North Brooklyn tenants saved $6.4 million from original L-train shutdown plan

January 10, 2019 By Raanan Geberer Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week that the L-train shutdown would be canceled. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

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While Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced plans to call off the full shutdown of the L train’s East River tunnel, which was scheduled to begin in April, the original plans already had their impact on the real estate market.

In particular, said Curbed, rents in North Brooklyn have decreased 1.5 percent since April 2016, since without the convenience of the L train the neighborhood would have been a less desirable place to live.

Curbed quoted an analysis by StreetEasy estimating that renters who signed new leases on apartments in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick cumulatively saved a minimum of $6.4 million compared to what they would have paid if plans for a shutdown were not in the works.

Now that the shutdown is off, these tenants will have the benefit of both mass transit to Manhattan and lower rents. However, Curbed said, you can expect landlords to take advantage of the new situation and raise rents again.