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Brooklyn service cuts news (Save B37 and others + B25 RTS bus cool pic) |
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Posted by GOLD_12th on Tue Jan 12 03:30:08 2010 Gothamist: The MTA Might Cut The Only Bus To Brooklyn Bridge Park (from http://www.flickr.com/photos/janekrat/4100197302/) As Brooklyn Bridge Park nears its long-awaited opening day, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering eliminating the only bus route that services the park's main entrance. In its "Doomsday" service cuts, the MTA might nix the B25 bus, which is the only route that travels down Old Fulton Street and passes near the park's main entrance at Pier 1 — the first section of the 85-acre waterfront park that is scheduled to open to the public. According to MTA documents obtained by Gothamist, the B25 is up for elimination because it closely mirrors the A and C subway lines. The document — which was a part of the proposed service cut package approved by the MTA board last month — notes that "[a]lthough these routes do carry significant numbers of customers, the subway provides direct alternative service." Though the B25 closely follows the train lines, it extends several blocks past the subway stop at High Street, down a hill and through several busy intersections to Fulton Ferry Landing. "It's totally counterproductive," said Gene Russianoff, chief attorney for the Straphangers Campaign. "You are building a major new park in Brooklyn and then you are turning off one of the main means of access to it? Now they expect us all schlep up and down the hill to get there." If implemented, the service cuts could be go into in the summer, coinciding closely with the planned debut of the grand entryway on Old Fulton Street in mid-2010. MTA Transit spokeswoman Deidre Parker said that her agency had not reached out to the group developing Brooklyn Bridge Park before adding the B25 bus to chopping block. "Did we contact them? The answer is no. But we are at the beginning of the process and there will be public hearings." We've reached out the Brooklyn Bridge Development Corporation, and we'll update if we hear back. To fund its construction and maintenance, Brooklyn Bridge Park will rely in part on condos constructed on park grounds — sparking concerns from some that the greenspace might turn out feeling more like a backyard for condo residents than a public park for New Yorkers. Now that the only form of public transit that brings visitors directly to the park might be eliminated, state Sen. Dan Squadron (D-Brooklyn Heights and Lower Manhattan) blasted the MTA for its lack of foresight. "What Brooklyn Bridge Park needs is increased access, not ill-conceived service cuts, and there is no question this is that category," he told Gothamist. "The thought here should be, how can we get more folks down to it from Atlantic Avenue all the way down to DUMBO. What this would do is decrease access and connectivity." Source: http://gothamist.com/2010/01/11/mta_might_cut_the_only_bus_to_brook.php ________________________________________________________________ WNYC: Brooklyn Officials Bristle as MTA Considers Service Cuts  NEW YORK, NY January 11, 2010 —As the MTA considers making deep service cuts to deal with a nearly $400 million budget gap, elected officials from South Brooklyn are pushing back. Bay Ridge councilman Vincent Gentile wants the commuter tax reinstated. "The transit authority cannot cut four bus lines, reducing service on three of them, and totally eliminating a fourth bus line, in the same area of Brooklyn," Gentile says. He says neighborhood businesses, senior citizens, and disabled residents would be hurt by the elimination of the B37 bus on Third Avenue, and cuts to weekend service on other routes. Gentile wants state lawmakers to change the MTA's funding formula, so more fare and toll revenue goes to city buses and subways, instead of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, which serves the suburbs. An MTA spokesman says the cuts were necessary to meet the agency's legal obligation of a balanced budget. The spokesman says final service changes won't be made until after public hearings, and another vote by the MTA's board. Source: http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/147885 ________________________________________________________________ Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Bay Ridge Called Worst Hit by MTA Bus Cuts  BAY RIDGE – “Save our Third Avenue bus!” As they did less than a year ago, Councilman Vincent Gentile and state Sen. Marty Golden launched petition and protest drives, joining Assemblymen Janele Hyer-Spencer and Alec Brook-Krasny and Congressman Mike McMahon in a campaign to prevent proposed transit agency cuts. That includes axing the Third Avenue B37 bus that connects Bay Ridge and Brooklyn Heights, a well-traveled route in service since the avenue’s trolley and its elevated line were ended in the 1940s. The MTA’s proposal also includes eliminating all weekend service on the B4 between Bay Ridge and Sheepshead Bay, the B16 between Bay Ridge and Kensington, and the X27 and X28 Manhattan express buses. The MTA lost $400 million from its budget when the state reduced it to help deal with the state’s financial shortfall. MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said, “We had no choice. But we don’t want to see these cuts implemented.” Last May the state saved the MTA when it bailed out the agency and proposed cuts were scrubbed, although there was a modest fare increase. Public hearings are planned. The cuts include total elimination of routes targeted a year ago, including the B25 between DUMBO and Bedford-Stuyvesant and the B75 between Vinegar Hill and Windsor Terrace, as well as late-night and weekend cutbacks. Access-A-Ride for the disabled and seniors is due for cutbacks. “The B37 is southwest Brooklyn’s lifeline all along Third Avenue,” said Councilman Gentile at a protest rally he called Monday morning rush at the 88th Street northbound B37 bus stop. “Don’t leave us out in the cold! We’re going to turn the heat up on the MTA!” Yesterday morning, the 8:35 a.m. northbound run from Shore Road picked up a dozen passengers at its first six stops before stopping at 88th Street to pick up more. When the following bus pulled in to the stop shortly after 9 a.m., it was cheered by the nearly 50 people gathered in the bitter cold. “This is a crazy idea,” said a man boarding a B37 at 86th Street. “How can older people and the disabled here who can’t take the R at Fourth Avenue walk all the way to Fifth Avenue to take the B63 bus that’s always packed?” The four R subway stations do not have escalators or elevators. Over 20 percent of Bay Ridge residents of 70,000 are over age 60, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. The area is a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), with 43 percent of its households headed by people over 60. Present at the protest was Al Alfazador, president of the Ovington AARP chapter. “Cutting this bus will strand our seniors. It’s unacceptable,” he said. “The MTA tells us it’s not a hardship,” said Gentile as people and civic leaders waved protest placards. “This bus service is not a luxury. It is a necessity!” “This is a serious threat by the MTA to get the state legislature to act,” said Golden, saying he would call a town hall meeting. “MTA, we’re not going to take these cuts! This would force the layoff of many employees and discourage shoppers. Third Avenue would become a ghost town.” Accompanied by clients (referred to as consumers) from the Bay Ridge-based Guild for Exceptional Children, Guild Executive Director Paul Cassone spoke. “This is a lifeline for our consumers and employees to get to work, stores, doctors’ appointments and services. We’re also looking to create a greener Third Avenue, and buses are a way to go.” “We’re not standing idle. These cuts are absurd,” said Chair Joanne Seminara of Community Board 10, joined by District Manager Josephine Beckmann and board members. Sandy Vallas of Vallas Realty added, “To eliminate the B37, especially in these hard times, would affect all of Third Avenue and its businesses. It’s shameful.” Source: http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=32908 ________________________________________________________________ The Brooklyn Paper: Bay Ridge to MTA: Stop dead  Bay Ridge residents and their political leaders rallied on Monday against proposed Metropolitan Transit Authority service cuts that will slice across the neighborhood far deeper than elsewhere in the city, they said. About 50 people, brought together by Councilman Vince Gentile (D-Bay Ridge) and state Sen. Marty Golden (R-Bay Ridge), gathered at 88th Street and Third Avenue along the B37 route, one of the community’s arteries that the MTA would sever entirely to help plug a $383-million budget shortfall. The line starts at Fort Hamilton and runs up Third Avenue to Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. It is one of the slowest buses in the city, according to the Straphangers Campaign. It is also the 156th busiest bus route out of 194 in the city, with a daily ridership of 3,524 people, according to MTA stats. By comparison, the city’s busiest bus line, the M1 in Manhattan, has 56,723 riders per day. That said, the B37 has its fans. “The B37 is southwest Brooklyn’s lifeline,” said Gentile, who rallied the troops in similar fashion when a prior round of cuts was announced roughly this time last year. “Don’t leave us out in the cold! We’re going to turn the heat up on the MTA!” Golden, whose job in Albany presumably affords him more power over the state transit agency than Gentile’s position at City Hall, announced a petition drive to assist that effort. The MTA proposal also includes cutting the B16 (the 111th busiest line), B4 (the 127th), X27 and X28 on the weekends, a move that would affect residents from Bay Ridge to Bensonhurst. The R train is nearby, but Gentile said that many seniors and disabled residents do not ride the subway. Borough-wide, the cuts would include reduced service along the A, D, F, G, N, Q, J and M trains, along with another handful of bus routes and the Access-A-Ride service. The transit agency has also threatened to eliminate half fares for students. If no arm of government ponies up at the 11th hour, the cuts will take effect in spring. But a Gentile spokeswoman thinks that coordinated efforts could pressure the MTA. “The opposition is part of what deterred the MTA from making these cuts last year,” said Dena Libner, the spokeswoman. Source: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/3/33_03_ac_br_bus_cuts.html |
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