As most know, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has proposed yet another series of cuts that will drastically alter service. With $40 million in cuts to Access-A-Ride, ten bus routes being eliminated, weekend service cuts to be implemented, and reduced service expected to take effect, the crowds of people waiting to huddle into a urine-soaked car will start to become even more inhospitable than it presently is.
With many of the route cuts affecting express lines and buses that service the Downtown Brooklyn area, it’s easy to think Sheepshead Bay residents needn’t bother opposing this. But they’re wrong.
Nearby train lines D, F, and A lines will all be affected by reduced service, while express buses X29 and X38, which service Coney Island/Seagate, will be eliminated. The B4 bus will no longer travel along Emmons Avenue/Shore Parkway – forcing some Bay residents to walk more than a mile to the nearest bus line.
Perhaps the most devastating cut will be the elimination of Student MetroCards, a luxury that has accommodated NYC youth (and predated by the illustrious bus pass) for ages. With the increased cost of transportation in recent years, the flawed logic of this plan is evident to just about everyone.
Christine Quinn of the New York City Council is encouraging Brooklyn residents to sign her petition, available here . You can also become involved by working with NYPIRG’s Straphangers Campaign or signing up to volunteer (contact Nick Rolf NROLF@council.nyc.gov.).
Of more immediate importance, a public hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at the Brooklyn Museum’s Cantor Auditorium at 6 p.m. There’s strength in numbers, so even if you don’t plan to speak, show them that the issue was important enough to bring you out in the cold weather.
Image courtesy of TheGirlsNY via Flickr
In addition to the subway snafu making travel out of the Sheepshead Bay-area difficult, the MTA released details of bus service cuts late last week. Many of the cuts were already well-known and already facing protests from hard hit communities like Dyker Heights. But the new details reveal an increasingly strangled Sheepshead Bay community, beginning this July.
Most significant of the new bus cuts in our area is the “shortened” service of the B4, which completely removes the only bus that runs along the Sheepshead Bay waterfront and to the United Artists movie theater. Though the bus line was never great to begin with, it remains the only line Plumb Beach residents can rely on to take them laterally across Brooklyn. Now, though, all service between Coney Island Avenue and Knapp Street has been cancelled.
Other local bus lines affected include the B1, B2, B3, B9, and B31. BKSouthie.com has a good report summing up the changes across Southern South Brooklyn.
Just a quick thought that came to me as I wrote this: it appears almost all of the affected bus lines run east-west, lines that connected Brooklyn communities with other Brooklyn communities rather than bring commuters in the general direction of Manhattan. It almost seems as if the bureaucrats designing this mess think the desirable place to go is Manhattan, almost a total reflection of their Manhattan-centric mentality. Almost.
From Sustainable Flatbush:
Do you depend on the B44 Nostrand Avenue bus to get around Brooklyn? Do you wish you could? Come to the Department of Transportation’s Community Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday December 8th! The DOT is especially looking for input from bus riders, who are often under-represented at these meetings.
Continue Reading »
Local leaders pressed MTA officials and the agency’s contractor for proposals and promises from the authority this morning, but the biggest payoff appears to be for residents of Gerritsen Beach and communities east of Sheepshead Bay.
“Did a magic bullet appear? No,” said Councilman Lew Fidler of the meeting. “The thing that probably will come out of it – and we’re optimistic will come out of it – and it doesn’t affect a whole lot of people, but it does affect Weinstein’s constituents and mine – there was some willingness to consider reversing some of the service cuts on the BM3 and BM4 buses. That’s the thing we’re most optimistic will happen, but obviously it doesn’t help the vast majority of people affected by the construction.”
It appears the MTA came unaware of the demands and complaints awaiting them.
“They were there to tell their side of the story, and I think that’s all they thought they were there for,” said George Broadhead, president of the Gerritsen Beach Property Owners Association. Broadhead said they came to discuss the construction plans, not alter them. However, the meeting changed direction when Broadhead brought up the recent service changes to the BM3 and BM4 buses, which provide alternative Manhattan-bound service to Gerritsen Beach and the eastern portion of Sheepshead Bay. Those bus routes now leave many riders with only the handicapped B/Q line.
The MTA officials present only represented the subway service, and according to sources at the meeting, they were unaware of the bus division’s actions and dismissed it as the other branch’s responsibility.
“[State Senator Carl] Kruger blew his top,” said one source who asked not to be named. “[The MTA was] there to really apologize for all the bullcrap. But I think they got a taste of it from Kruger.”
Kruger scolded the MTA for its dismissive attitude towards bus alternatives, reportedly saying, “We bailed you out with billions of tax-payer dollars, and now you’re telling me the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing?” Continue Reading »
Councilman Michael Nelson told members of Community Board 15 last week that he is seeking ramped up enforcement and insfrastructural improvements to curb illegal U-turns along Nostrand Avenue.
Nelson’s office says that they received a number of complaints from constituents about dangerous and illegal U-turns on Nostrand Avenue between Voorhies Avenue and Avenue X. Many involve cars – especially SUVs – that opt to drive directly over the median rather than go to the corner.
“They’re turning over the island, but they’re not falling into the river… unfortunately,” Nelson quipped in front of the board. The councilman’s office is on Nostrand Avenue between Avenue Y and Avenue Z.
Nelson and his staff are looking to press the 61st Precinct into stronger enforcement. They’re also considering options including cameras and reinforcement of the barriers with increased height and green landscaping.
Just to add a little more inconvenience to your commute…
From Notify NYC:
Emergency personnel are on the scene of a subway smoke condition near West 53rd Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan. The F and V trains are suspended in Manhattan. B and D trains are diverted onto the A line between West 57th Street and West 4th Street.
These signs went up at B/Q stations citywide on Wednesday morning. The fight isn’t over yet, though. Stay tuned…
(Photo courtesy of Daniel Cavanaugh)
We may not have cleaning crews to get rid of the garbage. We may not have agents in the booth to answer questions or keep us safe. Heck, we may not even have trains from time to time. But at least we’ll have a handful of intercoms to voice our garbled and static-infused complaints to some unsympathetic nobody on the other end. Thanks, MTA!
Straphangers should find it easier to reach transit workers in case of emergency as the agency plans to put intercoms on station platforms.
Intercoms linking platforms and token booths are now few and far between – but NYC Transit is including them in all future station rehabilitation projects, a spokesman said.
Among the first to see the communications upgrade will be riders at five Brighton line stations in Brooklyn.
Workers will install 61 of the devices, one every 200 feet, the spokesman said.
Read more from the Daily News.
Can you imagine a city construction project taking less than two years? We can’t, but that’s what Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo is saying it will take to build an elevated express lane above the Belt Parkway. The proposed lane will extend from Sheepshead Bay all the way to JFK Airport in order to ease congestion on the highway. Scavo says the construction can be done using federal stimulus dollars. Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association President Alan Ditchek is backing her efforts, but the local elected officials appear lukewarm. Councilman Lew Fidler said it was interesting but didn’t comment further, while Congressman Anthony Weiner has pushed responsibility towards the state authorities, saying they would need to match the fed’s funding by at least 20 percent. “The congressman looks forward to hearing from the state authority about Ms. Scavo’s ideas,” his office said. [via YourNabe.com]
Update: After scheduling the above post and walking away to do errands, Scavo sent me an e-mail elaborating on the proposal. Below is the relevant excerpt:
I know there is a huge amount of unused Federal Stimulus money available and what better [way to use it] for our community than an express level over the Belt Parkway. Stimulus money is set aside for transportation and road construction only. We could have an express-laned road from entry only at Ocean Parkway and exit at Kennedy Airport or further. This would cut delays and speed movement of traffic. The Garden State Parkway in New Jersey has express lanes, the New Jersey Turnpike has 6 lanes of traffic–here in Brooklyn along the route of the Belt Parkway there is no room to expand North and South—our only chance is up for expansion. In Queens, the mono-rail was constructed above the Van Wyke Expressway to assist travel to the airport. The Belt is bumper to bumper traffic at all hours of the day and night. If we could allievate even a small percent of drivers from the parkway it would ease travel time.
Sure, we’ve been harping about the devastating changes to the B train express for a while now. But those who don’t read our site were surprised to find this morning that the B is running local. Complaints from surprised residents started pouring in via Twitter this morning.
Don’t just complain to your friends and the Twitterverse, though. Complain to the legislators and the MTA, and help try to find an alternative!
