How bad is the L?

The L, the full-flavored buzz

The L is the gray line from Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, under the East River, and out to Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway — the line that made Williamsburg what it is and the one that's packed with a particular kind of New York energy. It's not a long line, but it's an influential one.

The L's identity is the Metropolitan/Bedford stretch of Brooklyn — the corridor that became the poster child for the city's expansion and its crowd problem all at once. What was once a quiet industrial line is now the daily ride of thousands heading for the bars, studios, lofts, and coffee counters of the eastern frontier of Brooklyn. When the L runs slow, it's slow with company.

Rider well-knowns: the L is the only line across the 14th-street East River corridor, which means it has no real alternative — when it's bad, it's the only option, and its three-track minefield of a terminal at Canarsie is a rite of passage. The line famously runs on a tight 24/7 schedule and, more than almost any other, its riders watch the board with a grimace.

The L is the love-hate line of the decade. It brought a generation to Brooklyn and made an entire neighborhood's identity around a train — but a packed, slow L is the thing everyone complains about on the walk home. It scores low because it's essential and crowded; the irony is that being essential is exactly what made it legendary.