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THE NEW BRONX
CHAMBER of COMMERCE
invites you to attend
“Valiant Women of the Vote”
honoring JENNIFER RIVERA, KASIRER
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020
11:30 A.M. 2:00 P.M.
VILLA BARONE MANOR
737 Throggs Neck Expwy, Bronx, NY
Chamber Members: $75 | Non-Members: $85 | Table of Ten: $700
Sponsorships Available
For more information call (718) 828-3900 or email us at events@bronxchamber.org
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,8 FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 5, 2020 BTR
NYC Concilman
Mark Gjonaj
The
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitzx speaks at the MTA fi nal public hearing on the Bronx Network
Bus Redesign. Photo by Jason Cohen
Residents, electeds
not satisfi ed with
bus route redesign
BY JASON COHEN
On Thursday, Febday 20, the MTA
held its fi nal public hearing for the
Bronx Bus Network plan at the Bronx
Museum of the Arts, where it said it
had added restored an additional $2
million of service improvements to the
plan.
Senator Alessandra Biaggi expressed
her concerns with the unveiled
plan. With so many seniors in
the borough, buses like the Bx7 and
Bx10 need more stops, not less, she
stressed. Those buses are often so jam
packed that people can’t even get on
them, Biaggi pointed out.
“The redesign is a critical opportunity
to imagine public transportation
here in the Bronx,” Biaggi exclaimed.
“It’s imperative that the bus plan refl
ect the (residents’) needs. The Bronx
deserves better.”
The public hearing precedes a vote
by the MTA Board to implement the local
bus service proposals in the redesign’s
Proposed Final Plan for implementation
in fall 2020.
Before the Bronx Bus Network plan
was created, Bronx bus routes had
not substantially changed in decades,
despite tremendous growth in the
borough since 2010. Increased traffi c
congestion, among other things, has
slowed the buses and degraded service
reliability for the borough’s bus customers.
Concerns
Norwood resident Lowell Green is
not in favor of the redesign. She uses
the Bx34 and Bx28 buses often and
wonders why the MTA would reduce
service to these buses.
“My question to the MTA is do you
hate seniors,” she said. “If you cannot
get anywhere but with a car, what’s the
purpose of using a bus or subway?”
Co-op City resident Raymond Martinez
feels the redesign is slamming his
neighborhood. He takes the Bx26 regularly
to college and said the changes in
frequencies will hurt him.
“I feel like parts of this plan are disastrous
for Co-op City residents,” he
said. “If you’re truly serious about getting
cars off the road you should really
improve the bus service.”
Paula, a resident of Riverdale, who
relies heavily on the Bx10 and Bx20,
said if changes are made to the service
it will negatively affect many people.
“I think reducing the service in
and out of Manhattan will only increase
traffi c and congestion and further
serve to isolate seniors who live in
the Bronx,” she said. “If service must
be limited, at least run buses into the
city until 6 p.m.”
Riders Alliance Campaign manager
Stephanie Burgos-Veras, who
spoke on behalf of the Bus Turnaround
Coalition, explained that a few
years ago riders asked the MTA to look
at fi xing the bus network. Burgos-Veras
stressed that reducing frequency
on buses in the borough won’t help
Bronxites who are transit-dependent;
three out of fi ve households lack access
to a car.
“The changes in the Bronx bus redesign
are important to over 600,000
daily riders who have suffered too long
with slow and unreliable service,”
Burgos-Veras said. “But riders wish
the MTA would be more ambitious in
their articulation of principles and
creation of new routes to major destinations.
Further, Governor Cuomo
should recognize how important buses
are to low-income New Yorkers by investing
in more frequent service.”
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