Elected officials gathered under the elevated J-train tracks at Woodhaven Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue August 24 to demand the state approve funding for the MTA to repaint the aging subway line.

A project to rehabilitate and repaint the J train was included in the MTA’s 2005-2009 capital plan, but the work was never done. The project has instead been added to the MTA’s 2009-2014 capital plan.

Elected officials said the elevated line needs to be painted sooner rather than later.

“The repainting and the rehabilitation of the J-train overpass should take priority over new MTA projects,” Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley said in prepared remarks at the press conference.

She questioned how the vital infrastructure maintenance work could be pushed back in favor of other, less pressing projects.

“Why is the MTA embarking on new capital projects when their existing structures are deteriorating?” said Crowley, who was joined by State Senator Joseph Addabbo and Maria Thomson of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation. “For over 25 years, the J-train has been neglected and poorly maintained, impeding on the surrounding community’s safety and economic development.”

Thomson said a revamped J train line would attract more people to Woodhaven’s Business Improvement District. She said the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation has been pushing for the plan for the past 15 years.

“We have been pursuing the MTA and our elected officials to assist us in getting the stations repaired and the elevated train painted because it’s in deplorable conditions,” she said.

In a statement, an MTA NYC Transit spokesperson said the new capital plan contains $521 million for “line structure rehabilitation, painting and enhancements” throughout the city, including for work on the J train.

“MTA and MTA NYC Transit realize the importance of regular painting of the steel elevated subway structures to protect against corrosion, extend the life of the structure and improve neighborhood aesthetics,” the spokesperson said.

The representative did not say when the proposed work would be completed.