I'd like to know why (during the 8 o'clock morning rush hour) I can't even board the R train at Fourth and Bay Ridge Aves., much less get a seat. It's only the fourth stop on the north-bound side, yet the train rolls in often so packed to capacity that I have to wait for the next one. It's at least 12 minutes between each train. The IRT runs trains within three to five minutes of each other during rush hours. Why is Bay Ridge treated like lost Atlantis?

The R train and its N companion (north of 59th Street) parallel the Gowanus Expressway from Bay Ridge through much of Brooklyn. Of the $1 billion the NY State Dept. of Transportation is preparing to sink into reconstruction of the Gowanus, not a dime is earmarked for fixing or upgrading the subway line. Yet the State's rebuilding plan relies on vastly expanded transit ridership in the corridor to make up for the partial closure of the highway during rebuilding (expected to take ten years or more). The N and R trains are not only crowded and infrequent, but are so slow that it's faster to get from midtown to White Plains on Metro-North than from the same point to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. Will Gowanus drivers opt for these trains when put out by massive capacity reduction on the Expressway? Why should Brooklynites tolerate a project for a roadway that barely works now and won't be any better when it's finished $1 billion later (and after their borough is torn up for a decade)? If the State can get a high percentage of Gowanus drivers into transit for several years, why isn't doing so permanently the focal point of a much different transportation project? Why spend more money to then put them back on the road? The DOT's refusal to answer these questions, and its bunker mentality regarding community criticisms and concerns about the project, has been an ongoing disgrace. The environmental assessment the Dept. has prepared for the project is due to be released next week, and is widely expected to be a whitewash for the DOT's preferred alternative -- the most costly rebuild, including new HOV lanes and other road capacity expansion measures.