MTA Takes Over 20 Stops Away From Q60 Bus Route

The elimination of over 20 stops from the Q60 bus route on Nov. 1 has caused consternation from Community Boards 2 and 6, who claim that they and their communities were taken by surprise.

Westbound (to East Midtown Manhattan), the Q60 route has dropped a stop at 109th Avenue and 155th Street; two stops on Sutphin Boulevard (Shore Avenue and 97th Avenue) and 10 stops along Queens Boulevard (77th Avenue, 69th Road, 68th Avenue, 66th Avenue, 62nd Avenue, 51st Avenue, Albion Avenue, 47th Street, 43rd Street and 39th Place).

Eastbound (to South Jamaica), the removed stops include nine stops along Queens Boulevard (34th Street, 39th Place, 48th Street, 54th Street, 66th Street, 70th Street, 73rd Street, 55th Avenue and 64th Road), as well as one on 108th Avenue and 154th Street. One stop will be added eastbound, on Queens Boulevard at 49th Street.

Board 6 reacts

At the Nov. 12 meeting of Community Board 6, Deputy Borough President Karen Koslowitz called the removal of stops "a ridiculous thing," noting that the area has senior citizens who rely on the route.

Board 6 District Manager Frank Gulluscio claimed that the MTA "measured the ridership at each bus stop."

"They were very firm on the telephone; that really got my dander going," he added, noting that the Board has sent a letter to the MTA objecting to the changes.

"I don't care if it's one person at a bus stop once a month who has through walk through the snow, though the rain or the heat," said Board 5 Chairman Joseph Hennessy at the meeting. "The bottom line is they want to get through Manhattan in a shorter period of time."

Board 2 reacts

Board 2 Chairman Joseph Conley also addressed the issue at the Nov. 13 meeting of the United Forties Civic Association.

According to Conley, "there was no notification to the community." A particular issue to the board is the removal of the westbound stop on 39th Place, as it is the closest stop to Sunnyside Community Services. He called the removal of the stop "just unacceptable."

He noted at the meeting that the board will join with Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and City Council Member Eric Gioia in speaking to the MTA about the loss of bus stops.

"I dub this as almost the Sunnyside bypass on the buses," Conley stated. "We've told the MTA this is not going to stand."

MTA explains

Aaron Donovan of MTA Bus Company gave the Times Newsweekly several reasons for the move.

According to Donovan, the route was "one of our longest local bus routes." The number of bus stops interfered with reliability and did not comply with MTA regulations to keep stops at least 750 feet apart, he stated.

The changes also serve to make bus routes more complementary, as the three bus companies under the MTA umbrella (MTA Bus, NYC Transit and MTA Long Island Bus) consolidate.

In response to complaints that the community was ill-informed of the change, Donovan stated that signs were posted on buses two weeks prior to Nov. 1, as well on the bus stop markers themselves.

In addition, bus drivers were instructed to pick up passengers at the stops after Nov. 1 and inform them that their stop no longer exists.

In response to the removal of the stop near Sunnyside Community Services, Donovan told the Times Newsweekly that the nearest stop westbound would be on 39th Street.