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

Friday’s Headlines: Post Thanksgiving Edition

We're going to take Black Friday off, but here are a few headlines to keep you going.

November 29, 2024

Sound Vision: Two Broadway Blocks To Get Permanent Upgrades

"We’re really looking to create a premier public space," said the DOT's Public Realm Unit acting lead. All right then!

November 27, 2024

Wednesday’s Headlines: Our Big Mack Attack Edition

Who knew that our little story about MTA Board member David Mack's illegal parking and placard abuse would generate so much heat? Plus other news.

November 27, 2024

Pedestrian Struck and Injured in Queens by an NYPD Traffic Agent: Cops

Police officials said that one of their traffic agents struck and injured a pedestrian in Jackson Heights on Monday night, and was not arrested.

November 26, 2024
See all posts