8
L E H A V R E
N E W S
F E B R U A R Y Fast & Furious
MTA PROPOSAL WOULD UPEND BEECHHURST BUS SERVICES
8 LEHAVRE COURIER | FEBRUARY 2020 | WWW.QNS.COM
PROPOSED BEECHHURST
BUS SERVICE CHANGES
Express Bus Service
3rd Avenue service (QM32) eliminated
New QMT163 replaces QM2 & QM20:
• No Saturday or Sunday service
• Reduction of Monday-Friday service hours
o Into Manhattan: Last bus leaves at 9am
o From Manhattan: First bus returns at 4pm/last bus returns 9:30pm
• Reduction of Beechhurst stops
Local Bus
Service See
map
New QT49:
Rerouted service
from 166th St. &
PCB to Flushing
• No service
to Whitestone
Village,
Whitestone
Shopping Center
or 154th Street
stores
• No weekend
service and no
off-peak service
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Contact the MTA & Local
Officials
Residents are urged to email the
MTA at new.mta.info/queensredesign.
Be sure to copy local officials:
Senator John Liu
718-765-6675
liu@nysenate.gov
Assemblyman Ed Braunstein
718-357-3588
braunsteine@nyassembly.gov
Councilman Paul Vallone
718-619-8611
info@paulvallone.com
Congressman Tom Suozzi
718-631-0400
Suozzi.house.gov
Attend the MTA Meeting
Wednesday, Mar. 18, 7:00PM
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
Church
11-05 150 Street, Whitestone
Sign a Petition
Each co-op/condo is circulating a
petition to send to local officials. Be
sure that your name is included!
NYC Councilman Paul Vallone
has also begun a petition to the MTA
which is endorsed by Tom Suozzi,
John Liu and Ed Braunstein. At
press time, more than 2,300 people
have signed it. Below is the web
address for the petition:
https://www.change.org/p/mtaimprove
don-t-slash-bus-service-innortheast
queens
BY JILL DAVIS &
EILEEN ANNECHINO
In early January, news hit the media
that the MTA has radical plans to dramatically
alter—and in many cases,
drastically reduce or eliminate—certain
bus services throughout Queens.
Although the MTA has said that
these new plans have been in the
works for months and included significant
feedback from residents, the
announcement seemed to have come
out of the blue and, no surprise, the
feedback from angry Queens residents
has been speeding down the
express lane of protests ever since.
For those who may not be aware,
the changes would have a severe,
negative impact on many sections
of the borough, but few would be as
adversely affected as our own section
of Beechhurst. Along with a few
other areas of Queens, Beechhurst is
known as a “transit desert,” meaning
that we live in a neighborhood without
reasonable access to a NYC subway
or LIRR station. See the sidebar
for the potential impact.
WHAT’S BEEN
HAPPENING
In response to the proposed changes,
co-ops and condos in the neighborhood
quickly joined forces to form
a Beechhurst coalition. Formed in a
matter of days over the week of Jan.
10, the coalition currently consists
of Board members from Beechhurst
Towers, Clearview Gardens, Cryder
House, Cryder Point, Le Havre and
Wildflower I & II.
Together, these communities total
nearly 4,000 homes—and upwards
of 6,000 residents—who would be
impacted by the changes. That total
does not include the many workers—
property staff; home health
aids; employees of neighborhood
businesses—who travel into and out
of the area on a daily basis, nor does
it include the many single-family
homes in the immediate area.
JANUARY 17:
MEETING WITH
SENATOR JOHN LIU
Le Havre initiated a meeting with
NYS Senator John Liu, which was
held at Le Havre on Jan. 17.
Liu emphasized that the proposal
is currently in the draft stage and no
final plan has been set. Although this
statement offered some relief, Liu
also made it clear that local area residents
need to speak out about their
concerns, sooner rather than later.
He also acknowledged that community
meetings with the MTA have
been held in other neighborhoods,
but none had been scheduled for the
Whitestone area and that he would
be announcing such a meeting shortly.
Subsequently, a public meeting
was announced with the MTA which
will be held on Mar. 18 at the Greek
Orthodox Church on 150 Street (see
Sidebar).
JANUARY 30:
MEETING WITH
ASSEMBLYMAN ED
BRAUNSTEIN
Le Havre scheduled this meeting
with Braunstein which was attended
by members of the co-op/condo
consortium. Braunstein acknowledged
that “there is clearly a lack of
understanding by the MTA of local
neighborhoods.” He made clear his
position that any changes to express
bus service should be “off the table,”
but did ask the consortium to review
local bus services and offer alternative
suggestions to the current proposal.
It is notable that this meeting followed
the resignation on Jan. 23 of
Andy Byford, President of the NYC
Transit. Byford will remain in his
post until Feb. 21, and as Braunstein
noted, “We’re not sure how the MTA
is going to proceed now that Byford
has left.”
The potential exists for plans to
remain in flux as the MTA sorts
itself out following Byford’s departure.
Nevertheless, the Beechhurst
consortium remains committed to
continuing its dialog with our elected
officials and will be reviewing local
bus services as requested. Updates
will be forthcoming as we receive
new information.
In the meantime, please see the
sidebar for how you can help in
this effort. Together, we can make a
difference.
Proposed QT49
/mta-improve-don-t-slash-bus-service-in-northeast-queens
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/WWW.QNS.COM
/Suozzi.house.gov
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