Smith & 9th Straphangers Face New, and Longer, Commutes

Riders who use the Smith & 9th Street station are not happy about their new commute.

"I am pissed," said Henry Ramos. "I'm like 'What am I gonna do now?'"

Starting today, the in both directions while the MTA makes repairs and upgrades. Riders can expect the station to reopen in Spring, 2012.

"This is gonna be like 45 minutes or more extra time," said Darlene Wright. "It's so ridiculous."

Wright, a Red Hook resident, said it normally takes her about 10 minutes to bring her son to school in Bed-Stuy on the G train. She said she plans to take the bus downtown, and then transfer to another bus.

The MTA suggests riders take the bus to either Carroll Street or 4th Avenue & 9th Street, but most riders we spoke with were opting for buses.

"Who knows how long you'll have to wait for the trains, after you've already waited for the bus," said Kim Young, a Red Hook resident.

At 8:30 a.m. today, more than 20 people were waiting for the B57 bus on Smith Street.

The MTA has been , but still riders were shocked.

"There should have been more signs," said Ramos, who comes to Red Hook from Williamsburg four times a week to babysit for his sister. "Now it's going to be way harder for me to do that."

Adding to the subway woes in the neighborhood is the still closed entrance to the Carroll Street stop at 2nd and Smith streets. The station entrance was built directly under the new 360 Smith Street development, and the opening of the entrance has been pushed back many times. Everyday riders who enter the Carroll Street station across the street through a narrow entrance have long been complaining, and with more riders coming up from Smith & 9th Street, the entrance is sure to be even more crowded.

Ramos said his commute will now be more like "a mission" and said that free shuttle buses between Smith & 9th streets and 4th Avenue & 9th Street should be added.

"If you don't got a MetroCard for the bus, you gotta walk," he said.

For Young, this is another in a long line of MTA disappointments.

"This is crazy," she said. "They want to raise the fares, and then, no service at all."