Testimony of the New York City Transit Riders Council
to the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
on the Proposed B84 Route
Spring Creek Educational Campus, Brooklyn, NY
March 7, 2013
Good Evening. My name is Christopher D. Greif. I am a member of the New York City Transit Riders Council (NYCTRC), the legislatively mandated representatives of the New York City Transit riders. I am a Brooklyn resident and daily subway commuter, appointed to the Council by the Governor on the recommendation of the Mayor.
I’m here this evening to support this proposal to establish a new B84 bus service in Brooklyn between the Spring Creek area and the East New York/New Lots Avenue subway station. The Council believes that this proposal is a positive response to needs of those who live, learn, work, and shop in the area, as well as those who travel to the area for other purposes.
There is renewed interest in this part of Brooklyn, and more transit service is important to support the current and future development of the Spring Creek area and maintain the residential and commercial growth that has occurred in recent years. The service would also provide more choices for riders who need access to activity centers such as the Spring Creek Educational Campus, Gateway Center Mall and the Brooklyn Developmental Center, which will serve as the southern terminal of the route.
We are concerned about riders’ access to some of these activity centers. One issue is that the proposed B84 route does not extend into the Gateway Center Mall property, but travels on the opposite side of Erskine Street next to the mall property. This makes it necessary for riders to cross the street to access the mall. The Council would prefer that the route enter the mall property, or if that is not possible, that buses travel in a counterclockwise direction on the loop formed by Vandalia, Fountain, and Seaview Avenues and Erskine Street, which would allow a bus stop to be placed on the same side of the street as the mall.
The NYCTRC also wants to state for the record that as new activity centers are developed in this area, changes to this and other routes must be considered to serve them. Finally, for the loop at the southern end of the proposed route to function effectively, bus operators must complete the loop and end their runs at their designated terminal.