Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bus Rapid Transit

NY1 Teams Up With Joe Addabbo to Bash Better Bus Service for Tens of Thousands of New Yorkers

Joe Addabbo wants DOT to downgrade Woodhaven Boulevard SBS by increasing the hours drivers are allowed to park in bus lanes. Video still: NY1

Shame on NY1 reporter Ruschell Boone for carrying water for State Senator Joseph Addabbo and his campaign against better bus service on Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards.

The Q52 and Q53 handle 30,000 trips a day between the Rockaways and Woodside. Newly added Select Bus Service features, including dedicated bus lanes and off-board fare collection, mean that Queens residents who use the lines will reach their destinations faster, free from some of the headaches that have led New Yorkers to give up on city buses.

But Boone characterizes improvements for tens of thousands of bus riders, which were accompanied by pedestrian safety upgrades, as a "traffic nightmare." The premise of the piece is that motorists who resent the sight of dedicated street space for bus riders should get to call all the shots.

Watch as Boone offers the mic to drivers who yell complaints as they pass (none seemed to be stopped for long). She also talks to a couple of business owners whose customers have to adjust to new rush hour parking restrictions.

An expert weighs in on Woodhaven Boulevard bus improvements, via NY1.
An expert weighs in.
An expert weighs in on Woodhaven Boulevard bus improvements, via NY1.

After he fought to maintain the status quo on Woodhaven, Addabbo tells Boone he wants DOT to weaken the improvements by curtailing the hours when bus lanes are in effect. Robert Holden, who earlier this month unseated local City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, thinks a "task force" of some sort should "really look at this whole stretch," though years of public meetings preceded the project.

Boone gives a few seconds of airtime toward the end of the story to Riders Alliance organizer Stephanie Burgos-Veras, who explains that Woodhaven SBS will speed trips to work and school and give people back a lot of time they would otherwise spend waiting for the bus.

It's expected that a project of this scope would have a breaking-in period. But with all the griping, Boone didn't talk to a single bus rider. As if the thousands of New Yorkers Woodhaven SBS was built for don't count.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Blood On His Hands’: Cyclists Slam Eric Adams After Judge Lets Him Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane

Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the popular protected bike lane.

July 10, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Fourth of July Hangover Edition

That Fourth of July lasts longer for some than others. Plus more news.

July 10, 2025

Brooklyn Judge Lets Eric Adams Rip Up Bedford Avenue Protected Bike Lane

The mayor's move to rip up the bike lane did not require advanced notification, Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo ruled.

Universal Daylighting Has Majority Support on the City Council — Will Speaker Adams Give It a Vote?

Adrienne Adams is sitting on a landmark daylighting bill that could make every intersection safer for pedestrians.

July 9, 2025

‘Anti-Car Crusade’: Dinowitzes Slam Bronx Harlem River Greenway Bike Lane Touted by Mayor

The father-son duo are throwing a tantrum over the first leg of Mayor Adams's Harlem River Greenway.

July 8, 2025
See all posts