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Jan. 23, 2020 By Kristen Torres
The Queens Delegation of the New York City Council penned a letter to MTA officials on Thursday voicing its opposition to the current draft of a plan that would overhaul the Queens bus network.
The delegation, which is made up of 15 local representatives, cited “serious, identifiable concerns” with the Queens Bus Network Redesign draft plan, which was initially released on Dec. 31.
The current draft—which reworked all bus routes throughout the borough—is still far from being finalized.
Nevertheless, the statement by the Council Members calls for a complete re-do of the current draft, advocating for a plan that invests more funds into the bus network within Queens, citing the borough’s many transportation deserts.
Craig Cipriano, acting president of the MTA bus company, had previously insisted it was too early in the process to discuss the budget for the new network. However, the elected officials said they had a meeting with MTA top brass and were told the plan is designed to work within the agency’s current budget.
Many of the Council Members said in the letter that the next version of the plan should focus on including additional funds to provide more bus routes, especially within the outer parts of the borough that lack subway access.
“Queens does not have the subway infrastructure of Manhattan, the Bronx or Brooklyn,” said Council Member Karen Koslowitz, who represents Forest Hills and Rego Park, in the letter. “Coupled with the fact that Queens has experienced a significant increase in population in recent decades, any plan that does not incorporate increases to service is destined for failure.”
Council Member Robert Holden echoed the sentiment, and said his constituents rely heavily on the bus network since residents in his district have access to just one subway line.
“The draft will cut back on localized service in every part of my district,” Holden said, who represents the Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village and Ridgewood neighborhoods. “All of this will especially affect seniors, students, and people with disabilities.”
“The MTA cannot meet the needs of our constituents with this redesign if there is no further investment into the agency’s budget,” he added.
Many of the other 13 council members cited similar issues concerning a lack of service and longer projected wait times included in the plan (MTA officials have previously said the wait time estimates in the draft proposal were ballpark estimates).
Council Member Daniel Dromm said the draft plan is “bad for Queens residents” and does little to address transit issues in his district, while Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer called for a more equitable proposal.
“The plan does not take into account every community in Queens,” Van Bramer said. “It must be modified to provide better service for all.”
MTA officials plan to release a final draft plan later this year.
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5 Comments
Rerouting the q38 bus avoiding 63rd Drive to 108 st from the south side of queens blvd !! With al the elderly stranded? And qm buses down to once an hour. ??
I live in north shore towers I depend on the qm6 bus to get to work and back. I leave at 7 oclock am and come home with the 2.05 bus I am not about to start driving into manhattan but you will leave me any choice
Right on. I have family at North Shore Towers and the first thing I thought when I saw the proposed schedule was “how come there’s only a few buses a day and no weekend service going to NST?” They have their own zip code for goodness sake! Please email the MTA and go to those meetings Arthur. I don’t know why they can’t also extend the Q46 to make one additional stop, ending at NST instead of the hospital. It’s literally an extra 2 minutes more. Maybe not every Q46, but a couple of times an hour would be good. Then the residents would be able to access the E/F in Kew Gardens and I’m sure that would be very helpful for all the home health care aids that work there.
Maspeth is being disrespected once again; take away #18 from 65th place, stranding the disabled,Seniors and non auto owners. What is the MTA thinking about?
Will they address the idling QM bus situation along Metropolitan Ave or the issue with the bus drivers taking shortcuts through unauthorized narrow two way residential streets? South Forest Hills has been plagued with these issues since the revision of the bus route and countless number of vehicles are damaged because of it along with quality of life deteriorating because the idling and environmental concerns these bus drivers have created.