Jan. 7, 2013 Staff Report
A new bus route — which would track the waterfront areas of Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Long Island City — may well leave LIC residents short changed, according to members of Community Board 2 who spoke about the plan in Sunnyside on Thursday.
Community Board 2 members argued that the proposed bus route would serve the areas of Williamsburg and Greenpoint much better than Long Island City. Most of the stops will be in those two Brooklyn neighborhoods, with only a small area of LIC serviced.
The route will enter Long Island City via the Pulaski Bridge and head up 11th Street, only going as far north as 44th Drive before turning east and heading down 21st Street. (see map)
Several board members expressed support for the bus route– but made a point that they wanted the route to be extended to Queensboro Plaza. A connection to Queensboro Plaza, they said, would help alleviate LIC’s commuters’ pain when the No. 7 train shuts down for a number of weekends each year.
Riders in the Hunters Point section of LIC are forced to take shuttle buses to Queensboro Plaza on these weekends—to connect with the N or R train. Many commuters argue that the shuttle buses are unreliable.
The MTA will be seeking public comment on the proposed bus route during the next few months. The bus is set to start running this fall.
The closest current bus route is the Q103, which operates along Vernon Boulevard, but doesn’t run on nights or weekends. A bus line has not been established along Center Boulevard to service the Queens West community, although officials are pushing for it.
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