BY BEN VERDE
The Metropolitan Transportation
Authority will mount
buses along the B46 Select Bus
Service line with cameras that
automatically ticket drivers
hogging the route’s dedicated
bus lane, with aim towards increasing
speeds and stemming
the system’s plummeting ridership
fi gures.
“We know that well-enforced
bus lanes are a critical
component of bringing
our customers back to the
system,” said Craig Cipriano,
acting Vice President
for Buses at New York City
Transit.
Beginning on Feb. 20, motorists
who drive in the dedicated
bus lanes, which runs
eight miles along Malcolm X
Boulevard and Utica Avenue
and serves an average of 50,000
riders on weekdays, will receive
warnings for a 60-day
grace period — after which
the cameras will begin issuing
fi nes starting at $50.
Penalties will increase by
$50 for each additional offense
within a yearlong span, with a
maximum penalty of $250.
According to city transit
bigwigs, the cameras are capable
NYC Health+ Hospitals / Kings County Heart Health Center
COURIER L 12 IFE, FEB. 28-MAR. 5, 2020
of capturing license plate
information, along with a location
and timestamps. To ensure
the legality and proper
functioning of the system, the
MTA claims their buses will
take multiple shots and are
capable of recording video as
well.
Motorists are allowed to
travel in the bus lane for up to
a block in order to make a right
turn — and the MTA claims its
system is intelligent enough to
ensure only drivers caught bypassing
the fi rst available turn
are ticketed.
The new enforcement program
B46 Select buses will now be mounted with cameras. Photo by Ben Verde
is already in effect on
the B44 line along Nostrand
Avenue, and the M14 and M15
lines in Manhattan, where the
MTA claims the automated
ticket system has had a dramatic
effect on improving bus
speeds.
Since implementation on
the B44 last fall, the cameras
have issued 902 violations to
offending motorists, and bus
speeds have improved to an
average of 7.3 miles-per-hour
— a 2.8 percent increase. That
speed, however, is still below
the average citywide speed of
8.1 miles per hour.
“What we’ve seen is each
of those routes have made improvements
in bus speeds,”
Cipriano said at a press conference
in Bedford-Stuyvesant on
Feb. 19.
Improving bus speeds is a
key component of the agency’s
“fast forward” program, which
was spearheaded by former
City Transit President Andy
Byford, and aims to modernize
the systems aging infrastructure,
speed up transit, and attract
new riders.
CHEESE!
Bus mounted enforcement
cameras coming to B46 bus
The heart symbolizes love,
so it makes sense that each
February, during American
Heart Month, we are reminded
to look after the organ
that keeps us ticking.
This tradition began in
1964, started by President Lyndon
B. Johnson, nine years after
he had a heart attack.
While we have made a lot
of progress since then, the
American Heart Association
tells us that heart disease
kills more people than cancer,
so it’s a good time to schedule
a visit to the NYC Health +
Hospital/Kings County Heart
Health Center in East Flatbush.
The Center offers comprehensive
services designed
to improve the health of this
important organ. Specifically,
it is an integrated facility
that offers an array of
services to patients who have
suffered heart failure. Dr.
Inna Bukharovich, Chief of
Cardiology and Director of
the Heart Health Center, says
that Center is staffed by a fullservice
team of professionals
such as cardiac specialists,
psychologists, psychiatrists,
nurse practitioners, nutritionists,
pharmacists, and social
workers, all working together
to benefit the patient.
By offering all of these
services at one convenient
location, patients can meet
with these service providers,
and be tested, all in the same
day. As a result, the road to a
healthy heart begins faster.
Patients are not forced to run
all over town, waiting weeks
for appointments. They are
not sitting around, stressing
about test results. Instead,
they leave with test results
and treatment plans, in hand.
This multidisciplinary
outpatient clinic is one part
of the many cardiac services
available at the hospital, and
it has helped to reduce hospitalizations,
re-admissions,
and emergency room visits,
says Dr. Bukharovich.
She cites the findings of
a U.S. News & World Report
study that recognizes hospitals
for various specialties.
More than 4,500 medical centers
were evaluated nationwide.
She says, “NYC Health +
Hospitals/Kings County was
recognized as ‘high performing’
for heart failure.” This
recognition was published
as part of the national magazine’s
“Best Hospital” issue
for 2019-20. Dr. Bukharovich
is proud of that accomplishment,
and says, “The annual
rankings are designed to assist
patients and their doctors
in making informed decisions
about where to receive care.”
In fact, many of the programs
at NYC Health + Hospitals/
Kings County have received
national recognition,
including the cardiac, stroke,
and diabetes units. The hospital
has claimed many “firsts”
in the field of medicine. For
example, it was the site of the
first open-heart surgery performed
in New York State.
Physicians there invented
the world’s first hemodialysis
machine, and conducted
the first studies of HIV infection
in women. The hospital
was named the first Level 1
Trauma Center in the U.S.
Built in 1831 as a one-room
infirmary for publicly supported
care of the sick, NYC
Health + Hospitals/Kings
County continues to be a leading
health care facility. Its
mission is to provide care to
everyone, regardless of the
ability to pay.
The hospital remains on
the cutting edge of technology,
and provides the most modern
procedures with state-of-theart
equipment.
NYC Health + Hospital/
Kings County Heart Health
Center, 451 Clarson Ave.
between New York and Albany
Avenues in East Flatbush.
(718) 245-7388, www.
nychealthandhospitals.org/
kingscounty. Open Monday
through Friday, from 8am -
4:30 pm.
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/nychealthandhospitals.org