Today Senator Chuck Schumer sent a letter to the MTA asking them to create a “Nerd Bus” route that connects the future Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island with tech hubs in Queens and Brooklyn.
Last month the transit agency proposed two Brooklyn Tech Triangle routes that connects DUMBO with Downtown Brooklyn and the Navy Yard, and services the Williamsburg waterfront. Schumer wants the MTA to extend the Tech Triangle to L.I.C. and the Cornell campus.
“New York is seeing a major tech boom, with Brooklyn and Long Island City leading the way, and now the new Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island is going to be a game changer that further cements New York’s position as a leader in tech,” said Schumer. “You don’t need a PhD to know that connecting these neighborhoods through a ‘Nerd Bus’ is a no-brainer. The only thing separating these neighborhoods in New York City is a lack of transit connections. We need a high-speed rapid transit connection between Roosevelt Island and the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, with stops at new hubs like Long Island City and the Navy Yard, and residential areas in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.”
But the F train, which stops in Roosevelt Island Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City, has already been named the tech route of New York City. Earlier this week, a Crain’s New York Business article dubbed the line the “Silicon Subway,” and in speeches Cornell University President David Skorton often calls the line “the F-train tech corridor.” It stops
As of late Wednesday afternoon, the MTA had not received Schumer’s letter, said an MTA spokesperson. “We appreciate his interest. We constantly study ridership and growth to better serve our customers, as evidenced by the $29.5 million in service investments we announced last month.”
