Gotta be ‘L’ of a good reason: gov

ALBANY — Before the planned 15-month shutdown of L train service leaves the station in April, Gov. Cuomo plans to make sure the disruption is absolutely necessary.

Cuomo plans a late-night personal inspection of the L train tunnel late Thursday night, he announced Monday during an appearance on WNYC's “The Brian Lehrer Show.”

He said he will bring a group of experts with him.

“I'm going to take a tour to make sure we're doing everything we can, and explore every option, to reduce any possible disruption,” Cuomo said.

The L train, which runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan and carries 225,000 riders daily, is due to shut down in April for an estimated 15 months.

While stopping short of saying he's looking for changes to the project, the governor said he wants to review the project to make sure the MTA bureaucracy is being “flexible and open and creative because these are are vital services. You close down the L train, it creates a major problem.”

Cuomo credited the city and MTA for undertaking an “exhaustive review” and holding community hearings to find transportation alternatives during the shutdown.

But he said he's been asked by people in the affected Brooklyn communities if there is any way to shorten the length of the shutdown. “I want to be able to say to every New Yorker, ‘I know it's a pain in the neck. There is no other option. The MTA is right.' ”

City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, who crafted the L train travel plan with NYC Transit chief Andy Byford, said she didn't have a response to Cuomo's remarks.

Streets are being newly striped to lay out new bus routes and bike lanes. The new bike lanes will help the city manage the planned Citi Bike expansion. “Andy Byford and I have always said that the plan is dynamic,” Trottenberg said. “I don't want to say more than that, because I don't know yet what would be coming, but yes, it is a dynamic plan that we will always be able to adjust as need arises.”

Byford declined to comment on Cuomo's tour.