Statement of the New York City Transit Riders Council
to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Before the Assembly Standing Committee on Cities, the Assembly Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions, and the Assembly Standing Committee on Oversight, Analysis, and Investigation
on the Redevelopment of Lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center Site.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Planning for reconstruction after the 9/11 tragedy rightly emphasized the vital role of transportation in renewing the vitality of Lower Manhattan. We would like to draw the Committee members’ attention to the potentially devastating impact of the service reductions that the MTA is currently proposing as a means of bridging a $1.2 billion 2009 budget gap on the health of the Downtown community. These proposed cutbacks would eliminate overnight N train service in four Lower Manhattan stations, as well as extending the wait between trains for all lines.
In addition, the plan calls for elimination of the M6 bus route, elimination of weekend and late night service on the M21 and M22 routes, and restructuring of the M9, M15, and M20 routes. Taken as a package, these reductions in service pose a real hardship not only to those who work in Lower Manhattan, but to both existing and new residents, who represent our best hope for creating a vital 24 hour community Downtown community. Lower Manhattan needs transportation service as well as infrastructure. Starving this area for transit service will severely constrain its future development.
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