State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez has penned a letter to MTA leadership calling on the agency to postpone the removal of two bus stops in Queensbridge Houses as part of the Queens Bus Network Redesign, arguing that the removal will make it more difficult for local residents to access public transport.
Gonzalez wrote to MTA CEO Janno Lieber last week to outline her concerns about the loss of Q103 bus stops at 41st Avenue and 10th Street and at 41st Avenue and 12th Street as part of the redesign.
The redesign, which went into full effect at the beginning of September, aims to provide a more reliable bus service across Queens by improving connections, reducing wait times and increasing bus speeds.
However, the Queensbridge community has voiced concerns about the removal of a number of Q103 stops as part of the redesign, stating that the removals leave local residents bereft of public transit options.
The Q103, which connects Hunter’s Point and Astoria, formerly ran north along Vernon Boulevard before making a right on 41st Avenue and crossing through Queensbridge to 21st Street, where it swung a left toward Astoria.
The redesign, however, eliminates the Queensbridge portion of the route by swinging onto 21st Street directly from 44th Drive in Long Island City.
Gonzalez called on Lieber to postpone the removal of the two stops until the end of September at least in order to provide residents with more time to make adjustments to their daily routines. She also said postponing the removal will give elected officials and community leaders more time to offer support to local residents.
“A lot of folks are unaware and certainly need more time to have more engagement with the MTA,” Gonzalez told QNS. “This is an effort to advocate for these constituents and see if, at the very least, the MTA would be willing to commit to slowing the transition.”
She added that she wants Queensbridge residents to know that she is “advocating for them” and called on the MTA to provide data that highlights how the removal of the two stops will lead to a more reliable bus service across Queens.
“I’m certainly interested in learning more about the decision making process here.”
Gonzalez described providing adequate transport for Queensbridge residents as an “issue of transit justice” and said local residents are “incredibly reliant” on public transport.
“We need to protect a working-class community,” Gonzalez said. “They are incredibly reliant on the MTA in order to travel to work, to see friends and family, and to be able to go to doctor’s appointments.
“Justice looks like actually having them being part of this process and making sure that we’re also hearing feedback and being responsive to it.”
Corinne Hayes, president of the resident association for Queensbridge Houses, said the bus redesign removes a third stop from the neighborhood at Vernon Boulevard and 41st Avenue and said local residents who rely on public transit are now forced to walk to 21st Street in order to take the bus.
She said many residents are older adults and mobile-impaired individuals who rely on public transportation.
Hayes also believes that forcing residents to walk to 21st Street – which is located outside the Queensbridge Houses development – is bad optics.
“They’ve got to walk all the way 21st Street, which is the connection to the outside of the development. Inside the development, they removed all accessibility,” Hayes told QNS. “The message that it sends is that ‘we’re not doing this to accommodate Queensbridge residents.’ We’re accommodating those outside of Queensbridge.”
She further alleged that the MTA did outreach in Queensbridge “six years ago” at a time when the residents association was in a period of transition and had no resident council. Hayes added that residents would have raised concerns had they known of plans to remove the stops.
However, Hayes said Queensbridge residents met with MTA officials on Wednesday night to outline their concerns over the issue and said residents and agency representatives have agreed to hold further conversations to address the needs of locals.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, said she MTA officials have indicated that the agency is willing to make changes to the route.
QNS reached out to the MTA for comment. MTA officials referred the outlet to comments made by Gonzalez at a Queens Bus Network Redesign Phase 2 completion event held at Queensbridge Houses on Sept. 2.
During that press conference, Gonzalez said public feedback had been a “partnership” between the MTA and elected officials, stating that informational flyers have been handed out to residents throughout the redesign process.
Gonzalez also outlined that she was open to receiving “additional comments” from residents that may not have been brought up during the public engagement process. In the letter to Lieber, Gonzalez said she has since received additional comments from Queensbridge residents.
Lieber, meanwhile, said at the Sept. 2 press event that the MTA has not yet gathered data on how much faster certain routes are since the introduction of the redesign.
