The MTA is undertaking a huge accessibility project — upgrading the Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue subway stations. But not everyone is too happy about it.

Joseph Franquinha has had a front-row seat to the ongoing construction on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg.

He says standing water in dumpsters was emptied back in December. With nowhere to go, it backed up the sewer system. 

“It backed up. It found the point of least resistance, which was a crack in the city’s mainline, and all of it ended up in my basement. And we’re not talking about regular water here, we’re talking about waste water,” said Franquinha, the owner of Crest Hardware on Metropolitan Avenue. 

He says more than two feet in total flooded his basement.

His insurance company footed the bill, but others will have a hard time recouping their losses.  

Around the corner, at Model Barbers, business has also been impacted by the construction. 

“Foot traffic has definitely decreased. They block off our view at the barbershop. Yeah basically killing every small business here,” said Roman Khaimchaye, a barber at Model Barbers. 

Ivan Garcia, the owner of Zona Rosa, a Mexican restaurant, says he’s been forced to cut his staff in half because the constructions and scaffolding outside his restaurant is keeping customers away.

Not to mention, the view from the rooftop is anything but picturesque. 

“It’s a very bad situation. We are very sad. We lost a lot of customers,” said Garcia. 

“It’s very tough. Pandemic then this? It makes no sense. It’s taking too long,” said Lorena Velez, a manger. 

The MTA began the project in January 2022, making necessary upgrades, including installing elevators and new stairwells, and also a number of structural improvements to help flood resiliency. 

In a statement, an MTA spokesperson told NY1, “We have ensured a safe worksite to address any potential quality of life concerns at this location, and will continue to do so as work is completed to make the Lorimer Station fully accessible.”

The MTA added air quality monitoring has been conducted and vibration monitoring has also been installed in some nearby buildings. 

But Franquinha wants to be clear — his issue is not with the subway upgrades. 

“We’re thrilled to see so many stations getting the upgrades needed, so more New Yorkers have access. But the most important thing we want to learn here is learn from our mistakes. And learn about accountability and responsibility and better pre planning, so that way the next version of Metropolitan Ave. and Lorimer and Union don’t deal with the same disaster we’ve been dealing with,” said Franquinha. 

The work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.