8 OCTOBER 12, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Lawmaker wants MTA to bring shuttle buses back to M.V.
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
The MTA is being urged to reinstate
shuttle buses between
Middle Village and Brooklyn to
more quickly connect M train riders
to other subway lines as work on the
line in Bushwick continues.
When the MTA wrapped up the
two-month-long Phase 1 portion of reconstruction
of the M line in Middle
Village, they also took away the free
shuttle buses that helped commuters
get around — and according to Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley, riders
aren’t too happy about it.
During Phase 1 of the project, crews
worked to replace the bridge over the
Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Montauk
Line between Fresh Pond Road
and Metropolitan Avenue. While this
work was going on, the M train was out
of service between the Metropolitan
Avenue and Myrtle Avenue-Broadway
stops.
To keep residents moving, the
MTA provided commuters three
free shuttle buses: one starting at
Metropolitan Avenue and ending
at Flushing Avenue; one beginning
at Metropolitan Avenue and ending
at Myrtle Avenue-Broadway;
and one starting at Fresh Pond
Road and terminating at Myrtle
Avenue-Broadway.
Those shuttle buses were running
smoothly and exceeded many commuters’
expectations.
Once the fi rst phase was completed,
the MTA restored an M train shuttle
between Metropolitan Avenue and
Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues, connecting
riders to the L line, but the M line
remains closed between Myrtle
Wyckoff Avenues and Myrtle
Avenue-Broadway as track work
continues through next spring.
The MTA discontinued shuttle bus
service to and from Middle Village;
a shuttle bus line operates between
Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues and Myrtle
Avenue-Broadway in Bushwick.
According to Crowley, the removal
of the Middle Village shuttle buses has
commuters complaining of long waits
for the M train shuttle, overcrowding
at the Myrtle-Wyckoff station, and lackluster
service on the single shuttle bus.
Crowley said on Oct. 9 that she
wrote MTA Chair Joseph Lhota requesting
an additional shuttle bus
service along the M line route to
quickly move riders to other transportation
options.
“These issues can be resolved by
supplementing the subway shuttle
with a shuttle bus that will follow
the M line to the J/Z lines, similar to
Phase I,” Crowley wrote in the Sept.
29 letter. “The Phase I shuttle buses
arrived much more frequently than
the current subway shuttles and
were received favorably.”
Construction in connection with
Phase 2 of this project — which will
eliminate all M train service between
Myrtle-Wyckoff and Myrtle-Broadway
— began in September and is
expected to last until April 30, 2018.
For more information on construction,
the shuttle train, and shuttle
bus routes, visit mta.info.
When reached for comment, an
MTA spokesperson indicated that
Lhota would look over the letter and
directly respond to Crowley.
Assemblyman honors three for Hispanic Heritage Month
On Wednesday,
Oct. 4, Assemblyman
Mike
Miller celebrated
Hispanic Heritage
Month by honoring
three constituents,
Walter Chaluisant,
Daisy Croke and Felix
Martinex Sanchez.
Miller congratulated
all of the honorees
for their hard work,
dedication and commitment
to service.
Shown in the photo
are (top row, left to
right): Assemblyman
Mike Miller, Evelyn
Cruz from Congresswoman
Nydia
Velazquez’s offi ce and
state Senator Joseph
Addabbo and (bottom
row, left to right):
Walter Chaluisant,
Daisy Croke and Felix
Martinez Sanchez.
Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Mike Miller
Photo by Anthony Giudice/Ridgewood Times
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley requested the MTA provide another
shuttle bus to help move commuters while the M train is down.
