Subway riders in Brooklyn are bracing for work that will shut down a string of stations along the R line for six months at a time. NY1 Transit Reporter Jose Martinez has the story.

"This is 53rd Street" is something Brooklyn straphangers won't hear a subway train conductor said to them again until next fall, at the earliest.

"It's a long time, to have six months with no station," one woman in Brooklyn said.

Monday morning, the 53rd Street station on the R line will close for a six-month makeover.

It's the first of 31 station shutdowns across the city, planned over the next three years. The list includes two other stations along the R line in Brooklyn.

"It's not just a paint job and a few light bulbs," Acting MTA Chairman Fernando Ferrer said. "This is pretty much a major renovation of those stations and a major reimagining of those stations."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the effort last year, saying that the MTA could save time and money by doing a station's renovation all at once with one contractor, rather stretching the makeover over several years with a series of small fix-ups.

"Our operating theory is, 'Get in, get done, and get out,'" Ferrer said.

Bare-bones station entrances at street level will be getting overhangs and digital service displays.

Mezzanine levels will be equipped with countdown clocks and brighter lighting, and metal barriers will be replaced by glass.

Countdown clocks also will be installed on platforms, as will be USB charging ports.

"I feel like that's pretty handy. But just for the long term, it's just a matter of preparing," one straphanger said. "Like, I usually have a battery with me."

The 53rd Street station at 4th Avenue serves nearly 7,500 riders daily. They will now have to walk to the next closest stations at 59th or 45th Street stations, or take buses on neighboring avenues.

"I believe they got to have another alternative, another way that everybody can still come and commute," one commuter said.

The local councilman is upset the MTA sprung the news only in signs posted in English. "My district is culturally diverse," said Brooklyn City Councilman Carlos Menchaca. "A lack of service disruptions notices in multiple languages is unacceptable."

The MTA says signs in other languages are on the way.

The next Brooklyn station set to close is the Bay Ridge Avenue stop on April 29. That's followed by the Prospect Avenue stop on June 5.