Queens City Council delegation slams
the MTA’s current bus redesign plan
BY BILL PARRY
When Assemblyman Michael
DenDekker began hearing
fierce complaints from
his constituents in Jackson
Heights, East Elmhurst, Corona
and Woodside about the
MTA’s plan to redesign the
Queens bus network he scheduled
a feedback meeting with
the agency to give residents
an opportunity to discuss the
proposals.
DenDekker said representatives
of the MTA would be
present at the meeting last
Wednesday including planners
that would be available to
field questions and concerns
regarding the draft plan. NYC
Transit President Andy Byford
showed up at the public
meeting and proceeded to handle
the angry crowd for nearly
an hour-and-a-half.
Byford resigned from the
MTA Thursday morning, after
two years on the job. State
Senator Michael Gianaris took
note of his leadership style.
“Andy Byford’s resignation
is a loss to transit riders
throughout New York,” Gianaris
said. “He was a consummate
professional who was
poised to effectively use additional
resources secured for
transit by the state legislature.
The next New York City Transit
President must be someone
who focused on increasing accessibility,
effectively using
new revenue, and improving
service on our subways and
buses.”
City Councilman Barry
Grodenchik, who signed on to
a letter from the entire Queens
delegation to the City Council
calling for significant changes
to the MTA’s bus redesign proposals
that was released just
hours before Byford’s resignation,
also hailed his leadership
on Twitter.
“Sorry to see Mr. Byford
leaving the MTA,” Grodenchik
said. “In my interactions with
him over the past two years, I
TIMESLEDGER |4 QNS.COM | JAN. 31-FEB. 6, 2020
thought he had a passion and
drive to improve mass transit
services which he did. He will
be missed.”
State Senator Jessica Ramos,
a 7 train rider who campaigned
on the need for improvement
to the mass transit
system, took note of Byford’s
success. Only 58 percent of the
trains were on time the month
he started, but after a series
of reforms, Byford pushed the
on-time rate past 80%.
“Andy Byford is a mobility
visionary,” Ramos said on
Twitter. “When state leaders
were chugging along, Andy
took the express track to propose
plans to transform our
outdated public transit into a
world-class system. This is unfortunate.”
City Council Speaker Corey
Johnson called Byford’s resignation
devastating.
“It is a really bad day for
New York City and the seven
million people who take the
subways and buses every day.
It’s a shame and it’s unacceptable,”
Johnson said. “I think
Andy is someone who has really
turned the system around
in a short period of time and
the challenges remain,” such
as the Queens bus network redesign.
DenDekker announced on
Twitter that he had contacted
MTA chairman Patrick Foye
and received his word that the
agency would follow through
with a slate of public workshops
over the coming weeks
to listen to commuters concerns
about the bus redesign
proposals.
“I have personally spoken
to Chairman Foye, who grew
up in Jackson Heights, and he
has assured me we will continue
to work together on the
Queens Bus Redesign and its
impact on Jackson Heights,
East Elmhurst, Corona and
Woodside,” DenDekker said.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by
e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
BY BILL PARRY
Hours before NYC Transit
president Andy Byford resigned
from the MTA the Queens Delegation
to the City Council issued
a scathing rebuke of the
agency’s bus redesign plan for
the borough, citing negative
feedback from their constituents.
The council members called
for significant changes to the
MTA’s draft proposal for the
Queens Bus Network.
“Queens does not have the
subway infrastructure on Manhattan,
the Bronx or Brooklyn,”
Queens Delegation Chairwoman
Karen Koslowitz said.
“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.
With respect to my own council
district, the proposed plan does
more harm to my constituents
than help them and I am certainly
going to forcefully convey
my reservations and positive
suggestions to the MTA.”
The current draft cuts back
service in areas where there is
no access to subways, it significantly
condenses the express
bus routes, and is limited by
budget restrictions, according
to the delegation.
“In District 30, we only have
access to two stops on one subway
line, so my constituents
rely heavily on the bus network.
Maspeth is in desperate need of
an express bus route, but this
plan actually reduces the current
express routes,” Councilman
Robert Holden said. “The
draft will cut back on localized
service in every part of my district,
creating longer wait times
and longer walks to the buses.
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.”
Councilman Paul Vallone’s
office has been inundated with
complaints since the draft plan
was released on New Year’s
Eve.
“In northeast Queens, where
there is no subway access and
limited public transportation
options for commuters,” Vallone
said, who added that “the
MTA should be increasing and
improving bus service, not creating
a more desolate transportation
desert.”
The bus redesign would further
isolate the Rockaways from
the rest of the borough.
“In my district, the MTA
proposed to remove the Q53
in its entirety, as well as stops
along the Q22.,” Councilman
Eric Ulrich said. “The Q53 is
a major north/south mode of
public transportation along the
Peninsula. And the proposed
changes along the Q22 route
would require several hundred
students and others to transfer
to another bus, sometimes two,
to reach the same destination.”
In the transportation desert
that is southeast Queens,
Councilman I. Daneek Miller is
working with the MTA to facilitate
community forums in the
coming weeks.
“Any plan to remedy this
decades-long injustice must
ensure that residents’ voices
are heard during the public
review process,” Miller said.
“Ultimately, we are hopeful
that the final plan will be representative
of what we’ve been
advocating for these past twenty
years: better intra-borough
connections, more effective and
efficient service, and increased
access to our most underserved
neighborhoods.”
The MTA has received plenty of blowback from Queens bus riders
since its redesign plan was released. Photo by Mark Hallum
When Jackson Heights commuters were irate over the MTA’s plan
to redesign the Queens bus network, Andy Byford showed up at a
public meeting to take the heat. Photo by Mark Hallum
Boro lawmakers lament Andy
Byford’s departure from MTA
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