The MTA has taken its share of criticism from the community for not informing people in advance of asbestos work. Yesterday, it actually circulated, via the office of Council Member Bill de Blasio, and advance notice about “manhole abatement” work that will take place at the Fourth Avenue F Station after Labor Day. We assume that “manhole abatement” is a euphemism for work that includes asbestos removal. The work will start on Fourth Avenue at 9PM on Tuesday, September 2 and will take place through September 24. Work is scheduled from 9PM to 5:30AM.

Here’s the email that went out yesterday:

This e-mail is to inform you of an upcoming manhole abatement project which MTA NYC Transit will perform near the 4th Avenue F station in Brooklyn. There are 6 manholes that we will start to abate on Tuesday night, September 2 at 9:00 p.m….The manholes start at the north end of the 4th Avenue station and follow the subway tunnel to 6th Avenue.

The schedule will run from September 2 until September 24. We will work Monday through Friday, 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and all NYC safety and health codes will be adhered to. Most of the work will be from the street, but a couple of manholes will be done from subway because there is no street access.

The email is from Andrew Inglesby, Assistant Director of Government & Community Relations for New York City Transit.