Currently, people complain that G trains are infrequent, too short, and unfairly truncated during peak hours (it stops at Court Square in Long Island City, Queens on weekdays during the daytime, losing most of its Queens stops between Court and 71st Avenue in Forest Hills, Queens).

The thing is, the G wasn’t always terrible. The trouble started in 2001 with the inception of the V service, which covers the G’s Queens route during peak hours. To make matters worse, the MTA shortened the G train from six cars to four to make service more frequent, resulting in some cramped commuters.

Early this year, the G was out of the service for four weekends in a row while the MTA was making repairs. Shuttle buses filled in the gaps, and the Gothamist interviewed one New Yorker who preferred the shuttle to the G, as it was more reliable. Ouch.

A while ago, The New York Times printed an article about a young couple torn apart by the East River, billions of Subway stops, and the majority of bustling Manhattan. To put it simply: He lives in Manhattan, she lives in Brooklyn. This article, published in the Times’ Real Estate section, boldly referred to this pairing as a long-distance relationship.

But is it? As the crow flies, her apartment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn is a bit over 14 miles from his home in Hamilton Heights (Harlem), New York. Anywhere else in the country, this would constitute a 15 or 20 minute drive, however New York is not anywhere else in the country. The Subway trek requires 75 grueling minutes, as well as two transfers. And that’s, um, when the trains are running correctly.

Still, the aforementioned city between the aforementioned lovebirds isn’t exactly dead space — if I were a member of this “long-distance” couple, I’d arrange more of our meetings for the following approximate halfway points: the Union Square, the Village, SoHo, or Borough Hall. If only Romeo and Juliet had had it this easy.

Passengers heading from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan should be aware that transfers between the #2, #3, #4, #5, and (A) trains will not be available at the Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau Street station in Lower Manhattan due to Phase II construction of the Fulton Street Transit Center.  Passengers may transfer between the #2/#3 trains and the #4 train at Nevins Street, Boerum Hill; transfers between the #2/#3 and uptown (A) trains at Park Place/Chambers Street in Manhattan.

Travelers wishing to make a transfer between the uptown (A) and the downtown #4/#5 must ask the station agent for a transfer ticket, exit the station and reenter at Broadway…

Manhattan-bound (A) trains will operate local service from Euclid Avenue, East New York to Canal Street, Manhattan, express from Canal Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle, local from 59th to 125th Streets, then express from 125th through 168th Streets for work on the Chambers Street signal modernization, 59th Street station rehab, and a track chip out at 163rd Street.

Brooklyn-bound (A) trains will run local between 168th Street and 4th Street, Manhattan, then over the (F) line between 4th Street and Jay Street, Brooklyn Heights, then resume local (A) service between Jay Street and Euclid Avenue due to the Chambers Street signal modernization.

Due to the modifications to the (A) train, (C) train service will not operate this weekend…

(D) train service will not operate between Pacific Avenue, Boerum Hill and 34th Street/Herald Square, due to construction of the free transfer passageway between the Broadway-Lafayette Street station on the (B), (D), (F), and (V) trains and the Bleeker Street station on the #6.  Alternate service is available via the (N) or shuttle buses in Manhattan.  Service adjustments will take effect tonight at 11:30 p.m. through 5:00 a.m. Monday…

(N) train service will be significantly modified due to various TA and NYCDOT projects.

Coney Island-bound (N) trains will operate via the (R) between Canal Street, Manhattan, and DeKalb Street, Fort Greene, then operate local service between Pacific Street, Park Slope, and 36th Street, Prospect Park, then express between 36th Street and Stillwell Avenue, Coney Island.

Manhattan and Queens-bound (N) trains will operate local beween 59th Street, Sunset Park, and Pacific Street, then operate via the Manhattan Bridge between DeKalb Street and Canal Street, Manhattan.

The adjustments are due to NYCDOT repairs on the 65th Street Bridge, maintenance in the Montague Tunnel, and other maintenance projects…

Manhattan bound (Q) and (R) train service will operate via the Manhattan Bridge between 6:30 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday due to maintenance in the Montague Tunnel…

In addition, a shuttle bus on the (R) will operate between 36th Street and 95th Street, Bay Ridge between 11:30 p.m. tonight and 5:30 a.m. Monday due to NYCDOT construction on the 65th Street Bridge.

For additional information on service adjustments, contact the TA Information Center at (718) 330-1234 or visit www.mta.info.

PARK SLOPE -

Within the last hour, the NYPD responded to the 9th Street/7th Avenue station for a report of a person trapped under a train.  The victim was pronounced dead on scene by FDNY EMS personnel.

While the MTA web site does not indicate any delays on the (F) and (G) trains as of the time of this posting, the victim was removed from the station shortly before 9:00 a.m.

No further information is available as of this posting.

CROWN HEIGHTS - Manhattan-bound riders on the (C) Fulton Avenue Line local are experiencing delays due to signal problems at Utica Avenue.  (A) express service through Brooklyn is not reporting delays through the same corridor, nor is Brooklyn-bound (C) service to Euclid Avenue.

Between 12:01 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. between tonight and Friday morning, service on the (2) train will operate as express trains instead of locals between Atlantic Avenue, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights-Utica Avenue, stopping only at Franklin Avenue Station.  Direct (2) train service to and from Manhattan and The Bronx will operate to Utica Avenue instead of Flatbush Avenue.  A (2) shuttle train with 30 minute headways will operate between Franklin Avenue and Flatbush Avenue…

Additionally, the (4) train will also operate express between Atlantic Avenue and Utica Avenue.

Brooklyn-bound passengers travelling from Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn to Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza, Eastern Parkway, Nostrand Avenue, and Kingston Avenue stations should get off the Brooklyn-bound trains at Utica Avenue, then board a Manhattan-bound train to reach these stations…

The late-night (G) train service adjustments reported by Brooklyn News last week remain in effect through the rest of this week.  This involves two sections of (G) service – one section will operate between Court Square, Queens, and Bedford-Nostrand, Bed-Stuy, the other between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Avenue, Kensington.  Trains will operate both sections every 30 minutes with passengers required to transfer at Bedford-Nostrand.  This will be in effect between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m…

Riders on the (L) train should be aware of platform boarding changes for late night service.  Brooklyn-bound riders will be required to board on the Manhattan-bound platforms at 3rd Avenue and 1st Avenue stations in Manhattan and at Bedford Avenue Station, Williamsburg, between 12:01 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. through Friday morning…

Manhattan- and Queens-bound riders on the (N) will see service re-routed over the Manhattan Bridge instead of the Montague Tunnel, skipping the Canal Street, Rector Street, and Whitehall Street stations in Manhattan and Court Street and Lawrence Street stations in Brooklyn.  Riders are asked to take the (4) train as an alternative…

And, finally, the (Q) train will be operating in two sections during late night hours.  The (Q) will operate in two sections – one segment will operate between 57th Street/7th Avenue, Manhattan and Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Avenue, Prospect Heights on the 4th Avenue Line (served by the (D), (M), (N), and (R) trains; the other section will operate between the Atlantic Avenue on the Brighton Line (the normal (Q) train station) and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue.  Trains will operate every 30 minutes on the Brighton Line between 12:01 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. nightly through Friday.

This is in addition to the ongoing construction on the Brighton Line, causing intermittant delays on the (B) and (Q) trains and local service on the (B) between Prospect Park and Brighton Beach.

For updated service adjustment information, call the NYC Transit information line at (718) 330-1234 or visit www.mta.info.

• Service on the (D) train will operate in local service between 36th Street/4th Avenue, Sunset Park, and DeKalb Street station, Fort Greene.
• Northbound (D) trains will operate over the (N) line (Sea Beach Branch) between Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station and 36th Street/4th Avenue; southbound (D) service between 36th Street and Coney Island is unaffected.  The re-routing is due to track panel installation north of 62nd Street.  The re-routing takes effect at 5:00 a.m. Saturday until 10:00 p.m. Sunday.
• Service on the (F) train will operate into two segments: Between Jamaica-179th Street, Queens, to Jay Street, Brooklyn Heights and between Church Avenue, Kensington to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue.  The re-routing is effective between 11:30 p.m. Friday through 5:00 a.m. Monday.
• (G) train service will operate in two segments: Between Court Square, Long Island City, Queens and Bedford Avenue-Nostrand Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant and between Bedford-Nostrand and Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, Brooklyn Heights.
• (N) train service will operate local between 59th Street/4th Avenue, Sunset Park and DeKalb Avenue, Fort Greene, then operate via the Manhattan Bridge instead of the Montague Tunnel.
• (R) train service will operate in two segments: Between 34th Street-Herald Square, Manhattan, and Forest Hills-71st Avenue, Queens and between 36th Street/4th Avenue, Sunset Park and 95th Street-Bay Ridge; no subway service will operate between Canal Street, Lower Manhattan and DeKalb Street, Fort Greene.

A shuttle bus will be implemented between Jay Street and Church Avenue stations, serving Jay Street, Bergen Street, Carroll Street, Smith St/9th Street, 4th Avenue/9th Street, 7th Avenue/9th Street, 15th Street/Prospect Park, Fort Hamilton Parkway, and Church Avenue.

The service changes will be in effect from Friday evening through Monday morning.  The changes are in effect due to ongoing construction on the Culver Viaduct and for maintenance in the Montague Tunnel.  The (N) and (R) train adjustments are due to track work at Cortlandt Street, Manhattan.

For additional information and updates on this service adjustments, please call MTA New York City Transit at (718) 330-1234 or visit the official MTA web site: www.mta.info.

Late night service on the (N) that operates to Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, Queens via Lower Manhattan will be re-routed over the Manhattan Bridge, bypassing the Lawrence Street and Court Street stations in Brooklyn, and Whitehall Street, Rector Street, and City Hall stations in Lower Manhattan.

(N) train riders are asked to use the (4) train as an alternative. Straphangers who normally use the Lawrence Street and Court Street stations are asked to use the (4) train to Borough Hall station.

Passengers using the affected stations in Manhattan are asked to use the (4) train to the following stations: Whitehall Street passengers should use the Bowling Green station, Rector Street passengers should use the Wall Street-Broadway station, and City Hall passengers should use the Brooklyn Bridge station.

The service adjustment is in effect through November 20; weekday and weekend peak, mid-day, and early evening service on the (N) is not affected.

The (F) train – the second longest line in the system at 27 miles from Coney Island to Jamaica, Queens via 6th Avenue in Manhattan – has seen signficant issues with on-time performance; the report noted that schedules have not been updated to reflect increased ridership and new operating patterns with the opening of the 63rd Street connector in Queens.

On-time performance on the (F) – 50.8 percent in July 2009 – is well below the average of New York City Transit Authority system-wide average of 74.4 percent.  The report noted that the length of the line and the complexity of the routing as the primary reasons for it’s poor performance.

The report also noted that in a 17 week period between March and June 2009, an average of 14.6 “slow orders” or other planned service diversions per week – a total of 248 orders.  The orders covered routine maintenance and upgrades of the aging infrastructure which the (F) operates over.

Service in Brooklyn operates over the Culver Line between Coney Island and York Street station in Downtown Brooklyn.  The report noted that elected officials, straphangers, and community activists are advocating express service on the (F) via the Culver Line,  TA officials note that the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation project takes out at least two of the four available tracks and is schedules to continue though 2013.  (F) express service through the borough last operated in 1987.

Another issue with the (F) line is the equipment used on the line.  There are five classes of subway cars used on the line, with the oldest class dating back to the 1960′s.  On average, (F) trains averaged 146,115 miles between failures, worse than the system-wide average of 185,485 miles between failures.  However, most of the older rail cars have been replaced by the newer “R-160″ class of subway cars, which lead to an improvement in “mean distance between failure”.

As part of it’s strategy, the TA is implementing the following strategies:

• The appointment of a general manager for the (F) line, a concept that was introduced on the TA’s numbered lines and was expanded to the lettered lines in July.
• Redesign of the (F) schedules, including a survey of running times along the line, analyzing the 63rd Street Corridor service plan through Queens, an evaluation of (F) express service in Brooklyn, and an assessment of how overnight service is impacted by maintenance and capital work.
• Management of car-loads along the line.
• Improvement of the car fleet performance, which is being addressed with the retirement of the older subway cars introduction of the R-160 cars.
• Delay management strategies would be implented; at present, some Coney Island-bound trains skip stations during the evenings as a response to delays.
• Addressing the aging infrastructure and delays due to work along the tracks.

The entire report is available at the MTA web site.

Between 8:30 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Monday through Friday, service between the Long Island City-Court Square station, Queens, and the Forest Hills/71st Avenue station, Queens will be suspended.  All (G) train service will operate between Court Square and Church Avenue station, Kensington.

Brooklyn bound passengers will have take the (R) train to Queens Plaza, then transfer to the (E) train at 23rd Street/Ely Avenue station, then connect to the (G) train at Long Island City-Court Square.  For Queens bound passengers, transfer to the (E) at Court Square, then to the (R).

Additionally, between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., (G) train service will operate in two sections – one section will operate between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand station, Bedford-Stuyvesant, the second section between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Avenue stations.  Passengers will be required to transfer at Bedford-Nostrand station.

Service on both segments will operate with 30 minute headways as opposed to the 20 minute headways normally offered.  The service adjustments are expected to last two weeks, ending on November 20.

Weekend service between Forest Hills and Church Avenue are not expected to be affected.

For additional information, visit the MTA New York City Transit web site.

Rasheem Williams, 37, and two other fugitives wanted by the NYPD were arrested over the weekend after a tip led investigators from the Rocky Mount (N.C.) Police Department and the U.S. Marshall’s Service to a residence on the 800 block of Sunset Avenue, Rocky Mount.

Williams had been accused of two June muggings at two Brooklyn subway stations among the 15 he had been accused of committing.  The incidents primarily occured in Manhattan and The Bronx, however at least one also occured in Queens.

The first incident occured on June 8 at around 7:25 p.m., when Williams allegedly approached a woman on a Manhattan-bound #3 train at the Bergen Street station, Park Slope.  In that incident, he brandished a knife and fled with an unknown amount of U.S. currency.

On June 23 at around 1:45 p.m., Williams allegedly approached a woman on a Brooklyn-bound #2 train at the Church Avenue station, Flatbush.  As was the case in the Park Slope mugging, Williams brandished a knife and demanded money from the woman.  He then fled with the victim’s property at the Beverly Road station.

Williams was tagged as the “Red Sox Bandit” by the tabloids after one photo during the search showed him wearing a Red Sox baseball cap.

Williams, who has 18 prior arrests and has also served eight years upstate for a prior robbery conviction, was taken into custody along with two other men – Jamal Williams, who was also identified as one of the NYPD’s most wanted, and Michael Lewis, who was wanted on parole violations.  No further information is known about the other two fugitives.

It’s also not known why Williams fled to North Carolina.  Anyone who has ever watched the A&E television series “Manhunters” – a show that profiles the U.S. Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force – may recall an episode where a fugitive from the New York area was subsequently apprehended in North Carolina.  For some reason, the Carolinas would seem to be a very popular destination for fugitives fleeing the area (maybe it’s the lower taxes down there, who knows?).

In any event, it’s probably safe to say that this member of Red Sox Nation will have a new home in a matter of weeks, pending extradition back to New York – a nice little spot we like to call Rikers Island.