MTA Construction in Forest Hills Causes Major Hardship for Local Businesses

Impact of MTA Construction on Forest Hills Businesses

• 🚧 A significant MTA construction project on the LIRR overpass in Forest Hills, Queens, is causing severe disruptions for local businesses.
• 🍣 The owner of a sushi restaurant reports losing $300,000 since the project began last summer, impacting outdoor dining setups.
• 🛍️ Several businesses, including a natural market, bagel store, and Chinese restaurant, have lost approximately half their customers and 15 parking spaces.

Financial and Operational Challenges

• 💸 The owner of The White Radish is experiencing a hardship of $30,000 per month due to the construction, which has eliminated parking and outdoor dining.
• 🚗 A bagel store owner is now driving for Uber to supplement income, highlighting the drastic measures taken to cope with business losses.
• 🤢 The presence of a porta-potty in the construction area, which has since been removed, contributed to a bad smell and further detracted from the customer experience.

MTA's Response and Project Justification

• 🗣️ MTA Chair Jano Lieber acknowledged the hardships and stated the MTA works with local businesses, promising to review the situation.
• ♿ The project's necessity is explained as replacing a crumbling LIRR overpass and adding ADA accessibility to a major railroad station.
• 🚆 The construction must proceed while the LIRR trains continue to operate, making the process complex and disruptive.
• 🙏 Business owners are pleading with the MTA to reconsider the project's location or methods to alleviate their suffering.