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Comment by AndrewUnmuted | Hacker News Reader

You perfectly described the issues that exist with the L train. It makes me wonder just why so many people decided to move to a region of Brooklyn with such historically poor subway service, when central Brooklyn, served by the 2,3,4,5 lines, is easily serving its rapidly-gentrifying population with relative ease.

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The L's reputation is undeserved; it's just that some people make more noise than others.

I'm extremely happy with the location — it's arguably the most well-positioned area of Brooklyn. Almost everything of interest is 20 minutes or less away: Union Square, Village, SoHo, Midtown, and also transportation hubs like Penn Station and Grand Central. Greenpoint and Long Island City are both a super quick ride, and while south Brooklyn takes longer to get to, I can get to Fort Greene in 17 minutes, and Park Slope in 30. (The most egregious lacuna is to Brooklyn Heights and the surrounding area, but the ferry service is very enjoyable, and the bus is not bad either.)

The main overcrowding occurs during rush hour on the Bedford Ave. and Lorimer St. stops, the former of which is the only stop in a very dense area of recent urban (over)development. Lorimer isn't as bad, and it gets progressively much better the farther out you are.

Developers milking the region after the ~2008 zoning changes, availability of space for new constructions, and people willing to move there because of price (originally), proximity to the city, and (more recently) restaurants, parks, Yoga studios, etc.

Of course that was not sustainable long term, but most people didn't think about that, or didn't care.

I live right there in Williamsburg near the Bedford Avenue stop, and the subway issues are generally not a big deal. I can get to Grand Central within 20 to 25 minutes. Importantly, Williamsburg is at a very handy latitude; I can get to the East Village, Union Square, or the West Village in 10 to 15 minutes, and that is more often than not where I want to go. Then there are a ton of great restaurants and bars in the neighborhood, and everyone is pretty young and hip. It's actually under-priced in my view relative to the city (assuming the L doesn't stop running, in which case I will immediately return to Manhattan).

I'm sorry to report that you might have to return http://gothamist.com/2016/01/13/l_train_tunnel_closure_years...

People move to specific neighborhoods for many, many reasons other than available train lines.

Are you from NYC? Because this reads like someone who isn't aware of how important Manhattan access is to somebody making enough money to live on the developed sections of the L line. Bicycle commuting options do exist on the Williamsburg Bridge but it likely owes the newly-congested bicycle lanes to the poor L train service.

I'm finding more and more people that are in the right socioeconomic to live in Williamsburg and similar areas aren't going to Manhattan for work. They're working from home or in Brooklyn based startups.

I work with some of these people, but live in upper Manhattan. I spend a LOT of time commuting to Brooklyn.

Unfortunately all the Brooklyn startups seem to be clustered around DUMBO, which isn't easy to access from Williamsburg on a daily basis (without several subway transfers or traveling through Manhattan).

Well perhaps.

Access to an Internet connection to email mom and dad in the Midwest and ask for more money for rent is also a common preoccupation along the L train corridor set.

It doesn't read that way to me at all. Let's face it, people move to Williamsburg because it's a fun and trendy place to be. Never mind that an increasing number of workplaces are also located in the area, too.

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