Nightly service slash in latest L-train plan

The MTA’s revised L-train tunnel-rehab plan will include reduced weeknight service starting at 8 p.m. — and calls for the city to do away with an earlier proposal to ban cars along 14th Street while the project is under way.

The 8 p.m. service reduction is needed so workers can set up for nightly reconstruction, with trains running both ways through onene East River tube between Manhat-ttan and Brooklyn, said MTA man-aging director Ronnie Hakim.

Hakim also confirmed that to alleviate expected overcrowding, the First and Third avenue stations might be restricted to exit only during some parts of the day, forcing riders to enter the system at other stations.

“There are some hours where we are concerned about crowding at First and Third avenues,” she said. “Everything is on the table.”

Many of the details that Hakim officially confirmed Wednesday had been revealed in leaked internal documents two weeks ago.

Gov. Cuomo’s L-train plan ditched a dreaded 15-month total-shutdown plan and allows tunnel work to be done nights and weekends.

Also, the city should not transform 14th Street in Manhattan into a car-free busway during construction, Hakim said Wednesday — angering transit advocates.

“Without the priority shuttlebus service in Manhattan and over the Williamsburg Bridge and with less L-train service, there is a real risk that riders will switch to cars, which will mean a lot of additional traffic from Chelsea to Bushwick,” said Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein.

“It would be prudent to have ad- ditional bus service so riders will have a direct route along the L-train corridor.”

MTA board member David Jones, a Mayor de Blasio appointee, said the plans puts too much hardship on riders, especially after Cuomo assured them he would ease their commutes.

“You can’t keep flipping people back and forth like this,” said Jones. “You can’t fiddle with people like this and expect them to believe anything.”

State Sen. Brad Hoylman, whose district includes the 14th Street corridor, said the project is not averting a shutdown.

“The MTA confirmed our fears that the new L-train plan will bring little to no alternate service enhancements, the loss of the 14th Street busway, possible exit-only stations at First and Third avenues, delayed subways and historic overcrowding,” he said.

“I’m extremely concerned. So far, this is not a plan that will avert a shutdown. It’s an effort to steamroll a quick fix over the public.”