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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, DECEMBER 22, 2019
Gounardes releases report on
southern Brooklyn transit woes
BY JESSICA PARKS
If you’re reading this,
you’re probably late.
A whopping 90 percent
of southern Brooklyn
straphangers who
responded to a survey
published by state Sen.
Andrew Gounardes reported
being always or
sometimes late to their
destinations due to transit
delays.
“This report confi rms
what we know to be true:
Southern Brooklynites deserve
better public transportation,”
said the fi rstterm
senator. “These
challenges have been ongoing
for decades and it’s
time that our city take a
stark look at what we will
need to do to transform
our public transportation
system. Whether through
long and indirect commutes
or poor service,
southern Brooklyn’s public
transportation problems
take a major toll on
our neighborhoods.”
Gounardes’ offi ce distributed
transit surveys
online and at every bus
and subway station within
his 22nd Senate District
over a seven-month period
and received 769 responses
— with more than 63 percent
of all surveys coming
out of Bay Ridge and only
4 percent from residents
of Marine Park, Manhattan
Beach and Gerritsen
Beach.
The report examined
service on the D, N, R, B/Q,
and F subway lines and bus
service in southern Brooklyn
to fi nd that 30 percent
of D train riders reported
always being late to their
destination— higher than
any other line. Riders on
the F train faired better,
with only 12 percent saying
they were late. When
it comes to bus transit, 83
percent of bus riders said
they were always or sometimes
late due to delays.
“Riders often stand and
wait on the platform for a
train without knowledge
that there is an ongoing
MTA issue that results to
either no trains or delayed
trains,” said one of the survey
respondents. “If and
when speakers are being
used for announcements,
the message is either unclear
or the speaker is not
functioning properly to
allow the message to be
properly delivered. Proper
communication with riders
can allow for them to
make alternative travel arrangements.”
Despite the reports of
unreliable service, an 83
percent majority said they
rely on public transit as
their main form of transportation
throughout the
area.
Some 80 percent of
southern Brooklyn commuters
said their work
commutes were at least
45 minutes going one way
while only 3.5 percent of
respondents recorded commute
times of less than
30 minutes, according to
Gounardes’ report.
Commuters from Marine
Park and Gerritsen
Beach have the longest
travel times, with 50 percent
of respondents disclosing
travel times of
more than an hour — and
all the area’s survey-takers
said they had to make
a transfer in order to reach
their destination.
When asked how to improve
the area’s transit options,
45 percent of respondents
said they would like
to see more frequent service.
Included in Gounardes’
plan to address the issues
raised by the southern
Brooklyn commuters
who responded to his survey
are initiatives such as
passing a senate bill that
allows riders to vote for
MTA board members, approve
legislation to mandate
the MTA meet accessibility
goals, providing
student discounts for express
buses, and pushing
for increased bus service
in southern Brooklyn’s
transit deserts.
Southern Brooklynites are often late because of poor public transit,
according to a new survey. Photo by Aidan Graham
Clinton greets parishioners (above), while Donnell Baird shows the former
president a map of BlocPower initiatives (below).
Photos by Todd Maisel
The comeback kid
comes to Brooklyn
Bill Clinton visits eco-friendly Bed-Stuy holy house
BY BEN VERDE
The 42nd President of the United
States of America fi nally made the
trip out to Brooklyn on Dec. 10, when
he visited a Bedford-Stuyvesant
house of worship that was recently
retrofi tted with new green technology
funded through the Clinton
Foundation.
The church, Cornerstone Baptist
Church on Madison Street near
Lewis Avenue received several energy
effi ciency upgrades, which President
Bill Clinton praised as essential
in the fi ght against climate change.
“This is a picture through which
we can see a better future,” he said.
The 102-year-old church was outfi
tted with high-tech, but low-cost
eco-friendly technology, including
effi cient lights and a new cooling system,
which Clinton said proves that
you don’t have to break the bank to
do your part for Mother Earth.
“Some of the lowest cost responses
are what you see happening in this
church, and they all buy us 10, 20, 30
years before the worst happens for us
to fi x the whole thing.”
The retrofi t was handled by
BlocPower, an energy startup
founded by Donnel Baird, who committed
to lowering energy costs
across the country for small businesses,
churches, and non-profi ts.
Since then, Baird has retrofi tted over
1,000 locations in American cities.
In addition to the ecological benefi
ts of the new green tech, church
staff estimate the improvements will
save them 30 to 40 percent a year on
energy bills, allowing them to invest
in other things, such as their 18-unit
building of apartments for seniors.
The former president has made
outfi tting old buildings with green
tech one of his foundation’s signature
causes since he left offi ce. The
Clinton Climate Project was heavily
involved in retrofi tting the Empire
State Building, which lead to a 38 percent
reduction in energy use for the
iconic Manhattan skyscraper.
“I really believe that the most dangerous
threat to our civilization over
the next 30 years. . . is going to be climate
change,” he said on Tuesday.