The MTA does not have any plans to revisit the new route of the Q41 bus line, a spokesperson said, after several South Ozone Park residents took their complaints before the board of directors.
“It’s not just black and white,” said Geraldine Bruccoleri, who lives on 109th Avenue. “There’s the gray shades of life.”
Bruccoleri was one of the several who asked MTA chair Joseph Lhota on Wednesday, July 25, for something to be done about the line and the effects it has had on the street. The Q41’s path was shifted on July 1 from its original route down 111th Avenue, which residents two blocks away said is significantly wider than their narrow street.
Richard Krepin, a retired Port Authority police officer, appeared before the board representing his niece, who lives on the street. Krepin told board members that when he visits his niece, parking — as a result of the new bus line — is nearly impossible. He highlighted other residents’ concerns, such as riders sitting on residents’ stoops or littering in the area.
“Are we going to have the cops there all the time to break up these fights?” he asked.
Krepin also noted this was a plan that was heavily opposed by the community, mentioning that Community Board 10 voted nearly unanimously against the change in direction.
“It’s just … something’s wrong here,” Krepin said in closing.
After waiting, Bruccoleri, Krepin and others who spoke decided to leave, they said, as a representative told them they wouldn’t hear a response that day.
Although the residents did not get a direct answer from board members, Bruccoleri said she and her neighbors are hopeful their appeal to the MTA would be heard.
“We hope that [Lhota] took us seriously and comes to look at this mess,” she said. “Because whoever figured out how to do this must have had the flu that day.”
“As fast as these bus stops came up, that’s how fast we hope they go away,” she added.
The MTA spokesperson said the agency had spent time in the neighborhood, and had carefully mapped out the adjustments to the line in order to streamline service. There were no plans to revert to the original route, the spokesperson said.
