J and M riders lose Manhattan service for five fall weekends as MTA replaces Marcy Avenue switches

J and M subway riders will lose a direct trip into Manhattan on five weekends this fall while New York City Transit replaces aging track switches south of Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg, according to notices from Brooklyn Community Board 4 and reporting from Patch and How2NewYork.

The first weekend begins Saturday, Oct. 17. Brooklyn CB4 said the switches are about 29 years old and are critical for linking Williamsburg, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York, Ozone Park and Jamaica with Lower Manhattan.

What changes this weekend

On the affected weekends, J trains will run only between Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer and Myrtle Avenue–Broadway. Free shuttle buses will replace J service between Myrtle Avenue–Broadway and Delancey Street/Essex Street, CB4 and Patch reported.

M trains will operate in two sections with service about every 20 minutes: Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue to Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues (with an L connection), and Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues to Myrtle Avenue–Broadway (with a J connection), according to Patch. How2NewYork, citing the MTA, said four Brooklyn stations — Hewes Street, Marcy Avenue, Flushing Avenue and Lorimer Street — will have no J or M stops during the weekend work.

Dates and alternatives

CB4 listed the weekends as Oct. 17–18, Oct. 24–25, Nov. 7–8, Nov. 13–16 and Nov. 20–23, noting they are non-consecutive and exclude NYC Marathon weekend (Oct. 31–Nov. 1). How2NewYork listed Nov. 7–9 for the first November span; riders should confirm times in the MTA Weekender and MyMTA app before traveling.

For Manhattan trips, the MTA points riders to the L at Myrtle–Wyckoff and to the A, C and L at Broadway Junction, with E service as another option from Jamaica, Patch and How2NewYork reported. Weekday middays from Oct. 13 through Nov. 20 — except Oct. 26–30 — J trains will run local between Myrtle Avenue and Marcy Avenue roughly from midmorning to midafternoon, CB4 said.