Renewal project at Ditmas Avenue F station to close southbound platform for four months

Some more bad news for South Brooklyn commuters.

The southbound platform of the Ditmas Avenue F station will be closed for four months starting Monday, January 25.

According to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), the closure is part of a renewal project along Brooklyn’s Culver Line that will last until May.

“The Ditmas Avenue station renewal project is part of a nine-station renewal/repair project on the Culver Line totaling $80.7 million,” the MTA released. “The work at Ditmas Avenue consists of critical repairs to the steel station structure and improvements to architectural treatments, including street and platform stairs, walls and floors; platform panel replacements; tactile warning strip installation; new artwork and windscreens; bird deterrent system installation; and new light fixtures.”

“Although this station closure will be an inconvenience to some commuters using the Culver Line, we encourage those who will be affected to be patient,” said District Manager of Community Board 12 Barry Spitzer. “The station renewal project, when done, will be a major improvement over current conditions.”

To accommodate commuters, the northbound platform of the Ditmas Avenue station will remain open during construction. Southbound customers traveling to the station are advised to remain on the train and transfer to a northbound train at 18^th Avenue to get back to Ditmas Avenue.

“Well, it’s going to inconvenience a lot of commuters,” said State Senator Simcha Felder. “The closest stations aren’t that close so especially in the winter it’s going to be very, very difficult.

“But, at the same time, I would say that I think most reasonable commuters would prefer being inconvenienced for one period [of time] rather than being inconvenienced repeatedly for five [or so] years,” he continued. “[Previously], with repairs going on for years, it never really worked. The approach more recently, and shutting down stations entirely, gets the job done more quickly.”

The station originally opened for service in 1919 and sits at the intersection of Ditmas and McDonald Avenues.