eve of Hurricane Sandy's devastating landfall. The service will constitute a mix of subway and shuttle bus service, because the North Channel Bridge connecting the peninsula to the mainland by rail was heavily damaged by the hurricane. (It was actually underwater during the surge.)

"The A train normally runs to Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway as well as Lefferts Boulevard, but currently goes only to Lefferts," the MTA explains. "Once service to Howard Beach is restored, the service will once again be split with half going to Howard Beach. The bus shuttle will remain in place until the heavily damaged North Channel Bridge and subway infrastructure through Broad Channel is replaced." When A service is restored to Howard Beach and the bus shuttle connects it to Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, customers from the Rockaway Peninsula will have several travel alternatives:

• From Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, the regular Q22 line operates to Roxbury.
• From the Rockaway Boulevard A station, regular limited-stop Q53 bus service operates to Rockaway Park-Beach 116 Street, as well as Q52 service to Arverne-Beach 69 Street.
• From the Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue station on the 2 and 5 train, regular Q35 service operates to Rockaway Park-Beach 116 Street.
• From the Parsons-Archer station in Jamaica on the E, J and Z trains, regular and limited-stop Q113 service operates to Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway as well as Seagirt Boulevard.

The MTA also announced tonight that they have now restored service to the N line service along the Sea Beach Line in Brooklyn. According to MTA officials, N trains are now running from Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to 8th Avenue in Brooklyn, restoring full service on the N from Coney Island to Ditmars Blvd in Queens.

At a press conference this evening, Governor Cuomo made it clear that restoring mass transit service was a top priority, and stressed that the MTA and utility companies had to start preparing for hurricanes on a regular basis. "These storms are coming," Cuomo told reporters. "Extreme weather is coming. I know you can think hurricanes don't happen in New York. At one time they didn't, now they do... This will happen again or something like this will happen again. If we're smart—fool me once—if we're smart, we'll be ready for it."