By Helen Klein
In response to complaints from residents of Fourth Avenue, New York City Transit (TA) has agreed to implement a policy whereby only buses specifically designated to travel on that street when heading to or from the depot will be allowed to do so. State Senator Marty Golden reached out to the agency, writing a letter to TA President Lawrence Reuter, after his office received a significant number of complaints about out-of-service buses rumbling along the avenue at all hours of the day or night — “Eleven, 12, one, two, three a.m.,” noted Golden — and impacting the quality-of-life of nearby residents. The buses, said Golden, were traveling to or from the Jackie Gleason Depot at Fifth Avenue and 36th Street. “There were some express buses, some Third and Fifth Avenue buses,” he recalled. “I don’t know if they were using Fourth Avenue to fill in the line or take them off line, but they should go right to the line and go right off line from that location.” With no bus traffic of its own, he remarked, it seems, “Fourth Avenue became the obvious route for them.” James Anyansi, a spokesperson for the TA, noted, “The bottom line is that some residents complained that it was a problem. We don’t necessarily think it’s a problem because these are buses either going into or out of service from the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot, but we have directed management at the depot to inform all bus operators that only those runs specifically designated to enter or go out of service via Fourth Avenue may travel on that street. “We’re going to monitor the situation,” Anyansi went on, “and make the drivers comply with that ruling. We are also urging that residents in the area who observe an unusually large number of buses contact our bus customer center directly at 1-888-NYCTBUS.” This is not the first time area residents have complained about buses affecting their quality-of-life, Golden added. “We have had a host of issues,” he noted, such as, “buses idling at Fourth Avenue and Marine Avenue and at Fourth Avenue and 101st Street.” Another issue, he said, has been the need to extend express bus service to reach more corners of the community. Now, Golden noted, the express buses run along Shore Road, but he said he would like to see them run on Third and Fifth Avenue as well to make it easier for area residents to utilize their service. Golden also said he would like to see cross-town bus service on 65th Street and Bay Ridge Parkway, and bus service from Bay Ridge that takes in the Brooklyn Army Terminal, where the Manhattan ferry docks, as well as Lutheran Medical Center and “all the industry and houses along the waterfront.”
