By Stephen Stirling
MTA New York City Transit said the project to upgrade the signal system along the No. 7 was completed as scheduled over the weekend and will not further hamper weekend travel plans as Flushing heads into its busy Lunar New Year season. The No. 7 line has been shut down from Flushing Main Street to 61st Street Woodside on each of the last three weekends while the second phase of a $76 million capital project to revamp the subway's infrastructure was completed. In an attempt to remedy the loss of subway service, the MTA added dozens of free shuttle buses between the two stations and also offered free Long Island Rail Road service from Flushing to Manhattan. City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) said the result was “chaos” as the additional buses clogged already busy streets in the neighborhood. Liu, state Assemblywoman Ellen Young (D-Flushing) and state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) have blasted the MTA for its poor planning of the track work in recent weeks after the first weekend of the shutdown led to widespread confusion and traffic gridlock in downtown Flushing. The resumption of weekend service along the line is good news for business owners in downtown Flushing, who count on the first two weeks of February to bring in revenue as Asian families shop in preparation for the Lunar New Year celebration, which takes place in the second week of February. In addition to the business traffic, the Lunar New Year celebration itself brings thousands of spectators to the busy Queens hub. Dozens of events and special business offerings mark the holiday, centered around a large parade down Main Street, which will take place this year on Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
