A section underneath the L train line in Bushwick may be sealed after neighborhood complaints about homeless people sleeping in the underpass, the MTA said.
Residents at a recent community board meeting said they were alarmed by the number of homeless people sleeping near the opening between Cooke Court and Bushwick Avenue, according to Kevin Ortiz, an MTA spokesman. They also expressed concerns about cracks in the Broadway Junction station.
Ortiz said the MTA is considering sealing part of the structure to address the "undesirable activity taking place there," but said the underpass is structurally sound and closing it would only be a cosmetic move.
The MTA is waiting to hear back from the Department of Transportation to see if they can brick up the underpass.
“We are trying to make the determination or hear back from DOT as to whether or not that area is considered a street,” Ortiz said.
Once the MTA hears back from DOT, Ortiz said, the agency will decide whether it wants to close up the tunnel.
A request for DOT’s clarification on the definition of a street was not immediately returned.
If the underpass is not defined as a street, Maintenance of Way engineering said it could still be sealed up to prevent any undesirable activity.
