op ed BTR letters & comments
owners earn several million
per year from MTA Bus for
leasing their facilities. Potential
operational savings by
consolidation of duplicative
routes between NYC Transit
Bus and MTA Bus never took
place.
The same was true for reducing
deadheading costs by
reassigning bus routes between
MTA Bus and NYC
Transit Bus to closer garages
for reduction of operating
costs. Work rules and contracts
between different labor
unions representing employees
at NYC Transit Bus and
MTA Bus have prevented any
changes to the status quo.
Larry Penner
What’s the
big secret?
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR AY 31-JUNE 6, 2019 13
Transit fix
never happened
NYC Parks problems
are global problems
BY ROXANE DELGADO
According to a new U.N. report
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem,
around “one million
animal and plant species are
now threatened with extinction,
many within decades,
more than ever before in human
history. “This loss is a direct
result of human activity
and constitutes a direct threat
to human well-being in all regions
of the world.”
Some of the main culprits
are: natural habitat loss; use
of pesticides, insecticides, ‘bug
zappers’; and overfi shing.
All three above are happening
in our parks and yet
the ban on feeding birds and
squirrels in NYC Parks will
punish the people trying to
protect birds and squirrels.
Our manicured, overly
built parks sorely lack the
mud fl ats, grasslands, native
plants and trees that support a
broad wildlife- sustainable environment.
Trees and plants that bear
nuts, seeds and fruit are nonexistent
in many parks and
have been replaced with nonnative
trees and ornamental
plants that provide no natural
food source.
For example, Bryant Park
in Manhattan has 125 London
Plane trees on the west side of
the New York Library and 22
Honey Locust trees on the east
side. So basically 85% of the
trees provide no food source
for squirrels and for that reason
there are no squirrels in
Bryant Park. Rat poison and
frequent loud concerts, as well
as events have driven out the
wildlife. I did not fi nd one nest
built in any of the trees in Bryant
Park.
Last year, all the vegetation
surrounding the Jackie Onassis
Reservoir was removed.
The reservoir is a resting stop
for hundreds of species of migratory
birds in the spring
and a wintering spot for hundreds
of ducks and geese in
the winter.
Last summer 8 to 9 goslings
perished at the reservoir,
all around the age of four
weeks because of a lack of food
sources. Molting birds in summer
were also unable to fi nd
food.
When the geese returned
to their nesting spot in the reservoir
they were nesting on
‘rocks’ because no nesting materials
could be found.
Pesticides and insecticides
may target mosquitoes
but they also eliminate butterfl
ies, moths, common fl ies
and other insects that animals
rely on for food. This results
in a loss of natural food
sources for wildlife.
Insect- resistant grasses
and insect-proof exotic plants
deny our wildlife a ‘natural
healthy’ diet. Over 95%
of birds feed insects to their
young.
Fishing also endangers
our wildlife. A goose recently
rescued from Harlem Meer
this year was emaciated and
suffering from lead poising.
Most likely, the bird injested
lead sinkers used by some unlicensed
fi shermen.Another
goose, nicknamed ‘Stumpy’,
because it is missing a foot,
was probably the victim of
fi shing line. Another goose
died after a fi shing bobber
became wrapped around its
beak.
The above culprits explain
why wildlife can’t thrive in
NYC parks and banning bird
and squirrel feeding is against
the best interest of humans
and animals in our city as
well as globally.
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers.
They should be addressed care of this newspaper
to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the Bronx
Times Reporter, 3604 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx,
NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@cnglocal.
com. All letters, including those submitted via
e-mail, MUST be signed and with a verifi able address
and telephone number included. Note that
the address and telephone number will NOT
be published and the name will be published or
withheld upon request. No unsigned letters can
be accepted for publication. The editor reserves
the right to edit all submissions.
Dear editor,
“Dinowitz, transit advocates,
steer MTA bus service
fi x” (Alex Mitchell -- May
24) offered similar promises
made 14 years ago in 2005,
when NYC completed the purchase
of seven remaining private
bus operator franchises.
This included Liberty Lines
Bronx Express, New York
Bus Service along with Green
Bus Lines, Jamaica Buses,
Triboro Coach Corporation
along with Queens Surface
plus Command Bus providing
service in Brooklyn. The
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority created a new operating
agency - MTA Bus to
continue service previously
provided by the private bus
operators. Subsequently, they
entered into 50 year lease
agreements to utilize and operate
all of their garages. The
deal was supposed to benefi t
riders and taxpayers.
Prior to 2005, the NYC Department
of Transportation
using a combination of city,
state and federal funding provided
both capital and operating
assistance to all seven
private bus operators. Virtually
all of the capital funding
was provided by grants from
the Federal Transit Administration.
All seven express bus companies
could not survive on
farebox revenues alone. With
insuffi cient income, they all
counted on NYC DOT starting
in the 1970s to begin purchasing
replacement buses,
fareboxes, radios and other
support equipment for their
respective aging bus fl eets.
In many cases, bus operators
had to operate and maintain
buses well beyond the industry
standard useful life of 12
years and or 500,000 miles.
It took NYC DOT too many
years to complete any bus
procurements before operators
received and could provide
the riding public with
new modern buses.
The operational savings
for taxpayers never appeared.
Instead the $100 million per
year NYC subsidy formerly
provided to the private bus
operators has grown to over
$200 million for MTA Bus.
The private bus company
Dear editor,
The USPS fails to inform
the public of the current postal
rates suffi ciently. Postal rates
should be posted on the wall in
capital block letters/numbers
for all to see at every branch
of the USPS. Why is it a big secret?
Servando Carmona, Jr.
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